On The Road Again...heading home

We are close to the end. Of our twelve days on the road, only two are left and our destination today is Perry, GA. Nothing special about the selection other than the fact that it is about half way from Tennessee to our house.

We started off in nice temperatures that soon changed to unbelievable heat. We found that hourly stops to hydrate were a necessity. With reported temps in the high 90's and the thermometer on the bike indicating 105+, we couldn't go too long without water and rest.

We made but two stops today. First on the agenda...Chattanooga, TN and the home of the "Chattanooga Choo Choo". Now a Holiday Inn, the original train station and home of the Choo Choo, the location has must history on its grounds.

Sitting on top of the old station, the Choo Choo sign announces your arrival. Viewable from many blocks away, it draws tourists to the exhibit.









The station does not look like a hotel unless you happen to observe the Holiday Inn sign flying in front of the building.

The interior has not been changed and the front desk is the old ticket area for the arriving passengers.

Passing through the station to "Track 29", one finds the train standing guard over the loading area.

Many children were at the exhibit, viewing the transportation of old and taking in the "old world" sights. Hard to believe that air travel was not the way to travel but fifty years past.

Landscaping was well planned out with fountains, plants, shrubs, and flowers throughout the grounds.





The locals have taken history to the next level with the largest "HO" scale model train exhibit in the eastern U.S.

Well over 300 feet long, many trains weave through mountains, tunnels, and cities, on the miniature locale.











Keeping with the theme, you need a "ticket" to get on the train...







The intricate display must have taken hundreds of hours to build and an equal amount of hours to maintain.















OK. We have seen the trains and the exhibits. Now it's time to head out again.

We have one more stop to make before we get to the hotel...another NASCAR track! Atlanta Motor Speedway was the photo op for the day!

Our timing remained consistent... the track was closed for the day and there was no opportunity to take a tour of the facility. We spent just a couple of minutes here before continuing our travels south.

The backroads traveled back to I-75 took us past what could be described as rural areas interrupted by huge, and very expensive, housing! A fly-in community is being developed and we observed many homes with aircraft in the "driveway"!

An hour later, we were in Perry for our last night on the road...