We rode trains, explored underground caverns, and visited historic Rock City.

Chattanooga, TN is way more than a song about a train.  As a matter of fact, the Chattanooga Choo-Choo train and the Glenn Miller gardens were probably one of the more disappointing attractions of our stop in Chattanooga. For those not already familiar, Glen Miller, a pretty well-known swing band leader, performed a song in 1941 about the Chattanooga Choo-Choo.  A train that leaves NY station track # 29 and continues through to Chattanooga. The song was prominently featured in the 1941 movie Sun Valley Serenade and contains a catchy chorus.

                                    Pardon me, boy

Is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?

The song became very, very popular, especially throughout WWII, as it tells the story of a boy coming home from the big city to his sweetheart and he promises not to “roam” again. The popularity of the song placed a small city into the popular lexicon as a place you return to. Admittedly, the city was already an active rail hub for moving both passengers and freight from the industrial northeast to the western states, but the fame of the song changed the public’s awareness of Chattanooga.

                        News Flash:    There was no such train.

I did not get that news flash before Judy and I set off for the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel and Glenn Miller gardens on Market Street in the heart of downtown Chattanooga. What a disappointment. We spent a sum total of 15 minutes at this so called “attraction”, as it was ugly and dilapidated. The old train building is a fantastic beaux-arts style station, and the dome structure and lobby are quite impressive, BUT.. 

• The Choo Choo Hotel closed last year.  
• The Glenn Miller gardens were under construction.  
• The old train platform canopies were rotted and falling apart. 
• And the supposed Chattanooga Choo-Choo train “replica” was a faded, rusted hulk.

It did not take long for us to realize this attraction was a dud. So, we pulled up Google maps on the phone, and determined that a walk of the city streets was our next best option. Experience has taught us to have a “Plan B” at the ready, and walking city streets can be the best way to connect with a city. We’ve really had some great luck exploring in this manner, and this was no exception. As we set off with our backpack, we had a new destination in mind; we headed due north towards the Tennessee River. That destination was the Walnut Street Bridge. After a mile or so walk through the city streets, we found ourselves in the midst of a lovely public square, looking at the historic 2,379-foot-long open truss pedestrian footbridge. It was a crossing connecting predominantly white Chattanooga with predominantly black North Chattanooga, and the first non-military highway bridge across the Tennessee River. When completed, the bridge was considered an engineering accomplishment. Over time, the bridge fell into disrepair and was officially closed to all traffic in 1978. In 1990, the bridge was repaired and redeveloped as a pedestrian bridge, offering stunning views of the city. We just had to walk across, and I’m so glad we did, because on the opposite bank we found a lovely city park. Toting a backpack replete with a picnic lunch, we stopped in Renaissance Park for lunch, took a quick peak at the old-fashioned, 100-year-old carousel in the center of the park, before reversing our direction and returning to the parking lot near the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel.  Actually, when you think about it, the best part of the Chattanooga Choo Choo and the Glen Miller Gardens attraction was the easy access to inexpensive parking. The “Beast” (very large truck) is not always the easiest vehicle to find suitable parking for. So often we need a parking “Plan B”, but not this time.

Walnut Street Bridge over Tennessee River

That’s not to say all of our train-centric excursions were problematic. Quite the contrary! We had an absolutely awesome time at the Tennessee Valley Train Museum, touring old trains, riding in antique pullman cars, and observing the ongoing renovation of one of the few remaining working steam locomotives. Maybe not the “thrill a minute” kind of attraction that Judy enjoys, but I was absolutely stoked about all of it. Basically, we bought tickets for a 2-hour ride on a train, to a working train roundabout, and then had a tour of the huge repair facility where old trains are restored for posterity. It has been a couple of generations since trains were the principal mode of transportation, and here we were at one of the few facilities that is actively trying to preserve these iconic modes of transportation for future generations to enjoy.  Just watch the video below, as a train is reversed on a restored train roundabout. The museum has its own crew of skilled machinists and mechanical engineers which gives them the ability to make replacement steel and cast-iron parts for equipment that is well over 100-years old. I was so fascinated and engaged that as soon as the train returned to our starting station, I was purchasing tickets for the following evening’s “Dinner Train” excursion.  We were not disappointed. The meals were outstanding, served hot from a restored kitchen car, and served by the most delightful porter. We dined on as the train made its way along the rails toward west Chattanooga.  A delightful excursion, and surely one that the character “Sheldon Cooper” of the Big Bang Theory, would approve of.

   

Another excursion found us heading underground to caverns called Ruby Falls, deep within Lookout Mountain, which straddles the Tennessee and Georgia state line. Ruby Falls was discovered in 1920 by cave enthusiast Leo Lambert, who thought he may be able to open Ruby Falls as a tourist attraction. The tour starts in a highspeed elevator that drops you down over 200 feet, into the anteroom caverns that lead to the most amazing underground waterfall. We encountered all kinds of cave formations, like stalactites, stalagmites, columns, drapery, and flowstone, on our 1/4-mile-long underground journey to the falls cavern. The falls are quite a natural phenomenon. They are the result of rainwater collected on Lookout Mountain and filtered through the porous limestone rocks to an underground stream that empties out into the Tennessee River. Hopefully my video of the magnificent 145-foot waterfall inside an underground cavern over 215 feet below the surface does it justice.                                                

Traveling through the south, especially in Tennessee, one might see a barn with the phrase “Visit Rock City” painted on the side or roof.  

This was the genius marketing idea of one Garnet Carter. Mr. Carter already had a number of successful business ventures under his belt and bought a substantial plot of land atop Lookout Mountain with the intention of development. Frieda Carter, Garnet’s wife, set out to use the natural stone landscape to create a rock garden to end all rock gardens. She took a string and marked a trail that wound its way around the giant rock formations, ending at the giant outcropping known as Lover’s Leap. She also collected wildflowers and other plants and had them transplanted along her trail. Frieda’s gardening was supplemented by imported German statues of gnomes and famous fairytale characters, which were stationed at points along the trail. Garnet Carter, ever the promoter, then hired a local painter, Clark Byers, to paint barns with “Visit Rock City”. My Byres painted over 900 barns in 19 states in his 30-year career. And ninety years later, historic Rock City & Garden is still a family-owned business, attracting ½ a million visitors each year. 

Judy descending into "Fatman Squeeze" formation

Judy standing on Lovers Leap Rock Outcropping

View of Seven States from atop Lookout Mountain

We were very busy in Chattanooga, so much so that I barely had time to mention that we visited south Chattanooga for a food tour.  The area has been revitalized and has emerged as an up-and-coming neighborhood, attracting young people, new businesses, restaurants, gourmet markets and art galleries. We had a wonderful food tour, getting some great information about cheeses at Blue Fox Cheese Shop, as well as having breakfast atop the Common House Chattanooga, a private club situated in a restored 1960’s YMCA Boys and Girls Club building.  The food included breakfast tacos, of egg, bacon, and hollandaise sauce, as well as a pastry board with three seasonal pastries.  Can you say YUM?!

Atop the Common House South Chattanooga Food Tour 

We have spent the better part of the last month in the state of Tennessee, starting in the west and working our way east. We have one remaining stop, and that is in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, a place called Gatlinburg. Our tour of the southern states is rapidly ending, with just 4 more stops between Chattanooga and Massachusetts. It has all gone by so quickly, but we still have a bit more exploring to do before we rest for a couple of months in a real wooden structure. We so appreciate your following along as we tell…the Rest of the Story.

It’s all about great friends and great music in Nashville, TN.

We are spending the better part of a month in the state of Tennessee. What we are discovering is that a lot of what Tennessee is about is the Music. And that point was rather eloquently hammered home during our nine-day stop in Nashville. This time the musical genre is country, no ifs, ands, or buts; I’m just astounded at the amount of music that came out of Tennessee and we’re only two weeks into our 4-week campaign. Something tells me that our last stop, in eastern Tennessee, a couple weeks from now, in a place called Pigeon Forge, which happens to be the home of Dollywood, will also include a huge helping of 20^th century music history. After that, Judy and I should be so fully educated, that, if prompted, we could deliver an address about the discovery and growth of country, blues, and rock ‘n-roll music in the state of Tennessee. Not that we need or want to, but the point is, we could.

What also made Nashville a special stop on this trip was the visit of our dear friends Lynne and Jeff.  And when I say visit, I mean they flew in from Massachusetts. We picked them up at Nashville airport. They stayed with us in our 325 sq/ft camper, affectionately called Neil the Northpoint, for 3 nights. Then we returned them to Nashville airport for their return flight home. Their three-day visit was just jammed packed with museums, tours, and music. These poor people, Jeff and Lynne, were also our “test subjects” in our never-ending investigation into all the possible ways we can exploit our RV lifestyle. The floor plan of this 5^th wheel, with the extra half bath and the bunk room, worked really well.  Mind you, we were not able to use any of the outdoor furniture because mother nature was our enemy for Lynne and Jeff’s visit. Not one day were we able to sit outside. The weather was just CRAP for their entire visit. We really lived in the RV, and that gave us every reason in the world to get into downtown Nashville and see what the city is all about. And here is what we did.

 Day 1:

• Pick up Jeff & Lynne at the airport in the afternoon, and return to camper to unpack and get comfortable.  Explain flush mechanism on toilet and apologize for having the worst toilet paper on the planet, manufactured to work with RV black water holding tanks.

Home is in Neil the Northpoint.

• Discover a fabulous restaurant near the RV park, called Caney Fork River Valley Grille. The décor was outstanding and included an indoor 75 sq.ft. coy (fish) pond.  Red was the name of our waiter, and he had some outstanding dinner suggestions. All concluded with a smores dessert, served Pu-Pu platter style, complete with flaming cast iron center for melting the marshmallows.

Smores dessert, served Pu-Pu platter.

Day 2:

• Starts when we take a bus from the Country Music Hall of Fame, in downtown Nashville, to tour RCA studio B in the historic Music Row district.  Built in 1956 by RCA Victor.  Studio B had a distinctive musical production style and sound engineering technique which became known as the Nashville sound. In the two decades the studio was in operation, RCA Studio B produced 60 percent of the Billboard magazine's Country chart hits. A couple of names from the long list of talented artists who recorded in studio B includes Elvis Presley, David Bowie, the Monkees, Willie Nelson, and Roy Orbison.

RCA Studio B

• Once we completed our tour, we spent the rest of the day in the mammoth-sized Country Music Hall of Fame. Starting on the third floor, we spent the next 5 hours moving our way through the museum. There is just so much to see. Videos and old clips of country music stars, and so many music stations to listen to all that great music. The museum was pretty close to closing when we entered the Music Hall of Fame Rotunda. The Rotunda is large, open, and inscribed with “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”. The grand space contains 152 bronze plaques for all country music inductees.

 

 Day 3:

• Off in the morning again, destined for downtown Nashville, this time we’re headed to the Ryman Auditorium. Inside the auditorium we took a self-guided tour of the historic 2,362-seat live-performance venue. Designated a National Historic Landmark, and the former home of the Grand Ole Opry, it is one of the most influential and revered concert halls in the world. While on our self-guided tour, the stage is actively being set up for a show, but we still got our picture on that historic stage, as if we were performing for the Grand Ole Opry. 

• The Johnny Cash Museum was our next stop. Great museum to a music legend. Really, when you think about it, Johnny Cash was relevant in 5 decades, had a TV show on ABC (also taped in front of a live audience in the Ryman Auditorium), and performed concerts in prisons for inmates. This museum has old film footage of Johnny singing, photographs of not only himself but his family as well, and, of course, tells the history of his life.  A well laid out and very informative museum.

 

A look down Broadway St. in Nashville.

• Oh my gosh, the fun didn’t stop there. Hell no! After a fantastic dinner in Nashville, and a couple of really good cocktails, we walked up Rep. John Lewis Way, and took our seats in the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Early on in the planning process, Judy and Lynne had worked out tickets to see “Jagged Little Pill”.  For those not aware, “Jagged Little Pill” is a jukebox musical, with music by Alanis Morissette and Glen Ballard, lyrics by Morissette, and book by Diablo Cody. The music is powerful, and I can remember how phenomenal an album “Jagged Little Pill” was in the 90’s. It was a great show, and we were humming “Jagged Little Pill” songs all the way back to the camper.

 Day 4:

• I’m gonna let you in on a little secret: Many of the RV campsites we stay at have walking trails, pedestrian walkways, greenways, or parks either adjacent to, or a short distance away, and our KOA campsite was no exception. Just a short mile and half drive south was the Two Rivers Park, which contained walking trails. We took a trail down under the highway to a picturesque pedestrian cable suspension bridge over the Cumberland River. On the other side of the river, we found the miles-long Shelby Bottoms Greenway. It was great to get out, and it was the first time we saw the sun in 4 days. Fortunately, we were walking in early spring which was too soon for bugs to be a nuisance, and we encountered a number of small deer grazing in the meadows and brush just off the paved trail. Although this was a travel day for Lynne and Jeff, we were able to squeeze in a 4-mile walk, which was a really nice way to end our visit. Shortly thereafter, we dropped them off at the airport for their return flight to Boston. It was an action-packed visit, and it was wonderful to share our RV lifestyle with our dear friends.

Jeff & Lynne on Cumberland River Pedestrian bridge

Our stop in Nashville included so much more than the four days we spent with Lynne and Jeff.  But there’s only so many words I can put into a blog post, and I’m already very long-winded. So, in 2 quick sentences I will endeavor to add a couple more interesting attractions we visited on our nine-day visit (who we kidding, I can’t write anything in only two sentences).

We visited the homeplace of the nation's 7th president, Andrew Jackson's Hermitage estate. One of the earliest preserved presidential compounds and also the place where Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel are buried.

Andrew Jackson's Hermitage estate.

We visited the Parthenon Museum in Centennial Park. Not to be believed, but 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, made out of plaster and wood, and then re-built in concrete in1920-1925, and is now used as an Art Museum. 

So far, our stops in Tennessee have been extraordinarily fun, with a lot to do and see. In one of my earlier blogs, I indicated how impressed I was with the state of Ohio. I now have to add the state of Tennessee to the “I am impressed” category. Coincidentally, both states also house Music Halls of Fame, and we have spent extended time in both states and visited both Halls. If you ever get the chance, I recommend visiting either Hall. They are each fantastic in their own way, and just so much fun for music lovers. Nevertheless, we are not quite done with the state of Tennessee yet. Our next stop is Chattanooga, which is a short 140 miles east of Nashville, and appears to have a lot to explore. We have already made a reservation to take a short train trip with the Tennessee Valley Train Museum, and you will surely read about our experiences in the next blog post as we tell… the Rest of the Story.

Got our Groove on in Memphis.

Good news, we finally found some of that peanut butter infused whiskey we had grown accustomed to after our stop in St. Augustine, FL. We found it in Arkansas of all places. Strange? I thought this stop was in Memphis, TN.  I’m so confused. When I booked this stop it was at a KOA campsite called Memphis KOA Journey. 

The problem is, I didn’t read the fine print.     

 

So we camped across the Mississippi River in Marion, Arkansas; and we spent our time crossing the river on Interstate 40 and getting off in Memphis, which sits right up against the Mississippi. By the way, there are some excellent views of Memphis from the Arkansas side of the river. But technically we weren’t in Memphis. Does that make a difference? When we fill out our map of the United States with a highlighter, which indicates which states we have visited and on what trips, do we get to highlight Arkansas as being a state we have visited? Once we discovered The Sultana Disaster Museum and the peanut butter infused whiskey, I say, hell yeah, we visited Arkansas!

If we’re talking about Memphis, TN, the place I was really aiming for when I made the campsite reservation, then, in my opinion, we need to visit and explore the beginnings of rock and roll music, as well as the record recording industry. More than that, Memphis is considered “the home of the blues and birthplace of rock 'n' roll”.  Memphis also had the first African American-formatted radio station, WDIA. Founded in 1947 by Bert Ferguson and John Pepper, this station first employed a young B.B. King. B.B. King worked there as a disc jockey. B.B. King's moniker was derived from his WDIA nickname, "Beale Street Blues Boy", a reference to Memphis' Beale Street on which many nightclubs and blues venues were located. Memphis has a lot to see, and a lot of music history to learn. Probably a really good introduction to our next stop in Nashville, Tennessee. We’re about to be educated in mid-20^th century music, and here it comes.

• Without really understanding the music scene timeline, our first museum / attraction was Sun Studio, opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business. Sun Studio is known worldwide as “The Birthplace of Rock’n’roll”. It is the discovery location of musical legends, from B.B. King and Elvis Presley to Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. We had the pleasure of listening to the music in the same room it was recorded in, amongst the pictures of early rock, blues, country, and gospel legends. It was awesome. The picture below is truly memorable and deserves an explanation.

Judy is pictured at the same piano used by Elvis Presley. And the picture behind Judy was taken in this very same studio. It is called “The Million Dollar Quartet”, with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. All right there at that piano.

• Later on in the week we visited another legendary recording label, on the other side of town called Stax Records. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in 1961 as a conjunction of the two business partners, and siblings, Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton. Stax was influential in the creation of Southern soul and Memphis soul music. But Blues really put the label on the map. Stax was color blind and employed both black and white musicians who played together. In an age and place of great segregation, Stax was an anomaly, which is what makes it so innovative for its time. The musical talent line up was a Who’s Who of rock and soul pioneers.  Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Otis Reading, Sam & Dave, Ike Turner, Isaac Hayes, Willson Picket, Al Green, and many more. There was a lot of music to listen to, and once again we lost track of time and ended up being asked, very nicely, to leave, as it was closing time. 

• And just to make sure we really got our education in the Memphis music and recording scene, we visited the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum. Inside we found displays of Memphis music pioneers like Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, and Jerry Lee Lewis. This museum used a broader brush to explain the Memphis music scene and added background to what was happening throughout the city. It also outlines the roles that both Stax and Sun Records played in attracting artists to collaborate in Memphis. So interesting.

• You can’t visit Memphis without a walk down historic Beale Street. It’s so similar to walking down Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, but without all that jazz. Beale Street is home to countless live music venues and restaurants, and we had to stop there for lunch and a drink. We found great music and a barren bar that looked like it needed company at the Rum Boogie Café, which possesses an amazing collection of celebrity signed guitars hanging from the ceiling. It was a busy day of being the quintessential tourist.

Music is only one side of the Memphis experience. Memphis is also one of the places where the Civil Rights movement really played out. In the early 20^th century, Memphis was truly a segregated city. Music was one of those unique activities that crossed racial boundaries. And the music reflected this backdrop. Once again, Judy and I planned for an extended visit to a distinguished museum.

• We went to The National Civil Rights Museum, which is located next to the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was fatally shot on the second floor in front of room #306. First off, can I admit that standing in the memorial courtyard in front of this historic place, with a view towards the rooming house where the assailant fired the bullet that struck Dr. King in the neck, gave me goosebumps? (Much like my trip to the Western or Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.) Just the enormity of what happened, and the effect it had on the rest of the 20^th century was something new for me, and I was hyper-cognizant of that fact. I kind of felt under-dressed, like I should have worn something more formal. That’s why the picture below is of only Judy.

• The National Civil Rights Museum, much like The Legacy Museum in Montgomery, AL, was a testament to Blacks’ struggle for civil rights. Established in 1991, the Museum is located at the former Lorraine Motel. One of the nation's premier heritage and cultural museums, with outstanding interactive presentations, and a historic collection of pictures and artifacts from the American Civil Rights Movement. In our opinion, The Lorraine Motel courtyard, in conjunction with The National Civil Rights Museum, is a must see and do in Memphis.

• In Arkansas, we walked on a pedestrian / railroad bridge that crosses the Mississippi River, which afforded us great views of Memphis. We also visited The Sultana Disaster Museum down the road from our campsite in Marion, AR. The Sultana was a side wheeled paddleboat that sailed the Mississippi and was hired by the US government after the Civil war to move Federal P.O.W.’s recently released from Confederate prisons up the Mississippi to Federal hospitals.  With the riverboat totally overloaded, there was a sudden explosion of the boilers, sinking the Sultana, and killing over 1,000 northern POW’s on their way home from the war. Imagine living through the horrors of the Civil War, being a Civil War prisoner, only to be killed on the way home.

However, if you’re keeping track, there’s obviously one activity / museum that is suspiciously absent from this post. Anybody want to take a guess? How about a small hint?  What if I said, “Elvis has left the building.”?  That’s correct, Memphis is home to Elvis Presley. He was not born in Memphis but moved with his family as a child. We Did Not visit Graceland. Yup.., I’ve said it. All that writing about “the birthplace of rock and roll music, blah, blah”, and yet we failed to visit the King’s house and compound, Graceland. And I’ll tell you why. Because it was very expensive and it honestly felt, after reading the website, more like a “money grab” by an estate that really doesn’t need the money. The only activity related to Elvis that Judy half-jokingly considered involved getting up really early and having a free walk through the Graceland grounds to Elvis’ burial plot. There, we could spend some time in silent contemplation, but then would have had to be out of the park before general admission was allowed onto the grounds. Look, I’m sure there are some fans of Elvis who would gladly pay the money to see Graceland, the grounds, the cars, the clothes. But that’s just not for us as we tell… the Rest of the Story.