Wednesday morning started early for us. The lame breakfast at the motel lobby was OJ, Coffee, Bagels and/or Yogurt. I opted for the OJ and Yogurt back in our room.
Eating the yogurt I noticed that it was from a dairy/plant in Upstate New York.......
What? Folks in Tennessee can't find a closer dairy to obtain their yogurt from?!
Whatever happened to supporting your local economy?
After breakfast we took a short dip in the motel pool. The thing was very small for a pool but gigantic if it were a hot tub. lol
No one else was around so we had it to ourselves so it was ok.
The last 2 days hadn't felt very vacation like.....except for our visit with the Clamco clan.
This was because Daughter put an offer on the house on Monday so we were under the gun to get the earnest money, if the offer was accepted, into the hands of the realtor within 24 hours after said offer was accepted. Since we were on the road and couldn't do some banking stuff remotely, we made numerous calls to both our banks to see how to arrange an EFT of the cash into Daughter's account. Since we had to do this in person at home there wasn't much else we could do until the deal got the green light(and we had no clue how long THAT was going to take)and we got home so we decided to take 2 or 3 days to get home and make this leg of the trip more relaxing.
We packed up the car and headed out for a day of sightseeing before we left Chattanooga.
We didn't go to Raccoon Mountain, though the go karts WERE tempting......
Instead we went to Lookout Mountain for the day.
Getting up there was a bit harder than we thought, since we approached the narrow windy road leading up to the summit from the wrong direction to make the hairpin turn. So we came back at it the opposite direction.
And once we got up the mountain we found that the town was repaving most of the main roads that day, which made it tricky trying to get close to Point Park.
But I turned on my best Southern accent and charmed a couple of road crew workers into "moving y'alls little old cones over a tad so we could squeeze on by".
It helps that folks in general are just a bit more friendly down here too.
So we got close enough to park within walking distance.
There are lots of things to see on Lookout Mountain.....Ruby Falls(which is in a cave so NOT on my list as I don't do caves), Rock City(too much walking and climbing over rocks), as well as the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway(we just ran out of time for that one).
We went into the building next to the park but first, I had Hubs take a picture of my "pretending to fire a cannon".
Me and my big gun....hehehehe
In that building they had a "show" and a gift shop. The person manning the shop talked us out of $8 each to see a very lame diorama with film presentation. Back in the day(1950's)this was cutting edge technology to bring the Battle of Chattanooga to life.
In 2014, not so much.
After sitting through that you walked through a couple of rooms of displays of artifacts and some mannequins dressed in circa 1863 military garb.....
Then you were deposited back into the gift shop.
I did rather like the title of the cookbook on the left.....
"Sherman Didn't Burn Our Recipes"
A framed poster of Confederate Generals....just the thing for your PA home.....lolz
Sir, this is unacceptable! Especially in Tennessee.....
We walked over to the Point Park entrance.
Don't you love the asphalt equipment and orange cones in my shot?
Here's another one with out the road crew equipment.....
Point Park is the National Park Service run Park at the summit of Lookout Mountain.
We walked over to get a shot of the river and valley below.....
In this shot you can see the Craven's House(where the Confederate headquarters was until the Yankee dogs took the summit) and the Iowa Monument that was erected after the war to commemorate all the many Iowa troop regiments that fought in the Battle of Chattanooga.
Craven's House marks the midway point between the summit and the river.
This is about as close as I dared get to the edge. It's a long way down!
And I spied another fellow visitor to the park that day.....
Here I am looking all emotional and somber, reflecting on the past....or maybe Hubs was telling a really bad nerdy joke here and I couldn't help but grimace.....I don't remember which.
Someone offered to take our picture together......I saw this and realized we wore "matching outfits" that day. Gawd, we are turning into an old married couple. lolz
Then we did some artsy and/or goofy shots.....
That's a really big gun!
And a shot of Hubs with the cannon.
The view here was amazing......on a clear day you can about see 3 states.
Next it was into the Federal Park's gift shop and gallery next to the park to browse the books and trinkets.....
And view the mural painting of the "Battle Above the Clouds".....
Then it was time to hit the road and leave Chattanooga.
We made a stop for lunch in a tiny town called Athens, Tennessee, as we headed back northeast.
Why stop here?
Well it was off the beaten path and I had read about it somewhere.
This was Small's Cajun Man Drive-In.....
They are suppose to have the best burgers in southeast TN........
All I can say is there are very fresh and are about as big as your plate.
And the folks are right friendly there.
When they found out we were from Pennsylvania they all kept asking us why we were here. lolz
I said I was there for the fried pies, which they are also known for but only have when the lady who makes them feels like coming in and doing so(and that wasn't the day we were there). *sad face*
A selfie with the Small's sign in the distance. Love the hair in my mouth.....
I got a cup of local Mayfield PEACH ICE CREAM to go.
Mmmmmm!
While we were sitting in the car getting ready to leave Hubs cell phone rang.
It was our Daughter telling us the bank accepted her offer on the foreclosed property.
And the clock was ticking now on getting the earnest money to them within 24 hours or lose the deal.
So our vacation turned back into a "we have to get home as soon as possible trip so we can EFT the cash to them".
Ugh.
So that was the end of our fun basically.
Since we were now about 8-9 hours from home, Hubs decided we should drive straight through from here to home instead of stopping another night along the way.
The rest of the day/night was driving with breaks for potty time, gas and coffee.
We saw this bus somewhere in VA.......I got a chuckle out of their company name.....lolz
Another sign from the road further up into Virginia.....
About Buchanan, VA, where we stopped for gas night fell. My last photo is of the XM radio in the car......
Yes, we listened to some opera that evening.
But by 10pm we switched to a stand-up comedy channel to keep Hubs awake. lolz
We got home around midnight very tired.
And that ended our road trip in April.
Lots of fun and I am still going through all the bills/receipts adding up everything we spent.
I'd say it was a fairly frugal adventure as road trips go.....and we had a very good time.
It's so fun to me to get out on the road and travel and getting to meet online friends is also amazing!
Sluggy
Hmmm, I have never seen that brand of yogurt in the South. We DO have some more local plants for yogurt. I am going to look for that one.
ReplyDeleteMayfield ice cream is one of my favorites--cheap and delicious.
Yesterday you said "boob," and today you have phallic cannon shots. ???
Fried pies? Now, I want a fried pie. Tuesday, when the Farmer's Market is open, I can go there and get one. Yum! My favorite flavor is peach. I would get more than one, but they are $2 apiece. What is your favorite?
I just find it ridiculous in this country that sometimes it's cheaper to buy an item that's shipped a great distance and made else than to buy an equivalent one made locally.
DeleteI hear often how some of the produce grown in FL is all shipped outside the state and local people(not a farmer's markets but in grocery stores)there end up buying produce grown in CA. How does this make sense?
This was the first time I'd ever had Mayfield and it was mighty good.
I've never had a fried pie either(unless you count those things they sell at Mickey D's or Hostess brand)but it's a safe bet I'd like all flavors! lolz
Make a pie dough circle about 6-7 inches. Put a filling, sort of like a cooked pie filling on half of the circle but just in the center. Take your finger and put water on the half inch edge of half the circle. fold the dry part of the half circle that is not wet. Seal the edge by mashing with a fork or pressing it with your fingers. This is like sealing a top pie crust to bottom. Then, in a skillet with just a bit of oil, place the half circle pie in the skillet and fry. Turn and fry the other side. I cannot say how long, but as soon as it is brown enough, it's done. Some people call them hand pies, but they are fried pies.
DeleteI am starting to give recipes like an old lady. This recipe would have made me crazy when I was young.
My neighbor used the huge giant biscuits for these and mashed the biscuits, patting them to size. So, you don't have to use a home-made dough or a rolling pin.
Those McD fried pies are nothing like home fried pies.
The nearest thing to these I have ever eaten is empanadas. Empanadas are fatter than friend pies which are basically flat, not fat.
That's one nice gun you've got there! And funny about the costumes... hehe. Gotta love the light blue cannon... I'm sure that cheered up whoever got to shoot it... assuming they lived.
ReplyDeleteIt really sucked they couldnt do the ETF without you being present... I mean, they have all of your info. Wonder if they could've done a fax transfer/exchange of signatures in lieu of presence. Oh well. I guess with that much money, they need to be 100% certain.
When the cannons were in use they weren't blue green....that the patina on the metal from 150 years of weathering.
DeleteBoth of our banks/credit unions are local or regional, not national. Thus they have semi-antiquated rules it seems. lolz
I was wondering why you could not do it from there. When I had a local bank, I had trouble cashing a check or paying with a check in Nashville. Now, I use Banco Bilboa Vizcaya Argentina. That is Compass bought by an Argentinian bank.
DeleteOne day, right after the acquisition, I was at the teller window and asked her what BBVA stood for. She butchered the name, stopped and said she did not know, but it had something to do with Argentina. I said, "Oh, that is a Spanish name." She said, "Oh, no that is not Spanish, it has something to do with Argentina, not Spain."
At point, I just looked at her with a blank look on my face, I am sure. I just left at that point, my head spinning. Seriously, I was dizzy thinking she had no idea that Spanish might be spoken in Argentina.
She also spoke very condescendingly to me. You know, us old folks don't know anything.
That was an adventure!!!! And kids ruin our fun. You just proved it.
ReplyDeleteSludgy, I love love love your blogs. But....fried foods, burgers, baskets full of fried foods?! I HOPE you take better care of yourself. I want to read your blogs forever!
ReplyDeleteSludgy???
DeleteOh my.....lolz
I do take care of myself and don't eat bad food hardly at all, except on vacation.
But sometimes on vacation you have to let loose and indulge in a burger or something fried.
I lost almost 50lbs. last year so I think I am doing something right, huh?
Sludgy? I think that was a name meant to insult. That is such a condescending remark about your care of yourself. That 50 lbs is enviable. It would be mighty hard to find a restaurant meal that was perfect. Hey, we did not have dessert after the bbq and stuff. Now, that would have been way across the line of common sense and comfort.
DeleteThat damn sign at Wytheville has sent more people careening across lanes to get to the correct road it's not funny.
ReplyDeleteGREAT POST! I love posts like this! What a cool trip.
Peace <3
Jay
It seems that the open sympathy for the Confederacy in many parts of the South would scandalize the rest of the country.
ReplyDelete