USA 2015 - The South

Well, I say The South, but it was principally Tennessee with excursions to North Carolina and Georgia (just).

Tom & Penny live in the ‘city’ of Norris, Tennessee – we didn't find the cathedral that would qualify it so in UK, but did find out it is so classified for its incorporated status!  It’s near Knoxville and is an area where Tom had lived and gone to university.  Their house is more than just a tad spacious and has a great wine cellar!

 Chez Ogles, with Inuit figure pointing to house

Jean attentive to Tom's briefing

And again

The garden, or yard as they say

 Great advertising idea (bird house) for Chick Fil A
(more below)

 Oh yes, the wine cellar!

Tom's Man Room

The Dawgs - Duke & Gina

It’s a small community and Tom ensured that we met many of the people there, in their small Sweet Café, the mini-market, and just out and about as he showed us around.

Nearby, is Norris Dam, one of several hydroelectric generating sites built by the Tennessee Valley Authority and which helped to power the Manhattan Project site at Oakridge that had a major part in the development of the atomic bombs of WWII.  Some of the complex has been dismantled and the land released for development, but the rest remains a top secret processing plant for uranium.  The story is well told in an exhibition.

On the way to Asheville, North Carolina, we stopped at Knife Works, why you could ask? It has the most amazing collection of knives that I have ever seen!  You can buy anything for any purpose you want a knife for, from butchery to kitchenware, seriously offensive weapon to pocket knife.  Oh, and there was a reasonable selection of guns too. Only in America!  I did, however, manage to get a replacement spring for the scissors of my Swiss Army pocket knife, so didn't leave empty handed!

That precious 2nd Amendment (right to bear arms)

as a reminder backdrop (or just marketing?)

 You name it, they have it, and it'll hurt you, badly!

Where else would you want to be on a Sunday morning, early?

Over the Smoky Mountains, we found Biltmore Estate, the vast home built by railroad magnate Vanderbilt.  Christmas decorations were abound around this huge mansion, which featured all the latest technology of its day.

A quick stop in Hot Springs, NC, for coffee and cake

Biltmore Estate

 The banqueting hall decorated for Christmas

The atrium garden

The indoor swimming pool

Time for lunch found in Sylva, Jackson County, NC.

Tom, Penny & BBQ!

Oh yes, I had nearly forgotten that it is impossible to get a soft drink in anything other than a small bucket, filled with ice first of course, on this side of 'The Pond'!

Then it was on to visit the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, their history, the development of their written language (the only tribe to have this) and, inevitably, the tragedy of the eviction of many driven west in the Trail of Tears in the 1830s under the Indian Act. A small number remained and are known as the Eastern Band.  A guide, a WWII veteran who had served at Falmouth, at Reception read some from a Cherokee Bible, and emphasised that it is the same as King James' in English.

Our return over the most scenic part of the Smoky Mountains was compromised by a heavy drizzle and fog, then on through glitzy Gatlinburg, now blurred into Pigeon Forge since I last passed by in 2002, both now very touristy destinations, and back home to Norris.

Just fog and drizzle, not that nice blue haze, over them Smokys

A neon display for Veterans' Day at Gatlinburg, or was it Pigeon Forge?

Local to Norris is also the Museum of Appalachia, a collection of buildings and other artefacts gathered over the years by local guy John Rice.  It is both substantial and interesting.

Distillery

Church

Up close and personal with a peacock

Simple but effective fencing

The story of Harrison Mayes, God's foremost ad-man

who travelled the US & elsewhere, spending

all his time and money erecting large signs!

Dentist chair, hmmm, looks a bit basic and hurtful

Taking off again, we drove Tail of the Dragon on Highway 129, a great road for riding with 318 tight curves in 11 miles that is very popular with motorcycle riders and it also had some great views!

 Stickers on the armco on the Tail of the Dragon

Next stop was Chickamauga, an important Civil War battlefield site with and excellent visitors centre and commentary about specific events that could be listened to by phone at each stop on the tour.  Nearby Chattanooga was of major river and rail logistic importance and the area was one where Confederate forces were pushed back, eventually to be cut off and lead to their surrender. 

 One of many monuments to the units that fought here - Kentucky in this case

What a terrible waste?

After Chickamauga, it was short hop to Lookout Mountain nearby overlooking Chattanooga, a visit to Rock City, and a fine sunset.  I was pleased to be able to get through Fat Man Squeeze with relative ease!

See the gap?

Overlooking Chattanooga from Lookout Mountain

Chattanooga commanded a visit to the Choo Choo of course – the station having been converted into a hotel, but with a locomotive and some carriages out the back, numbered 29 of course!

Before leaving Chattanooga, we went back to Lookout Mountain and into the caves that led to Ruby Falls.  A local caver discovered this amazing 145' waterfall 1,120' below the cliff-top, disappearing with his team for 17 hours to follow an incredibly narrow seam to locate the source of fresh air.  He named it after his wife.

Another area of serious Confederate defeat and losses at the Battle of Franklin, near Nashville, first stop Winstead Hill that overlooks the battlefield.

Then, it was into into town to enjoy the other things that the city is famous for – The Country & Western Museum, the Grand Ole Opry and, of course, the strip of Broadway.  Live bands filled each venue and we also saw a novel way to tour - peddling a bar!

Country and Western Museum

Hall of Fame

Visit to Studio B, the RCA studio where

big names recorded and which started the recording centre

that exists today in Nashville

Elvis, Paul McCartney and a many others have played this

Outside Studio B

Nashville Broadway, The Strip

The original Grand Ole Oprey

Oops, left behind again!

Just peddle and drink!

Another one!

Didn't really understand what Redneck Comedy is,

but this is their bus!

At a brief Harley dealership stop, I even managed to get my picture taken on a police bike with the ‘blues’ on.  The officer rides a Harley at weekends and was just dropping by for something.

Bellemeade Mansion, its carriage collection and estate commanded a stop before we headed on to Fort Negley, a hilltop fort in Nashville from the Civil War and, lastly, The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson (Abe Lincoln's successor, leader of restoration and reconstruction of the Union after the Civil War.

Back at Norris, we dined out on 2” thick stuffed pork loin together with the locals at the Sweet Café. Next, we attended a Civil War re-enactment at Fort Dickerson in Knoxville, delivered by what seemed like a motley group of enthusiasts, but who are really quite sincere and knowledgeable about the War and their roles in re-enactment.  Tom, along with other Veterans, was acknowledged for his service and presented with a small flag, plus I got to shoot a rifle!  What a fun-filled visit!

Confederates attack!

The Union defends

Both sides salute after 'resurrection' of the dead!

Veterans get called up for presentation and acknowledgement 

'Abe Lincoln' and 'Robert E Lee'

A hooligan gets a shot too!

Last of all, we joined a small group of Norris locals for breakfast  before setting off for Washington.

Tom was a host supreme, trucking us around Norris and all points beyond, starting conversations with every person we encountered to reveal their life history and impart fatherly advice, informing us in great detail about the things we were interested in, but throwing in lots more that we hadn't asked about, and even managing to get us photographed with a 'Chick Fil A' manager during a fast food stop. Their motto is 'Eat mor chikin' and they have great calendars featuring cows delivering the message (to give up burgers).

Complete with give-away stuffed toy, here we are!

Penny best described him as someone who, when asked the time, tells you how a watch is made!  Jean had finally found someone more detailed than me, and who gets even more lost on tangential story-telling excursions!

Saying goodbye with the Smoky Bear at Knoxville airport