|
| |
Chattanooga - Part 4
Written by: Dominick A. Miserandino
Photography by: Margherita Miserandino
Day 4
This was our last day in Chattanooga. It was a bit emotional, but we did a lot in spite of our heavy hearts for leaving.
We woke up early and headed straight into Georgia to The Enchanted MAiZE maze by Rock City. A bit of a play on words, MAiZE maze is a maze of corn. It was there that we met Uncle Bill (the owner of Rock City, Inc.), whose pin said, "My tractor makes me sexy." Just when we thought of this man as a true farmer, he got a call on his cell phone and negotiated some international trade agreement or something. He looked back at us and said, "Y’all", just to keep the farmer image alive, and took us straight into the maize to get lost. I ran in and attempted to get lost. Margherita watched from a distance. She laughed when my attempt to get lost nearly succeeded.
Above the corn maize is one of our favorite parts of this trip Rock City gardens. It was, and is, Americana at its core. Basically, this large set of boulders was found on top of this mountain. The mountain afforded a view of every nearby state. The boulders are big and look like a garden. The owners made a beautiful walking garden through the boulders, charge admission and they now have one of the big natural wonders of the area.
But Rock City is not famous as much for the rock garden as for the advertising campaign. The town came up with a simple campaign, which is usually the most brilliant type. They simply (and brilliantly) paid somebody to drive around the entire southeast and paint farmer’s barns for free. The farmer got a free paint job and while the barns were being painted they wrote in, "See Rock City." Inevitably, the phrase "See Rock City" became famous for the area and the attraction soared above all others.
We left Rock City (and Georgia too) and headed back into town to walk over the Walnut Street Walking Bridge. The Bridge is famous because it’s old and people walk over it, well it is actually the oldest pedestrian street bridge in the country. As it is famous, we walked across the bridge to make the bridge feel fulfilled in its function. On the other side is Coolidge Park where kids run through fountains. I challenged a few of the kids on a race through the fountains, but the kids were slow and lost. When I won, Margherita tried telling me I should play with people my own age.
From the park, we drove to the famous Chattanooga Market, which is a market of vendors with crafts and food, candles and bluegrass bands, and Segway people movers. For only five bucks, you can rent a Segway people mover while your wife buys pumpernickel salsa. But, then, the highlight of the day came. You might not be able to see the original Chattanooga Choo Choo train in action, but you can certainly see the Tennessee Valley Railroad (TVR). The TVR restores old trains so that they can take people on tours and teach them a bit about the history of the trains. You board, travel about four miles and turn around and come home. The train is original, the passenger cars are original, and the smoke will kill you if you’re outside. Damn, that was the end of this part of the story, but I’ll work backwards. I was invited to sit up front in the engine. Right in front of me, they shoveled the coal and behind me was the stored coal. It was similar to the famous scene in the "Titanic" when Leonardo DiCaprio is on the front of the boat with his arms outstretched, but I was sitting on top of a coal car and it was a bit dirtier. The man shoveling coal looked and said, "Narf de larf en marf."
Clearly, I couldn’t understand him with all the engine noise in the background so I pointed to my ears and shook my head to indicate such. He seemed quite upset and said, "Niggle noggle noodle shmidt." Again, he was confusing me and I expressed quite clearly by pointing again to my ear and shaking my head even more vigorously. His companion grabbed my head and pulled me down to where it was more quiet and said, "Lower your head, when we enter the tunnel. If you stick your head out it will get knocked right off."
Ahhh, a rather clear, concise message.
But wait, there was more. "Niggle noggle noogle," he said.
I remember that the niggle noggle part seemed to indicate danger to my skull. What I didn’t know was that the noogle part of the sentence meant, "When we enter the tunnel, the smoke will fill the tunnel a bit and, of course, all of the surrounding area. In addition, smoke has that habitual pattern of rising, so since you’re sitting up there, the smoke will probably choke you, so I’d suggest holding your breath."
Yes, all that out of the noogle part of the sentence. What I did instead was ask, "What did you say?" which is not the most effective means of holding your breath. Then, I prayed. I prayed long and hard for what amounted to about one minute and 10 seconds. I prayed about air and the fact that it is quite nice to breath clean air. Then, we exited the tunnel and my prayers were answered. I fell to my knees, thanked God almighty for fresh air, looked at the pretty train and got yelled at by Margherita for having soot on my khaki shorts.
Life was back to normal.
| |
The Tennessee Valley Railroad |
|
On the way to the airport, Margherita and I stopped to take a picture in front of Our Lady of Peace, the church where my grandmother was married. She said it was on a hill, alone, outside of the city and in the fields. The church was there, but the hill was a bit flatter. The fields are gone and it wasn’t outside the city, but more like enveloped by the city. The church was refurbished a few years after grandma got married, but the photo was symbolic just the same.
In the end, we found that Chattanooga is a family place as well as a place for couples to go. They have aquariums and trains for kids and mountains and rocks, waterfalls and gourmet food for adults; well, you get the idea. It’s simple, quaint and exactly where you’d feel completely safe and comfortable. Plus, everybody loves that Choo Choo train.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
|
|
|
|
|
|
