Chattanooga Part One

Civil War cannon overlooking Chattanooga

Moccasin Bend of the Tennessee river and Chattanooga

Got out of bed Saturday morning with no intention of going anywhere, but I took a look at the mountains and the air was much clearer and a bit cooler than normal. I hollered at Carolyn to grab some stuff so we could load the Escape and head out toward Chattanooga. We first bought gasoline, sodas, and ice, went to an ATM, and were on the road by 9:45 with me driving and Carolyn navigating; the GPS was standing by in case I got lost on the Interstate. The traffic around Knoxville was extremely heavy with cars lined up at the Dollywood-Gatlinburg-Great Smokey Mountains exit and almost as bad in Knoxville proper as fans were pouring in for the U.T. football game. I kept an eye on the distant mountains as we cleared the city, making sure the air was staying decently clear. If it had become misty, I would have driven to the Watts Bar area instead and I will tell you later on why I am glad I did not decide to go over that way on Saturday. At just a few minutes past 2:00pm, I was parking the car atop Lookout Mountain; soon thereafter the real adventure began. We bought our tickets to Point Park and walked the short distance to the main overlook. From that spot and on a perfectly clear day, one is supposed to be able to see seven states, but who's counting. The reason the park exists is because of the Civil War battle that was fought on the mountainside, so I parked my butt on a handrail near a muzzle-loading cannon and began clicking away at the city far below, the Tennessee river, and surrounding areas. After awhile, I descended a short set of steps for a better view and I noticed I was getting a bit weak. I began walking toward the main monument, but after about 20 paces I was out of breath and becoming quite dizzy. Carolyn was sitting on a bench in the shade, so I climbed another set of steps to join her but I didn't make it that far. I became extremely dizzy and had to stop and lean against a handrail. She saw that I was in distress and came over and basically held me up for a few minutes until some of the cobwebs cleared. She was able to help me back to the bench and I stretched out there and allowed myself to regain some more stability. As I was getting some of my senses restored, a man and woman came by and asked Carolyn if she needed help and she said yes that I needed water and probably a cart to haul my weak carcass back to the car. They went to the entrance and came back with a bottle of water and a wheel chair, but by then I was pretty well back to normal. I drank some of the water and figured if they were that kind I would let them take me out in the wheel chair. The man was not a big man and I weigh 270 lbs and the route was all up a slight incline but he managed to get me to the car and for some reason Carolyn insisted on driving; not only that, but she was about to drive directly back to Johnson City! We profusely thanked the nice people for their assistance and before we got to the northbound highway, I was able to convince Carolyn that I was ok and that if she started toward home, I would sing every version that I know of Rocky Top all the way there. In a few minutes we were checking into our motel room. I still wasn't at my best, but I wasn't telling her; she needed to be away from home and work. Tomorrow I will write a bit more about our trip ... you have been warned.
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Have a Tuesday!
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