Growing up in the Greater Los Angeles Municipality, I know from “Sprawl”…and the resulting traffic. However, LA is contained by mountains and ocean, unlike Atlanta, which just keeps seeping out in every direction. Trying to accomplish our adventure goals in all parts of the “City” and its’ immediate suburbs meant hours of inching…along…in…traffic. We were Continue Reading »
…in need of a great, high end burger joint! Otherwise, this small city in Western North Carolina has it all. We were impressed by the number of independent book stores. With this greater sophistication, there are of course, higher prices for services like the YMCA, organic food, and high end chocolate stores. The city also Continue Reading »
Right after earning my brand spanking new driver license at the age of 15 and a half, I celebrated by driving for a long five hours through the nicest country – all the way from my Kentucky hometown, Louisville, to the Great Smoky Mountains right on the borders of Tennessee and North Carolina. Right up Continue Reading »
The Western approach to Great Smoky Mountain National Park is a blighted landscape of billboards (in Sevierville, pronounced “severe-ville”) and goofy monuments to American Family Entertainment (Pigeon Forge)…and we didn’t even get near Dollywood Theme Park, on the outskirts of town. Sevierville is all about shopping, and during this season, you know they pull out Continue Reading »
We got to Knoxville, TN just after the front page story in The Tennessean (Nashville newspaper) celebrating Knoxville’s status as one of three completely economically recovered cities. Unemployed residents we met at a Tango Practica here, disagreed. However, the Downtown area on a Sunday morning was thriving with locals and their dogs enjoying the Continue Reading »
President Andrew Jackson had his home in Hermitage, TN. It is very well preserved. However, President Jackson is an evil jerk and historians agree…sort of. He was asked to lead very poorly performing troops against the British. Instead he chose an army of freed Blacks, and Indians as he believed that they wouldn’t flee in Continue Reading »
Many also call it, “NashVegas”. You can see their point when a fat white Elvis waits with you at the traffic light. They also have an exact scale model of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece …Okay… there is some flamboyance going on here! Otherwise, it is better than Vegas as the live music venues (called Continue Reading »
Are we lucky, or what? An invitation to a real Southern Thanksgiving, joining our dear friend Diane, her wonderful sister Laura, and their kin. Even though Laura is the Superintendent of all Middle Schools in Nashville, and works long hours, she always hosts the holidays. We watched as all the family chefs began to lay Continue Reading »
At last we are at the great divide. Most Southerners say the West ends here, but we’ve seen no cowboy paraphanalia, red rocks, or profusion of tex-mex restaurants since we left OK; Arkansas is definitely not “western’” in feel as it oozes southern charm and cuisine. Tennessee, however, is all about music, fishing and pit Continue Reading »
The Fall colors are still blazing here the week before Thanksgiving. The rolling, forested hills are a welcome relief from the flat prairies of OK and the Top of Texas. Hot Springs, AR is a charming town for a hot soak, gangster tour and BBQ. Although most of the 47 springs have been capped, there Continue Reading »