Hampton Inn Chattanooga I-75 North

... for each individual gun and just look for the large plagues for those major advances. I never had seen a flintlock before and I’m amazed at the size of the flint. After the flint they moved to a cap system and eventually to a percussion primer system. The other major advances included going from smoothbore to rifling and also the bolt action. We did see one gun with a bolt action that was much earlier than major ...

From Marietta we took Hwy 41 North. Met for Breakfast @ the WH in Cartersville. Took Hwy 136 to Hwy 151 to Hwy 95 to Hwy 27 North. 27 North runs into the Battlefield.

On Hwy 136 we took a detour to Johns Mountain. It is a left turn from 136 North and is well marked. We drove to an overlook via a gravel road that was probably 2 1/2 miles. Not a ...

Jamie, Zach, and I can now say that we have done what all the barns and bird houses across the southeast has been requesting people to do: See Rock City. Rock City is a Labrinth of rock formations on the highest peak in Tennessee. From one spot we could Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee. Zach enjoyed looking at the rocks that loomed overhead and the massive waterfall.

Today we toured the Chickamauga National Military Park--site of the September 19 & 20, 1863 Civil War Battle.

The area is beautiful! There are roughly 600 monuments scattered throughout the entire park. Much fewer tourists than Gettysburg. My biggest disappointment is ...

... forever and in case other people browsing the blogs find an aspect of my trip interesting or are looking for inspiration for their next trip.

BASIC INFORMATION:

After tons of reading on this site among many others, I have been inspired by the adventurous appeal of travel displayed on the journals here and have possibly become one of Rick Steves' biggest fans and am fascinated by the excitement of independent travel. My parents on the other hand are die-hard bus tour people. Therefore, we reached a compromise by booking our vacation through Virgin ...

... cities is trees. All very nice but it would be nice time to have little more variation! This is at last changing as we move further up the country. Chattanooga is what the Americans refer to as a fine town. It has been voted Americas most desirable mid size town to live in. I have to agree it is very pleasant being located in a valley surrounded by wooded hills and the Lookout Mountain, and graced by the wide ...

... To Minnesota to visit our many friends (and cousins Ed & Doina) Aug 10-11 Through Chicago/Aurora, IL area Aug 11-14 Grand Rapids/Hopkins MI-At RuthAnn & Frank's stick & brick* home Aug 14-18 Back to Ann Arbor, MI area visiting Rose's Mom, Family & Friends Aug 18-21 Interlochen, MI State Pk., near Sister Jill's Family Cabin, going to Aug 20 Interlochen Music Camp Band Concert to see Nephew ...

... samples at the distillery - but Moore County is a dry county - you can't buy alcohol for a couple of hundred miles!!! The only bottles for sale are special (and expensive) commemorative bottles that are out of production and can not be drunk on site. We learned some pretty cool things about the production process and how you can buy a barrel of Jacks for about A$18000!!! - Visited Rock City and Ruby Falls near Lookout Mountain ...

... packed the Trade Center with vendors from all over the country. Gifts Galore is what they call it, and gifts galore we'll find. Did you bring your list? Over here is polar fleece clothing; over there children's toys. Baskets are fun to give; how about pastas and soups for your gourmet friends, or bath products and a spa weekend for that person who needs to slow down? I can see we'll be traipsing to the car several times with our packages. Unique imports ...

... you back; the entire village is on the National Historic Register; the states oldest post office is here, with original pre-Civil War call boxes. So much history on this Trip! In Huntsville's Twickenham Historic District, which you can self-tour or request a guide, some of the antebellum homes are occupied by descendants of the original owners! The Huntsville Depot is one of America's oldest railroad structures ...