Subject: Chattanooga times
This is the tenth Yellowstone to Atlanta email that was originally sent out as separate emails to family members to let them know where we were, what we were doing and give tidbits about our activities. I have copied the original emails and added some pictures for viewing. The trip started in August and ended in October. This is the first of our extended stay trips in the Adventurer.
Hello from Chattanooga. When we last talked we had stopped at a Camping World RV park and David was getting his RV repaired. Well he has the rig repaired and ready for road testing.
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| Sophie waiting on repaired rig to show back up plus a new Winnebago Adventurer |
Originally we had planned on moving down the road about halfway between Chattanooga and Atlanta to a Corps of Engineer Park. Well the government shutdown has interrupted those plans for a time. We are still at the CW park and decided to stay here until time to move into Atlanta for the Rally. The park is pleasant and convenient to lots of stuff to see and do while waiting. We are about two hours away from Atlanta and since our scheduled arrival is in the afternoon after lunch, we can easily drive from here to Atlanta the same day as check in.
The CW park is adjacent to a speedway. Friday nights are car racing on an oval dirt track and Saturday nights there is motocross for motorcycles plus there is an occasional drag strip race scheduled. This past Friday we could sing along with the national anthem and there were fireworks at the track after the last race. Of course we cannot see the racing because of the trees. I guess we could go around to the gate and buy an entrance ticket if we were not so tight and lazy about it.
But there are other things to do here. We went to downtown the other day to grab a bite to eat, walk on the walking bridge across the Tennessee River and visit the Moon Pie General Store. It would have been nice to get to visit the factory and see how and where the famous pies are made. Supposedly health laws prohibit tours at a factory that makes foodstuffs. I guess I can see that would be a problem with all the drool splashing on the factory floors from the tour visitors’ mouths. Excuse me a minute, be right back. …… Had to stop and eat a moon pie. Got hungry talking about it.
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| Dreamy place |
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| Walking bridge across Tennessee River in Chattanooga |
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| View from walking bridge upriver |
Oh yeah, what else is there to do. Well I for one am ticked about the next thing. A free bluegrass festival. Yes, Free! Do you know when I found out about it? Well Beverly ‘happened’ to remember to tell me about two hours before the last act of the last day was set to take the stage. Number one, I am all about free. And number two, who doesn’t love acoustic bluegrass music? So here I sit still ‘stewing’ about this revelation into my wife’s care for me. Now I am having serious questions about whether or not she will actually have a bluegrass band playing at my funeral as requested. I have not discovered whether Sophie had prior knowledge of this travesty of justice or not but I have my ways of discovering the truth, even when hidden from me. I am sure David was in the dark as well. If this story develops into a full-blown conspiracy, I am sure there will be further reporting. Until then, I am on the case.
Instead of the Bluegrass Festival, we went to an annual Fall Festival in Etowah. Now I am not saying this is all bad but when you make the comparison between a Bluegrass event and a Fall Festival, there is really no comparison whatsoever. Bluegrass wins every time ‘hands down.’
At the Fall Festival there were many vendors and crafters with booths. Very similar to Alley Fest in Longview but decidedly more Tennessee with the garish Orange and White splashes everywhere. David and I made the rounds in about a fifth of the time it took the girls to peruse the wares offered by the vendors. Thankfully there was nothing ‘needed’ to be purchased outside of a homemade fried apple pie for each of us made from fresh apples. It is apple harvest time in northwest Georgia and east Tennessee.
Now when we drove to the festival about 45 miles away, we noticed as we got closer and closer a number of yard and garage sales on the side of the road. Evidently, like Thorntown’s festival, this event is well known and an opportunity for bringing the surplus items into the yard for sale to the general public that is out and about moving around. David and I had spotted what appeared to be the ‘Mecca’ of all garage/yard sale venues anywhere on the way to the festival. As we left the festival, we decided to visit the Mecca and not take the different route originally planned on back to the RV campground. When we arrived at the Mecca it was apparent this was different than the normal sale as people were parked all over the place on a four-lane divided highway. Traffic in both directions was almost at a standstill while navigating through this short stretch.
The Mecca turned out to be a RV campground on normal days but transformed this weekend into a gigantic flea market/garage sale complex. David and I set out on a mission to find the perfect treasure. But alas, this particular venue was full of interesting things to look at but nothing that proved useful or required in our daily lives. As Beverly observed the campground appeared to be full of vendors that are ‘professional’ flea marketers that make the flea market circuit. The only purchase made was fresh tomatoes that Beverly bought from a woman selling produce. The tomatoes she was told are from a Mennonite farm and we believe the woman because there are highway warning signs in the area that show a buggy pulled by a horse like the Amish use. Anyway, these are the best tomatoes I have eaten since we have been on this trip. You can tell they are homegrown and fresh. Those tomatoes took a little of the sting out of the missed Bluegrass Event but did not erase totally the memory and shock of the deceptive practices employed to keep me away from the music.
We also spotted ‘Car Show’ signs while leaving the Mecca. Since the last car show in Thorntown was rained out, we decided to swing by and look over the cars. Sure enough after a few twists and turns we located the local Lions Club Car Show and yes there they were there doing their thing, the normal buffing, polishing and rubbing routine displayed by the proud car owners. We saw many nice examples of restoration and a few that simply were old and there without much work to speak of done on the vehicle thus far. I was surprised to see a ‘Gremlin’ in amongst the group of cars as I did not think this car a particularly collectible or sought after piece of memorabilia. This just proves the old adage that one man’s junk is another’s treasure. Having satiated our need for looking at things while getting hot, we left for the coolness of the air conditioned car and drive back to our campground.
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| Beverly remained in the Terrain outside the fence while the rest of us looked around. |
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| Small show but plenty of nice cars to look at while there. |
Once back at the campground, we enjoyed a restful afternoon in the shade and enjoying the outdoors since it is supposed to rain on Sunday and possibly Monday. It is hard to explain to you how peaceful and relaxing this lifestyle is and why we enjoy it so much. There are no deadlines or commitments to weigh on your mind which allows you to freely enjoy your surroundings and the daily activities to the utmost.
Until the next time, take care.
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