BRUSHY MOUNTAIN STATE PENITENTIARY

BRUSHY MOUNTAIN STATE PENITENTIARY

Karen and I met Pete Waddington at the U-Joint’s bar in Chattanooga while having dinner before a play. Pete told us an amazing story about leasing a former Tennessee State Prison in Morgan County for one dollar a year and turning it into a tourist attraction...
HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA

HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA

Formerly, “The Water Cress Capital of the World,” Huntsville’s growing tech and science industries have transformed it into “Rocket City, USA,” and Alabama’s most populous municipality. Huntsville’s Historic Downtown has been...
AMERICA’S ROCKET CITY

AMERICA’S ROCKET CITY

Huntsville is Alabama’s largest city and less than two-hours drive from Chattanooga. Karen and I spent the last weekend in March exploring “The Best Place to Live in Alabama.” In 1950 Wernher von Braun and his team moved to Huntsville’s...
BEING SANTA

BEING SANTA

Karen and I suited up for the Nooga Santa Pub Crawl 2023 Saturday night (12-16). Wearing Santa’s outfit is fun, but also comes with responsibility. Walking down the street with people yelling, “SANTA” from cars and asking to take selfies with us was...
SHE’S THE REFEREE

SHE’S THE REFEREE

November 24-28 Karen and I traveled to Memphis, TN to hang out with her niece Jenna Reneau and watch her referee the NBA game between the Grizzlies and Timberwolves. Beale Street was the center of our tourist activities and we chose the original B.B.King Blues Club...
BIG SOUTH FORK

BIG SOUTH FORK

Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area covers 125,000 acres along the Tennessee and Kentucky State Line. We started on the Sawmill Trail to Slave Falls, which was dry due to weeks of rainless weather. A bit further down the trail is Needle Arch. Big South...
EMERALD COAST

EMERALD COAST

October 3-6, 2023 Karen and I drove to Florida to visit our good friends from Texas sailing days Steve and Janet to attend the MountainFilm On Tour Festival in WaterColor, Florida. The sold-out documentary film festival first-come-first-seated line was long and...
FALLS OF THE SCENIC SPUR #78

FALLS OF THE SCENIC SPUR #78

Our first fall hike of 2023 took us to the Rock Creek Gorge Scenic Area in the Cherokee National Forest in far eastern Tennessee to visit Falls of the Scenic Spur. Overcast skies supplied a few brief sprinkles, the temperature remained below 85-degrees, and we had the...