US of A (part 2)

Day 6. Well you can't come to Chattanooga and not see the choo-choos, now can you? We had the address but had trouble finding the location. Eventually we discovered that we'd gone passed it because the old railway station building had been converted into a Holiday Inn. The platforms, the traditional steam choo-choo and a couple of other trains were still there outside, at the back of the hotel. It was a lovely setting actually and my camera was happily snapping away.

Next on the agenda was Rock City. This was a beautiful setting also, up high on what they call 'Lookout Mountain'. Walkways wind around, up and down amongst plants and flowers, there was a bouncy rope bridge stretching across the canyon, tunnels, a pretty waterfall and a huge rock overlooking forest, from which you can see seven different states on a clear day.

Here endeth our itinerary for Chattanooga and we went on our way. Within a couple of hours, we arrived at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where we firstly stopped at the visitor centre the get a map. We were also advised to find somewhere to stay for the night outside the park before we went any further, which we did.

The first part of the Smokies (as they are affectionately called), was the Cades Cove area. Almost immediately, we spotted a black bear in the trees at the side of the road. What a good time for my camera to play up! ARGH! Somehow the setting had moved to 'automatic' instead of 'program' which meant that the flash kept popping up when I zoomed in to take the picture.
By the time John sussed what was happening, the bear had moved and the only shot I got was of his back half, with its head behind a tree trunk. Bloody typical! There was loads more wildlife in this area including several types of deer and wild turkeys.

We found a trail to a waterfall which indicated on the post that it was a 2.5 mile hike. We thought this meant it was a 2.5 mile round trip. Of course, we we wrong. We walked and walked and walked. We asked several people coming back how far it was to go and the news was never good. After what had seemed an age, we still hadn't go half way. Then the thunder started to rumble overhead. It was early evening already so on the advice of another hiker coming back, we decided t turn around. Bugger! What a waste of energy! Still, at least we saw some otters in the river a little earlier.

Later that evening we struggled to find somehere to eat along the road where we were staying, but did eventually decide on this little place which was empty. What they didn't tell us is that they were just about to close (9pm)! but being good American hosts, did not turn us away. We enjoyed a very nice meal: I had grilled catfish flavoured with spices and a little garlic with mash potato and sauteed green beans. John had a pot roast. The waitress had a great Southern drawl.

Day 7. Today we decided to do a hike to a waterfall which wasn't quite as far. Only a 2.3 miles round trip. We got there early as well so that it wasn't too hot and sweaty. It still still seemed a long way and when we got to the waterfall, it was pretty but not what you would call spectacular. I took shoes off to have my photo taken at the foot of the falls, as requested by John, and not realising how slippery the rocks were, promply went arse over tit in a classic 'You've Been Framed' moment!!! Fortunately, I somehow managed to fall forwards rather than backwards, so my shorts area did remain dry.

Following the may, we explored a road which lead to Clingman's Dome. We had no idea what it was but when we got there, it was just a lookout point over the mountains. However, as the cloud was so low (we were literally in them), there was absolutely no scenery to be had! A couple of other places we stopped at were Mingus Mill and the Mountain Farm Museum, before heading out of the National Park.

The town of Cherokee, famous for its native Indians was a coupld of miles down the road so we parked up to have a mooch around. After buying a couple of souvenirs, we enquired whether there was anywhere we could experience a Cherokee Indian reservation. We were told the only place that might interest us was the museum so we headed there. The museum included a tour of a reservation but it was now after 5pm and they were due to close. How annoying! There was no way we could stay and do it tomorrow and the schedule wouldn't allow it.

We continued on our way to try and get as far as possible that evening. We needed to be in Panama City Florida by the end of the next day as we had already had a hotel booked. We got all the way to Atlanta, which was good going and stopped around the southern outskirts to find somewhere to kip and eat. I was starving - it was after 9pm. I can't believe the place we ended up at but we were desperate. Despite it still costing $45, the room stunk of stale smoke, there were cigarette burns in the manky carpet, there was no plug in the sink and the paint was peeling off. BUT, at least the bed sheets, bath and toilet were clean. I could put up with it for one night, but I didn't sleep very well.

Day 8. Today involved a very long and tiring drive down to Panama City beach, Florida, which is on the Gulf Coast. When we got there we found it hard to find our hotel and John was forced to ask twice where it was. After settling in I unpacked my suitcase for the first time this trip. Most hotel rooms have an iron and board so I took the chance to give my clothes a going over. The rest of the day, we checked the area out, went down to the beach for a paddle and went out for a meal in the evening. Being a Saturday it was absolutely packed everywhere, and you had to queue to get into a restaurant.