The Last Leg

Seems that getting up early is not part of the last part of this trip, regardless of the planning and the promises.

After an uneventful evening in Perry, GA, we mounted the scoot for the final leg of our 12 day journey. 356 miles were all that remained of the 3800+ miles of our excursion. Our 9:00am departure was good for the body as far as rest was concerned but was not so good from a temperature aspect. By 10:30am the temps had risen to the 93 degree point and the thermometer on the bike was registering 104 degrees. HOT! HOT! HOT!

It was a straight shot down I-75 and we made stops about every 75 miles to rehydrate, cool off, and sneak into a DQ if it happened to be close. It was less than 5 hours of riding time but in the end, it took over 7 hours. Better to be safe.

James was a bit excited as he saw signs indicating Tampa to be less than a three digit distance away. I think he began counting down at the 50 mile mark. We turned into the driveway at 4:20pm to end our journey.


It was quite a trip and we changed nightly stops quite a few times. Hilton was very understanding and kept changing our free rewards stays as we made our decision to route differently.

It was lots of fun and we saw many places that neither of us had ever been to. Now is the time to recover and plan next years travels.

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...

Tennesee

Wytheville, VA to LaFollette, TN is the order of the day. As we rode through southern Virginia, the sights were few and the temperatures were hot. Our first stop is NASCAR's famous short track, the Bristol Motor Speedway.


The track was not open as we arrived so we were forced to settle for a picture at the entrance.


After taking a few minutes to rest and cool off, we headed back towards the slab and our next destination, Caryville, TN.



Caryville is six miles from our final destination of La Follette and a visit with our cousins. I had not seen them in over 35 years and James...this would be his first opportunity to meet them.

The Hampton Inn overlooks a state park and has a theme that reflects the historical aspects of the location. There are plenty of statues, old vehicles, and views of the state park from this perch, located on the top of a hill overlooking the area.








The hotel owners purchased many items belonging to Alex Haley, author and local resident, most famous for "Roots". Many of the props used in the movie are located here along with some old Ford Model A cars.



Here are a few pictures of the equipment and cars which are located on the hotel property...












The cars...




Not exactly what one expects at a national chain hotel property. A nice change of pace and an interesting take.

We made our short ride to the home of my aunt and spent a few hours meeting and greeting our family before heading back to the hotel for some sleep before heading out on our return to Florida.