May 18, 2011

After a good sleep and some hearty breakfast, we got back on the road to the next destination. We weren't too far away it seemed, but we went around in circles trying to find the entrance to Smoky Mountain National Park.

We stopped at an observation tower atop a little general store and took in the view of the mountains. And Alex bought some jam.

After getting some recommendations from a ranger at the visitor's center, we chose to visit Chimney Rock. This sign warned us at the beginning of the hike. It looks pretty easy right? We had no idea.

The hike up was beautiful, with fog rolling in all around as we followed the steep grade up along a stream.

We took breaks now and then to have some water and catch our breath as the ascent was all uphill with no flat breaks. No matter, it was great to look around.

We crossed a fast-moving stream coming down the mountain and cooling us off a bit as we rested on the banks.

This is what we encountered at the top. It was very foggy and it' s hard to tell in this photo, but the summit was protected by an extremely steep and precarious bit of climbing. There were narrow ledges that made me question the safety in going up.

Of course I overcame that thought and went for it. It was a fun, yet scary climb up and the view was nothing but fog. I think I preferred that to the 100+ mile view that is normally afforded to those who make the summit. It felt good to be up there.

Next we had to climb down. That was actually a lot of fun for me, but Alex didn't share my enthusiasm and she wisely took her time and great care in making it back down. I was proud of her for getting up as far as she did. She had fun.

We made our way down the mountain and stopped to take some more shots at the stream and in the dense forest. We made it almost all the way back without incident until Alex slipped on a rock at the very end. She's fine, though her camera was bruised. It was good to get back to the car and take off my shoes.

After looking for a few places to eat, we settled on a pizza place where we got a lot of food. Meals always taste better after a long hike.

A few more miles up the road we found our campsite for the night and pitched the tent right near the restrooms since that was the only flat part we could find.

I did a little reading before sleep. The lights of the bathrooms didn't bother me at all after the exercise we got.

May 17, 2011

After showering and checking out of our KOA, we headed back to downtown Nashville in the daytime. We walked around a bit more and checked out the little shops and a strange Charlie Daniels museum. After that we went for another free beer at McFadden's thanks to FourSquare. The bartender was young and quite knowledgeable about the art scene in the area so we talked about where to go and photography a bit before finishing our drinks and taking our leave.

We took his advice and checked out the Cheekwood Museum, which is in a mansion on a large estate. The art was really nice, but they requested no photography. I liked the shadows the rail made on the wall though so I thought that would be okay. There were some well-known artists in the collection and pieces I had never seen. It was a small but nice museum.

Outside there was a sculpture trail that seemed like much more trail than sculptures. There were a good deal of sculptures along the way, but the trail was rocky and muddy in places. Some of my favorites were the tree, which I thought was real for quite a while and the white bridge. Unfortunately no images of them right now.

There was a Japanese garden along the trail as well. It was really nice and well-groomed. Reminded me of San Francisco, though we never saw the garden there. I want to check out more of them.

Once we left the Cheekwood grounds we stopped at Centennial Park to check out the full replica of the Parthenon as it looked before its destruction. It was pretty impressive and cool to walk around. There wasn't much going on there, though it was a really nice park that I would spend time at if I were spending any time in the area.

We hit the road and headed toward North Carolina. We found a bar we wanted to check out and went for it. When we arrived we were right on the border of the time zones and Alex and I were in separate time zones despite sitting right next to one another according to our iPhones.

When we went into Barley's, it turned out to be the best possible night we could have chosen to stop by: Pint Night! Which meant all pints of beer (of their at least fifty beers on tap) were two dollars. Winning all the way. Look at that selection.

I stuck with mostly dark beer. I liked most of them a lot. The one Rogue that I tried I was not a fan of, but the majority of what I had was great. Our bartender was really nice too. We had a great time sitting at the end of the bar, watching people play pool and drink Miller Lite despite the special for some reason. I wish this bar was next to my house and always had this special. So great.

We went to the closest campground we could find, which was a way down the road and put our tent where we thought it was supposed to go on the grass (even though the signs said "No tents on the grass," it didn't seem to offer another option.) Another easy sleep night. Thanks, beers!

May 16, 2011

After waking up in the Wal*Mart lot (me anyway.. Alex did not sleep at all) we freshened up in the restroom and then found a little place to eat called Mammy's. It was good traditional breakfast food with a lot of entertaining people around to listen to. There was a table of old guys who were regulars and amused us greatly.

We were not far from the Jim Beam distillery so we went to check that out. We took a tour of the grounds and learned the family history of the company. They took us into one of the barrel barns which store thousands of barrels of whiskey to age appropriately. That was my favorite part of the tour.

When we got back to the main bar area, we were all treated to two shots of whiskey, with explanations on how to appreciate and enjoy it properly of course. Whiskey for breakfast. That was pretty exciting. I could drink whiskey sometimes but not at 9am.

Next up we went to Mammoth Cave National Park. We looked over the possible tours we could take and, after we found out we couldn't do spelunking, we chose the two we would go on.

The first two was a long descent into a very deep part of the cave, which is the longest in the world. The walk down was fun, with parts we had to squeeze through and duck under. We saw a lot of really interesting formations and deep chasms. I think this room was called the chapel. Something similar to that. It had stalactites hanging all over the ceiling.

We had a little break for lunch in between our tours and then we joined our next one. This one was great because the only light provided on the tour was the light from our oil lanterns. It was really cool seeing the cave in this different type of lighting and realizing how amazingly dark it is. It made me think of how it must have been exploring the cave for the first time with no one else around and no idea where it might go. It was a lot of fun too, so I would recommend doing one if you ever get the chance.

We used the park showers after our tour since we were quite dirty and in need. It felt nice to shower and then we got back on the road as the sun was setting.

We found a Panera Bread and couldn't pass that up for dinner before we continued on to Nashville.

This city at night is awesome. The weather was great and there was a great pedestrian bridge over the river that offered a wonderful view of the skyline. We walked along the waterfront for a a while and sat on the edge in awe of the beauty. It's a very walkable city. It was a perfect night for walking as well.

We went back over the bridge and found a local brewery to get a few beers. They closed early so we headed into the main downtown strip to find another bar. We stopped into a karaoke bar first and watched people dance on the bar singing and then went to McFadden's to find a group of singers playing acoustic sets on stage. We got a free beer and a few more after that. We talked to one of the guys who was playing. He was really good so we got his info to find his music online.

After leaving the bar when all the artists had finished we found ourselves a KOA campground nearby and put up our tent in the dark. There was no problem falling asleep, even with the somewhat bumpy ground. 'Twas a great, fun day.

May 7, 2010

In case the photo last night didn’t show the camp site well, this is what it looked like. Just an open field. We were up pretty early and took the tent down to head back into Memphis.

I wanted some real food for breakfast so we asked around and someone suggested Miss Polly’s.

The food was really good. All I got was eggs and toast but it was what I wanted. Joanna’s omelet was awesome.

Beale Street is a different place in the daytime. It’s just like any other city, I suppose. No one dancing in the street but still plenty of bars and restaurants open. One thing I really liked was the Blue Walk of Fame on the sidewalk.

We walked around the city for a while. It was a nice day and it’s a cool town. We were going to stop at the Civil Rights Museum but it’s a bit pricy. It’s definitely a city I would come back to one day.

We headed back to the Mississippi to check that out in the sunlight. It’s huge and the current was moving along quickly. We walked across a bridge to Mud Island, which is in the middle of the river.

This is an aerial view of what the island is. There is a scale model of the Mississippi River that runs along the whole island. It shows all the twists, tributaries and elevation changes from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a pretty amazing thing.

From the big field in the middle of the island there is a great view of the skyline.

There are stairs that lead down into the river so I felt like I had to put my feet in. It was chilly but it felt nice and now I’ve stood in the Mississippi River.

We were told by security to not photograph the bridges because of homeland security, which is crap, so I took some pictures of the bridges. It’s great that to supposedly protect our freedom so much freedom is taken away.

We couldn’t spend a lot of time out there because we parked at a meter so we headed back over the bridge. I took a cool shot of the pyramid on the way. We got back to the car late but no ticket.

We got back on the road heading south, entering Mississippi. We had lunch on the way and started looking for disc golf courses in the area.

We found one called Chautauqua Park that ended up being really awesome. One of the holes was on an outcropping above a little ridge. One shot was a long shot with huge drop and a creek crossing.. I put my disc right under the basket on my drive though without even seeing it for a birdie.

The place was also full of quirky things like a rock garden and a serenity path. There were even tent sites right in the path of a few holes.

This was a great course and I wish it wasn’t so far away. I would love to play it again sometime.

We got back on the road and headed into Louisiana. We headed straight for New Orleans and made it there in a little over two hours.

Bourbon Street is exactly what you would expect: it’s loud, bright and full of people drinking. It’s pretty overwhelming to walk down the street and be bombarded by music from all directions, see beads flying over your head and people smoking and drinking in the street.

There were balconies filled with people all along the street throwing beads at people.

They didn’t require that you flash them but some people did anyway. Some people just enjoyed their drink while watching the show above.

After we walked the street for a while, we rejoined the rest of the world back on Canal Street. I wanted to go to a gumbo place but they had closed already. I settled for some hush puppies and a local golden ale. It was delicious.

We then began a long drive to a park on the other side of the lake which turned out to be closed and not accepting late arrivals for camping. We checked another place that was going to charge about as much as a hotel room. Finally, we settled on Wal*Mart’s parking lot.

It’s not ideal but it’s free. They encourage people to sleep there while on the road so I finally took them up on it.

Total driving distance: 503.2 miles.