Atlanta to the Coast - Day 2

LAT 33.5 LON 84.29
Marietta, GA

A little later than planned as we were out carousing with our niece Maggie (aka walking around a town square then eating tacos).

Today started out at the Museum of Appalachia, a combination old-timey town, petting zoo, and museum of oddities. The latter, involving 250K objects, was collected by one guy.

They had sheep…

…pigs and peacocks (that natural combination).

Some of the oddities were very odd indeed.

Loved these quotes about Cordell Hull.

Here’s a WWI German machine gun.

Some expert basketwork.

An example of “found object” art.

I thought my friend Cat would appreciate this.

This is a perpetual motion machine, built in the 1800’s. The inventor insisted on removing a few parts so others couldn’t steal his idea. Unfortunately, he left it that way, and no one can figure out how to fix it.

Here’s a creepy metal coffin—the plate above goes over the face hole.

Munster, go home!

Here’s a lovely piece of early 20th century racism.

This guy’s history is far more interesting than the mini-mill he built.

If you’ve ever seen those concrete crosses, here’s where they came from.

They moved this cabin from the spot where Mark Twain was apparently conceived (but never lived).

“Cures man and beast…”

This is the cabin used in the old Daniel Boone TV series (Daniel Boone was a maaan…yes, a biiiig maaan…)

Here’s an old moonshine still.

Then, we moved through Knoxville, and the fabulous Sunsphere. This was home to a World’s Fair, and made famous on The Simpsons for storing wigs.

Moving on to lunch at City Cafe Diner—a really good sammich, and a piece of cake that got devoured before we took a pic (so here it is in the dessert case).

I believe the cake is dense enough that light cannot escape it.

We later came upon an atomic-powered mouse that was terrorizing an exterminating company.

Moving on to an impressive rock garden behind a church, with lilliputian buildings made out of pebbles, shells, and cement.

Finally, we made it to Marietta, GA. Home our niece and Big Chicken (she’s not a big chicken, it’s just an attraction at a KFC—forget it).

She also took us to the Marietta Square, and a huge food market. We had some yummy tacos, and they had margaritas (I was the designated driver).

After some playtime with Maggie’s dog Ripley, it was time to return to the hotel and collapse.

Tomorrow, Atlanta, pecans, onions, and St. Nick’s southern HQ.

Atlanta to the Coast - Day 1

LAT 36.9 LON 84.5
Clinton, TN

It’s time for another road trip—down to the Southeast to see relatives, friends, and more wacky attractions. We’re driving a loop to Atlanta, Charleston, Raleigh, Williamsburg, Roanoke, and back home.

Today, we toured the first of several state capitals in Frankfort, KY. It was quite ornate both inside and out. However, it rather overshadowed the small town (population 27,000) it inhabits.

He’s the hip state rep.

Oh, those wacky law librarians!

Then, we stopped at the Parkette Drive-In for lunch, consisting of a “shrimp box”, a pork tenderloin sammich, and chili cheese fries.

Suddenly, there was a monster attack!

Actually, a mascot for a fireworks store (that burned down).

After checking in at the hotel, we drove over to Norris Dam, the first of the Tennessee Valley Authority projects.

Tomorrow, more attractions, Atlanta, and our recently married niece.

Bayou Wedding Tour - Day 1

Well, it’s time for another travelogue. This time, it’s a trip to our niece’s wedding in Louisiana. We’re taking a fairly straight shot down from Ohio, and then a leisurely loop through Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri on the way back to Columbus.

We tried out Chaney’s Dairy Barn in Kentucky, which reportedly has great ice cream (it did). Sandwiches, not so much.

Our GPS took us on a long trip through the country on the way back to the interstate. We even ran into…well, you know.

There’s a “car vending machine” in Nashville—you can supposedly get one with a coin. Couldn’t find the slot, though.

We saw a rocket ship at a rest stop going into Alabama, so we had a take a look. It was an actual Saturn 1B launch vehicle.

We wound up in Decatur—the local barbecue place (Big Bob Gibson’s) has a great white sauce and won a lot of awards.

That’s a two meat platter on top(brisket and chopped pork), and a potato with chicken, cheese, bacon, and white sauce below.

That’s plenty for one day. More tomorrow.
#BayouWeddingTour

Southern Sweep - Day 9 and Wrap Up

Like most vacations, it's great to visit, but it's nicer to get home. Unfortunately, we left the longest drive for the last day--Memphis to Columbus.  So no pics for today--it would be a lot of freeways and construction.

We stopped at a very pretty Starbucks in Jackson, TN that might be the least organized location in their chain. You would think if you were paying by phone and knew exactly what you wanted, it would be easy. However, we got a barrista who I assume was a trainee and didn't know how a register worked, that "rewards" could be redeemed, or how to complete an order.  I think we could have made the breakfast sandwiches and coffee at the side of the road more quickly. We knew there was a problem when two of the same order appeared.  They were nice--just untrained.

I drove, Mindy drove, the other dozed in the car, drive, drive, drive--repeat.

The temperature dropped as we went, forcing us to hit a rest stop and change from shorts to pants.

We stopped at a Skyline Chili in the Cincinnati area (if you haven't had their 3-way, stop reading and drive to Cincinnati), and we ordred, were served, ate, paid, and left in less time than the Starbucks order took.

As nightime arrived, we made it to the Schmidbauer homestead.

Overall, the trip was a lot of fun, we got to see our nieces, ate some great food, and saw giant animals. What's not to like?  We're discussing a Western Sweep next--but first some sleep in our own bed.

Southern Sweep - Day 8

Niece #3 - Betsy, who lives on the Texas side of Texarkana with her husband Kai and two kids.  We got a picture to document the event just outside the IHOP.

Back on the road--and a chance to stand astride two states. The county courthouse was built on the border to save money--go to the left for Texas cases, and to the right for Arkansas cases.

On the way to Memphis, we stopped at the biggest scam since the casino--the Crater of Diamonds State Park.

Site of an ancient volcano, they offer the chance to dig through a field for real diamonds--at only $8 plus the cost of shovels, buckets, etc.  It drew a decent crowd, including us.

We made it to Memphis in time for BBQ at the legendary Germantown Commissary.

The pile of meat in a bowl? That's a salad.

Logy and tired, we made it to the hotel. 

Tomorrow--driving, driving, driving, and wrapping it up.

Southern Sweep - Day 2

We drove into Nashville and the GPS sent us straight into Titans tailgating--wasn't sure if we would get out, since we kept being directed back into the fray.

We finally made it over to Broadway (the touristy area).

They make boots big in Tennessee

An Elvis sighting

Various signage

Goo-Goo-Goodness

 

We then took a quick jaunt to Greece--no,no.  There's an exact copy of the Parthenon in Nashville.

 

Of course, no trip would be complete without a giant chicken with a chef hat (Elkton, TN)

 

Onto Tuscaloosa!

One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas.

How he got in my pajamas, I don't know.

Then we tried to remove the tusks. The tusks. That's not so easy to say. Tusks.

You try it some time. As I say, we tried to remove the tusks.

But they were embedded so firmly we couldn't budge them.

Of course, in Alabama the Tuscaloosa,

but that is entirely ir-elephant to what I was talking about.

Groucho in Animal Crackers (Movie)

Abby gave us a tour of the University of Alabama--Roll Tide! 

We also went down to the boat dock (Abby's on the rowing team)

Finally, we took Abby out to a BBQ place—decent food plus cheesy muffins! We’re still in “vinegary” sauce territory though.

 

Tomorrow - Southern food, lack of pies, and more 'Bama.

Southern Sweep - Day 1

We've been talking forever about taking a drive through the deep south. We have three nieces who are attending schools and/or living in Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas respectively. We decided to get off our duff and do it before they graduate.  

We left around 8:30 from Columbus, which got us to Louisville in time for lunch. We stopped at the "Frankfort Ave Beer Depot and Smokehouse", a hole in the wall place with decent online reviews.  Mindy wanted to try the "Hillbilly Wontons" appetizer, but they were out. We ended up with our third choice, the fried green beans. The brsket sandwich was unremarkable, if small.  The baked beans had a lot of smoke and bourbon flavor, and the sauce was vinegary as expected.  Probably wouldn't return--more atmosphere than taste.

We later stopped at Mammoth Cave, but didn't go in (tours were booked, plus there's a bat fungus issue we would rather avoid).

But we couldn't miss...

We later stopped to borrow some WiFi and book a room--Mindy's sister Amy had just come in to see her daughter Abby's game (she's on the rowing team), so we spent some time simultaneously searching websites and texting. Turned out almost everything was booked, but we found a place with two rooms fairly close--ended up being across the street.

Met up with Amy and her husband Don, hit up a Mexican place--again across the street--and hit the hay.

Tomorrow--Nashville, Goo-Goo, a monument on the wrong continent, a giant chicken, and 'Bama.