Roadtrippin'

I love road trips .There’s just something about a long journey. I really don’t know what it is about. I don’t think it’s to do with the excitement of the destination, it’s the journey itself I like. I think it comes from going to Dublin on the train with my dad when we were little. Two hours on the train felt like forever and you could set up camp at your seat and table.

Last week I decided that as I only had four weekends left in America I should use my time constructively and take a trip. So I started to plan where I would go. I got a road map from the mighty Wal Mart and looked to see where the road could take me. America is a seriously big country and there was no point setting out with no plan in mind. My goal was too see how far I could get while at the same time visiting some of the places I’d pass through. After a lot of research on tinternet and with my road map I came up with a itinerary.

Friday night – Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Saturday afternoon – Huntsville, Alabama
Saturday evening – Memphis, Tennessee
Sunday afternoon – drive back to the lake.

The whole trip was over 1000 miles so I’ll tell you the story through my photo journal, otherwise I might never get the story told.


I saw this in Tennesse and it made me laugh. In my experience antiques are never action filled, they are slow, old and boring. I have been scarred by Sunday teatimes with The Antique Roadshow where you can’t talk in case you talk over something interesting, or the best bit when you find out how much the old ugly lamp is worth.

Not far outside Chattanooga there’s a place called Lookout Mountain where you can see seven states from the top. It sounded good to me, so off I went. Now, if you’ve ever done any sort of travelling in America or maybe you’ll know from films that Interstates are full of big advertising hoardings telling you what’s coming up in the next fifty miles or so, you know restaurants (normally Cracker Barrel) or ‘tourist attractions’ which will usually be something like ‘The World’s Largest Cat Fur Ball five miles ahead off Exit 25’. I’d put Lookout Mountain in the class above that. Just. Let’s just say it would be a lot different if the National Trust owned it.


See what I mean, what have they done to the caves? Elves?!


But the actual look out point is pretty. And I saw seven states in one look.


But it was off to Alabama (through Georgia). This marked my first return to the Central Time Zone since 2000. Sadly there wasn't any sort of a welcome back Tina sign. Alabama was incredibily hot, around the mid-90s (35 centigrade). My first word, which I actually said out loud, when I got out of my comfortably air conditioned car was 'blazing'. I can't think of a single other time in my life when I have said that word, in any circumstance. That's what the heat does to you.


You’ve got to love American town names. Rainsville was actually distinctly sunny. My favourite town name on the trip however was Bucksnort in Tennessee. Great name. Full credit to whoever came up with that one.


The main industry in Huntsville, Alabama over the past fifty years has been space engineering and apparently is nicknamed ‘Rocket City’. Well you can see why.


One of my reasons for wanting to go here was to see the Space Camp sign. I loved that film when I was growing up and last year’s ‘Space Camp’ Y&C’s team hoodie at CHW made me want to come here. I was hoping I could get an actual Space Camp badge to sew on. Alas, there were none. (They said ‘Space Academy’ which isn’t as funny somehow.)


Let me just say Hollywood there is no way on this earth you could actually accidentally launch one of these rockets.


So as the name suggests there is actually a ‘Space Camp’ where kids can go and learn all about space, rockets and what not, there’s lots of simulation machines. This is a group of the geeks Space Cadets.


They had signs in the car park telling you about the solar sytem and all that. So, eh, not to be a smart arse NASA museum, but didn’t they decide Pluto wasn’t actually a planet last week? Don’t worry Pluto, you’ll always be a planet to me, I have the Game of Knowledge to prove it.


They have rides to simulate space travel including a big centrifuge to get the G forces. The tower in the background shoots you up in the air like lift off. I nearly peed myself on this. I could never be an Astronaut, such a waste of my qualifications.


After Alabama it was into Mississippi where I stopped for dinner in Corinth.


This is the sign outside Corinth’s newspaper. I think ‘Letter to the Corinthians’ would be better. I so want the editor to be called Paul.

Sunday morning I woke up early so I could get everything done in Memphis that I wanted to see. First stop, Graceland.


This is Elvis’ front room, complete with 15 foot long sofa.


Elvis and Prsicilla’s wedding outfits. Although the photo doesn’t show it, his suit was officially the worst I have ever had the misfortune to see. I know, odd, because he was such a classy dresser usually. Priscilla must be about four foot nothing and I was surprised that Elvis didn’t appear to be much bigger. Maybe all famous people are shorter that they appear, my mum says that Prince Philip is much shorter in real life


Rest in peace. I actually really enjoyed seeing Graceland and even though I don’t know many of his songs I’ve decided that it’s the fans I dislike.

As my group were being shepherded to the shuttle bus I took a photo of the front of the house. Then I realised I should get someone to take my photo in front of the house. Oh the trouble I had.


This is me and Elvis’ driveway. The guy seemed like he could line up a shot, but apparently not. In restrospect though it was much better than the next guy...


who took the photo without me in it!

I realised this only when I was on the shuttle bus and so asked to go back up again and get the photo, I decided that I paid my money and it was likely going to be a very long time before I should ever be back again. After some gentle persuasion I was allowed. They must get Elvis freaks all the time asking for things like this.


So here is me and Graceland. I would have preferred the people out of the way but given the first two attempt I decided to take what I could get.


For lunch it was off to Arkansas. According to the Tina rules of countries and states, you can only count it if you have had a meal in said country or state outside of a transportation system. And ideally you have to see some sort of attraction. Therefore planes, airports and trains don’t count. So add another state to my list, Arkansas.


After lunch I headed back to the great state of Tennessee. I stopped on the banks of the Mississippi River for this photo before going on to my next stop.


The Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot. It’s now the site of the National Civil Rights Museum.


The museum was actually super, but I like a good museum, me. But it really is very well done. It takes you right through the story of Civil Rights in America (which is something I studied at school and University so that might also explain it). Then you get to explore what happened on April 4th 1968 when, to quote Bono, a shot rang out in the Memphis sky. This is the window from where Martin Luther King was shot.

After a serious, educational and actually quite brilliant afternoon, it was back along I-40 all the way across Tennessee. This is not a short drive. It took about eight hours. I stopped in Nashville for a break and saw this.


Hee hee.

So that was that, my roadtrip into six states. I love roadtrips.