A look inside...
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5 Summer Reads
Summer Day Trips
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12 Summer Cocktails
Retiree Spotlight
13 Homemade Ice Cream
Editor
Dave Marshall
Contributors
Summertime is here.
Publisher
We bring you places to visit with friends, grandkids or just by yourself. These day trips are all within a short driving distance and provide unique sights and opportunities.
Creative Director
Also in this issue, if you enjoy laying in the hammock or back yard lounge chair with the latest best sellers, we have a list of the hottest books for this summer.
Alex Zapetis Creative ink
Sears Hallett
Advertising
Kristi Williams 270-484-0463 kristi@creativeinktn.com
Be sure to try out the summer cocktails with fresh and unique recipes that are guarenteed to cool down the sweltering heat.
Photography
And speaking of cooling down...homemade ice cream always hits the spot. We have some great recipes to try.
Paula Hallett
Enjoy the summer!! Dreamstime Photos: Cover, 3, 13 unsplash Photos: 13
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Are you looking for a few fun adventures to go on this summer? These super fun and interactive options are perfect for quick weekend and day trips. They are sure to fill your summer with life-long memories that the entire family will cherish. Lane Motor Museum If someone in your family loves cars, then this museum is the place for them! Lane Motor Museum features some great art ,memorabilia, and cars! They have over 150 cars on display on any given day for your viewing pleasure. They are home to three-wheeled cars, unusual cars, and more!
The Discovery Park of America This museum has some amazing experiences waiting for you! Including an earthquake simulator and some fascinating preserved skeletons of a T-Rex and many other dinosaurs. It is an amazing day trip for the entire family to enjoy. 830 Everett Blvd – Union City 731-885-5455 • discoveryparkofamerica.com
702 Murfreesboro Pk. – Nashville • 615-742-7445 • lanemotormuseum.org Aquarium Restaurant The Aquarium Restaurant in Nashville, is a large seafood and steak restaurant that is decorated by a huge fish tank filled with tropical sea creatures. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy some delicious food while enjoying the breath-taking beauty of our underwater friends? 516 Opry Mills Dr.- Nashville 615-514-3474 aquariumrestaurants.com
Tennessee Safari Park If the Tennessee heat gets to be too much for a regular zoo, why not try out this drive-thru zoo? Guests can pet and feed over 80 species of animals at the Tennessee Safari Park. Great fun for the entire family! 618 Conley Rd.- Alamo, TN 731-696-4423 • tennesseesafaripark.com 3
Louisville Slugger Museum This museum is a baseball lover’s dream come true! The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory is an amazing place to learn all about baseball’s past, present, and future. It is a great place to experience one of America’s favorite pastimes! 800 West Main St.- Louisville, KY. 877-775-8443 • sluggermuseum.com The Parthenon This is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens, Greece. It was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition.
Kentucky Science Center The Kentucky Science Center is Kentucky’s largest hands-on science museum. It is filled with plenty of interactive kid-friendly activities for the whole family to enjoy. 727 W Main St, Louisville, KY 502-561-6100 • kysciencecenter.org Chattanooga Aquarium Aquariums are great options when those summer days get a little too hot. You never get too old to mask in the beauty of the undersea world. The Tennessee Aquarium is the top-rated aquarium in the world in overall guest satisfaction!
2500 West End Ave, Nashville 615-862-8431 • nashville.gov 1 Broad St. – Chattanooga 800-262-0695 • tnaqua.org Ruby Falls Ruby Falls is a 145-foot-high underground waterfall located in Chattanooga, TN. It is a must-see attraction and is gorgeous!
The World of Coca-Cola A fun and interactive museum that shares the history of The Coca-Cola Company with its guests. As an added bonus, guests are allowed to taste all of the different sodas that Coca-Cola makes all over the world!
1720 South Scenic Hwy, Chattanooga 423-821-2544 • rubyfalls.com
Six Flags Over Georgia Rollercoasters galore! Do you have an adrenaline junkie in your family? Then make a trip down to Georgia and check out Six Flags Over Georgia theme park in Atlanta! It is over 200 acres and has 11 roller coasters! 275 Riverside Parkway Southwest, Austell, GA • 770-739-3400 • sixflags.com The Ark Encounter This bible story comes to life right before your eyes at the Ark Encounter. The Ark is a life-sized remake of Noah’s Ark. It is breathtaking. It is home to some exotic animals, a zip line tour, and a two-story restaurant. 1 Ark Encounter Dr. – Williamstown, KY • 855-284-3275 • arkencounter.com
121 Baker St NW, Atlanta, GA • 404-676- 5151 worldofcoca-cola.com DollyWood The theme park spans across 150 acres in the Great Smoky Mountains. Dollywood has more than 40 world-class rides, high-energy entertainment, and award-winning dining for their guests to enjoy! It is the perfect family vacation spot. 2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd, Pigeon Forge, 800- 365-5996 • dollywood.com Dinosaur World Have a little one that is obsessed with dinosaurs? Then come and explore this openair attraction that is home to some life-size replicas of our extinct friends. They also have many kid-friendly activities for them to enjoy. 711 Mammoth Cave Rd, Cave City, KY 270-773-4345 • dinosaurworld.com/kentucky
Are you the kind of person that loves to break out a great book while lying in your hammock? Do you try to read a few books in your free time to keep your brain active? If so, we have a list of the hottest and most in-demand books of 2021. How many are you going to try and read this summer? The Push: A Novel by Ashley Audrain This novel is a suspenseful, page-flipping mind-blowing drama about the making and destruction of a family. It follows the tale of a woman whose experience of motherhood is nothing at all what she wished for. Instead, it was everything she was afraid of. My Year Abroad: A Novel by Chang Rae-Lee The amazing award-winning author of Native Speaker and On Such a Full Sea is back with another one! The exquisite story about a young American life changed by a unique Asian adventure. Watch the story unfold as it follows the human capacities for pleasure, pain, and connection. The Kitchen Front: A Novel by Jennifer Ryan From the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir comes an unforgettable novel of a BBC-sponsored wartime cooking competition and the four women who enter for a chance to better their lives. Good Company: A Novel by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney Flora Mancini has been happily married for more than twenty years. But one day everything changed. One day she finds that her best friend, Margot, has an envelope containing her husband's wedding ring—the one he claimed he lost one summer when their daughter, Ruby, was five. The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth Fern Castle works in her local library and keeps on a tight schedule. She always has dinner with her sister multiple nights a week. She absolutely avoids crowds, bright lights, and loud noises as much as possible. She quickly finds out that her seemingly perfect routine is actually… dangerous. The Charmed Wife by Olga Grushin An age-old story with a twist. Cinderella has married the man of her dreams but now, thirteen and a half years later, things have gone terribly wrong, and her life is far from perfect. What is this fairytale princess going to do about it? The Survivors by Jane Harper Kieran Elliott's life was forever changed when one mistake led to heartbreaking consequences. When a body is found washed up on the beach, the life-altering secrets threaten to emerge. A sunken wreck, a missing girl, and questions that have never washed away. What Comes After: A Novel by Joanna Tompkins After the shocking death of two teenage boys rips apart a community in a small town in the Pacific Northwest, a mysterious pregnant girl emerges out of the woods and into the lives of those same boys' families. 5
MGJ(R) Stephen Kildow This month we had the honor of sitting down with Stephen Kildow for our Retiree Spotlight. Stephen began his military career in 1994 when he joined the US Army as an Infantryman. During this chapter of his career, he served 4 years of Active Duty before getting out and going into Active Reserves. This is when he returned home and attended the University of Arkansas. He got involved in the ROTC program while earning his degree, and it gave him the itch to rejoin the service. When he rejoined, he enlisted in Army Transportation Logistics. He served for 16 more years and retired as a Contracting Officer.
When asked about one of his favorite military stories, he shared the following. On his second deployment, he deployed out of Fort Riley. He was in Iraq for only a month when he was notified that he was being interviewed for company command. Stephen had no idea he would get it. To his surprise, his brigade commander had decided that Mr. Kildow was going to do it before even deploying. Kildow shared “The leadership of the company wasn’t great at the time, so it was a rewarding experience getting to step in and help.” We asked Stephen to share his experience transitioning out of the Army and he stated that “It was a rollercoaster”. He revealed that he had another deployment in 2018, and he was going to send in the retirement paperwork when he returned. “When you’ve done it for so long, it was kind of sobering”. He said it was truly a dose of reality when those orders came. Kildow stated he was anxiously trying to figure out what he wanted to do next. “The transition classes and resume building were tedious but helpful. There are so many things going through your head when trying to figure out life after the Army.” Kildow shared. 7
Stephen Kildow is now a successful Realtor here in Clarksville, Tennesee and we asked him about how he found his way to real estate. He said when he retired, his focus was on “finding his next mission and passion in life.” Stephen said his interest in the real estate field started for him in 2005 and 2006 when much of the on-base housing went privatized. At this time, his family moved off post and started doing DIY and home improvements. When they relocated every few years, the family kept buying houses and fixing them up. Stephen stated that he started building his side of the family’s real estate business while still in the Army, where he was a licensed agent in his last year of service. It was slow at first, and very scary, so he strayed away from real estate for a bit. He turned to Bridgestone in Nashville for a more stable income. Unfortunately, about 6 months into his new position, he found himself unhappy. It did not fill the hole of service and sacrifice that the Army left. So he separated from that job after 8 months and jumped back into real estate again. Now, Kildow works with Keller Williams and has been doing it full-time for about a year. He is absolutely loving it, and his whole family are agents. They love helping people and giving back to the community. The Kildow family is made up of his wife Sandra, son Cody, and daughter Jessica. When asked to share why he decided to stay in the area after retiring he said “Clarksville is an amazing community. There is a wide variety of people with different backgrounds.” Stephen was placed on orders for Campbell in 2010 and was here for 2 years. That is when the family originally fell in love with Clarksville and the area. “The people here are amazing.” shared Kildow. “Fort Campbell was the only place that my wife cried when she left.” Stephen got reassigned to Campbell in 2017 and that is when he decided that he wanted to retire here before the Army had a chance to move them again. He always recommends for visitors and new people to the area to check out Strawberry Alley in Downtown Clarksville! It is one of his favorite places in town. In closing, Stephen wanted to share some advice for anyone that is transitioning or has recently transitioned out of the military. “Families tend to fall apart after leaving the Army. Make sure you and your spouse are doing it together and are open and communicating. Retiring and the transition was harder on my family than any deployment that we had gone through. We went to counseling and got help with the struggles. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.” 9
Hawaiian Hammer 1 ounce banana schnapps 1 ounce coconut rum 1 ounce 151 proof rum 1 dash grenadine syrup 3 ounces orange juice 3 ounces pineapple juice Hpnotiq Breeze
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in all the ingredients, and shake them until cold. Pour or strain the mixture (depending whether or not you want ice in your drink) into a highball glass. Garnish with a pineapple wedge, orange slice, and/or cherry.
1 1⁄2 ounces Hpnotiq 1 ounce Malibu coconut rum 2 ounces pineapple juice Fill a shaker halfway with ice and pour in all ingredients. Drop some ice into a whiskey sour glass and strain the mixture into it.
Drink recipes and photos courtesy of https://www.mixthatdrink.com
Bushwacker Vodka Cooler 2 ounces vodka 1 ounce lime juice 1 ⁄2 ounce simple syrup Ginger beer Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in all ingredients except the ginger beer. Shake until chilled. Strain into a highball glass. Fill the rest of the way with the ginger beer. Garnish with orange peel.
4 ounces coconut cream 2 ounces Kahlua 1 ounce Bacardi Black rum 1 ounce dark creme de cacao 4 ounces half-and-half 2 cups of ice 1 scoop vanilla ice-cream Whipped Cream Chocolate Syrup Put all the ingredients into a blender. Turn it on medium. Blend thoroughly. Pour it into a tall glass. Garnish with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
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Making homemade ice cream is super simple! Most major retail stores such as Walmart, Target, and Amazon sell cheap and affordable at-home ice cream machines. They come in so many shapes and sizes! But, the question is "What recipes can I make after I pick up an ice cream machine?" We are here to answer that for you. Give these super simple yet delicious recipes a try this summer!
Cookies and Cream Ice Cream 1 cup milk • 11⁄2 tablespoons sugar 1 ⁄2 teaspoon vanilla 1 ⁄3 cup crushed Oreos Prepare your ice cream maker as the directions instruct. Combine milk, vanilla, and sugar into your ice cream machine. Allow churning until it begins to thicken up. Then, mix in your crushed Oreos, and allow to churn for a few more minutes.
Pina Colada Ice Cream 1 cup heavy cream • 1⁄2 cup sugar 131⁄2 ounces unsweetened coconut milk 1 ⁄2 cup cream de coconut • 20 ounces crushed pineapple in juice Pinch of salt • Maraschino cherries for garnish Two hours before churning your ice cream, mix the heavy cream and sugar into a saucepan. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Next, add in coconut milk, coconut creme, salt, and the entire can of crushed pineapple. Stir. Allow your mixture to cool before churning. Prepare your ice cream maker as the directions instruct. Churn for 30 minutes or until hardened. Scoop and top with cherries.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream 1 cup peanut butter • 1⁄2 cup sugar pinch of kosher or fine sea salt 1 1⁄2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 cups half-and-half • 1 cup chocolate chunks 1 cup heavy whipping cream To begin, carefully mix your peanut butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla until smooth using a hand mixer. Next, add 1 cup of half-and-half and mix well. Add the rest of the half-and-half and the cream, mixing until combined. Lastly, add in your chocolate chunks. Prepare your ice cream maker as the directions instruct, and add in your mixture. Allow churning for 30 minutes before serving. 13