The next few are going to be about the little anniversary trip we did last year. On September 24th we got on the road early, starting our vaca with a gig. Maple City Mayhem did not disappoint. We saw some old friends and had a blast playing. We ended up playing a little longer due to a cancelation. Once we were finished playing, big hair and all, we headed south on route 75 toward Kentucky. This took us through rolling hills and farm country -I don’t mind. I appreciate all the different types of terrain we have in Ohio. Ohio is where home is.
Mr. Trent and I agreed we needed to get out of the state to truly start the trip. We planned on finding a nice truck stop in Kentucky to settle in. All I have to say is EEEEk, holy cow, at this point we were exhausted and couldn’t find anywhere we felt comfortable sleeping. Mr. Trent pushed on while I dozed in the darkness, startling myself awake at some point to realize we needed to find someplace soon at that point it was time to help navigate finally just north of Tennessee we settled in at a nice Love’s truck stop. Well-lit and safe, we buckled down for a well-deserved rest.
The sound of many trucks rumbling through the lot woke us up bright and early to begin a new day. Next stop Chattanooga Tennessee-or so we thought. After more driving and excited chatter about all the things we planned to do in Chattanooga, we were shocked to find ourselves trapped in what seemed like a maze of road closings due to Ironman Chattanooga. Ugg after hours, literally hours, trying to navigate the city we were starved and tired and stumbled across Bea’s -finally food! The restaurant was a step back in time -the tables were round with a high top lazy susan in the middle. The waitress brought out mounds of food that were placed on the lazy susan and we just kept spinning it and loading our plates until we couldn’t eat another bite. With full bellies, we were able to make the decision to bail on Chattanooga for now.
We decided to search for Tri-state corner Tennessee. We found it! We were able to hike back in and find the place where Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee all come together. Outside the parking area was Historic state line cemetery. I wandered around there for well over an hour taking in the history all around me. I do love an old cemetery. When I looked up the cemetery I discovered that there are many Historic state-line cemeteries in Tennessee. This one, however, was very cool and if you can get to the Tri-state corner you can find it.
We set our sites just west of there in the area of South Pittsburg, Tennessee. We went to the Lodge Cast Iron factory store; I have to say if you need cast iron this is the stop. Great prices, an incredible selection, and of course some fun photo ops!
Steve found a “haunted” old hospital we drove by met some people and planned a tour for the next day. We stayed at Best Western Kimball. The people were nice, it was a busy area. We could walk to food, so those were all bonuses.
The tour of old South Pittsburg Hospital was incredible. It was just us and our tour guide Heather was incredible. She had a vast amount of knowledge about the property. I definitely had some interesting experiences there. If you like history, old architecture, and the paranormal this is a must-stop at.
Well, that concludes this edition of Monday’s Ramblings next stop Chatanooga.