USA Road Trip 2013

Ready for the off! Our car for the 1st week - a Dodge Grand Caravan. Had to take a picture of it to make sure we knew which one it was! Side view of the car - really comfortable to drive. Loved it. Our first destination Our first stop on the road trip was Chattanooga. On the way we found a visitor centre for one of the Civil War sites, the Battle of Chickamauga. Really interesting, and free to drive around. 2013-09-08 10.45.48
Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes. Wrong end Ma!!! Pa helps Ma out. ready to light the blue touch paper. Memorial to the soliders of Florida that took part in the battle here September 19th-20th 1863 Pa decide to buy a new cap - confederate army! Peaceful walk in the woods, must have been terrifying in 1863.
2013-09-08 11.52.21 Tower with a view over the battlefield 2013-09-08 12.22.44 2013-09-08 12.22.47 Checking in at the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel. We got here by mistake - set the Sat Nav for Holiday Inn and arrived here - where it used to be! Room service? I think my room is too small!
Vintage car rally at the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel. Gangsters! They have Boris bikes in Chattanooga. This is the basement of the pub next to the hotel - it has its own brewery - and lovely stuff it is too. Cheers One of the local gang members
Chattanooga Choo Choo. So hard not to keep singing the song all the time you are there. These are some of the hotel bedrooms. Fantastic - you get to stay in a real railway car. Hello, my name is The Queen. All aboard The crazy gang book in to the Choo Choo More of the vintage cars with a few not so vintage sneaking in.
2013-09-08 17.36.47 Looking for Casey Jones. Choo Choo! Some history for you. Looking out at the Mississippi Bus ride in Chattanooga - its free!
Let the train take the strain Looking smug about something? Probably got a mouthful of breakfast. 2013-09-09 09.22.04 Welcome to the Jack Daniel's Distillery. YUM Such a happy bunny. My Favourite place :-) Where the special maple wood is burnt to produce the charcoal for the filtering
I'd like to take this home please. They even had their own fire brigade. The subterranean fresh water spring that feeds the distillery Thank you Jack. Group photo. The town of Lynchburg. Amazingly this is a DRY county and you can't buy a drink! The Jack Daniel's distillery is just behind the trees at the far end. We walked into town from the tour.
2013-09-10 22.31.37 Arrival at Nashville - our view from the cheap but comfortable hotel The Fiddlers Inn. You can see the Grand Ole Opry House in the background. Most of this area was flooded in 2010, they've done an amazing job restoring everything, including the Opry House. First night out in Nashville - the Scoreboard diner/pub. Yee-haw! Too many Bloody Mary's Ma? Still dancing
Live entertainment in just about every bar. They play for tips only - and were very good. The General Lee Nashville Hard Rock in Nashville Pretty obvious where we are now, really interesting too. 2013-09-10 11.24.27
2013-09-10 11.28.02 2013-09-10 11.29.15 2013-09-10 11.31.15 Just a few of the awards for Johnny Cash. 2013-09-10 11.52.19 2013-09-10 11.52.27
2013-09-10 12.12.44 Visiting the Nashville Hall Of fame Resting before we go in to the Hall of Fame Hall of fame - the old ... ... and the new 2013-09-10 12.49.07
2013-09-10 12.51.35 2013-09-10 12.52.54 2013-09-10 12.57.04 2013-09-10 13.28.12 2013-09-10 13.37.47 The Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville
2013-09-10 18.28.57 Pa is greeted by Cowboy Joe View of the Opry stage. Good show, thoruoughly enjoyable even though we didnlt really know any of the artists Pa orders a small Guinness. 2013-09-11 09.23.32 Well it's one for the money, two for the show ....
Three for Pa to get ready, now let's go go go Beautiful 2013-09-11 12.54.25 Hanging out with elvis 2013-09-11 13.14.54 2013-09-11 13.15.31
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2013-09-11 13.19.40 2013-09-11 13.20.58 2013-09-11 13.22.57 2013-09-11 13.23.35 2013-09-11 13.24.46 We'll be visiting Sun Studios soon
2013-09-11 13.28.07 Elvis memorabilia 2013-09-11 13.32.03 2013-09-11 13.34.45 2013-09-11 13.38.02 2013-09-11 13.41.12
2013-09-11 13.41.19 Just a few of the awards presented to Elvis 2013-09-11 13.43.09 2013-09-11 13.46.42 2013-09-11 13.48.15 2013-09-11 13.49.11
2013-09-11 13.49.29 2013-09-11 13.50.41 2013-09-11 13.52.10 2013-09-11 13.55.18 2013-09-11 13.57.17 2013-09-11 13.57.25
2013-09-11 15.09.28 2013-09-11 15.32.24 A gospel church - inside the Stax museum. I'm a soul man. 2013-09-11 16.01.53 2013-09-11 16.09.23
2013-09-11 16.17.16 Elvis & the Stax connection. In 1973 Elvis recorded at the famous Stax studio in Memphis 2013-09-11 16.17.38 Isaac hayes gold plated car 2013-09-11 16.17.54 2013-09-11 16.40.49
2013-09-11 16.44.33 The legendary "Million Dollar Quartet". If you ever get the chance to see the stage show then go. It's brillaint. 2013-09-11 16.54.52 2013-09-11 16.55.06 2013-09-11 16.55.43 2013-09-11 16.55.51
2013-09-11 16.56.29 2013-09-11 16.56.47 2013-09-11 16.57.54 Who nicked my sticks? 2013-09-11 16.59.12 Actual microphone used by artists in the Sun Studio. Elvis is re-born.
On our way to New Orleans. We had to stop at a service area to clean the car from a million dead flies. 2013-09-12 12.51.32 Took a detour on our way to New Orleans and decided to stay on a plantation for the night. The Oak Alley Plantation. Lovely place and Brad Pitt stayed in the cottage we used. 2013-09-12 15.28.12 2013-09-12 15.28.19 2013-09-12 15.28.25
2013-09-12 15.28.55 2013-09-12 15.29.21 2013-09-12 15.29.30 Oak Alley Plantation. The mansion house is in the background but even though we stayed here we couldn't go inside without payin again. So we ddn't. How Oak Alley got its name The mississippi river just over the road from Oak Alley.
The bell that was used to call the "workers" in from the fields. Arriviing in New Orleans to the worst hotel of all that we stayed in. It was in the French Quarter but was a bit of a dive. Ma and Pa's rooms were literally right on the street! See what I mean. Cheers Ma Cheers Pa
2013-09-13 13.58.35 Jackson Square. The statue is Battle of New Orleans hero and future U.S. President Andrew Jackson 2013-09-13 14.08.08 View from the Nachez Paddle steamer - one of only 2 genuine steam driven riverboats left in the world. Fire ruins from hurricane Katrina. The area in the back was completely flooded. Another boat crusing the Mississippi, not a real "steamer" though.
A "living statue". I liked this guy. He held this pose long enough for all passengers on the boat to disembark and walk past him. 2013-09-13 16.41.59 2013-09-13 16.42.48 Silly face time. 2013-09-13 16.48.39 Horse and cart ride around New Orleans. Our guide was really interesting and this was a fun way to travel around.
2013-09-13 19.29.38 2013-09-13 21.10.50 Silly hat time. 2013-09-13 21.29.27 2013-09-13 21.29.36