Chasing Cars: Bristol (and the South)

[lhuff]

Yay - I'm so happy for you that not only has your problem been fixed, but now you've got a few more days to goof around with.

Are you just looking to do something extra after the distillery or are you thinking about adding stuff in between? I'd be real tempted to take a side trip to Florida and check out some beaches or some of the old roadside attractions that are still down there. I've never been, but have heard tales of giant seashell museums, live mermaid shows, etc.

Laura

[UKCraig]

I'm not really sure. I will maybe add a little time in Nashville, maybe stay a second night, so I'm thinking that the extra time will be available to us between Jack Daniels and Atlanta. Maybe we should spend the time in Atlanta itself, maybe even visiting Road Atlanta or something??

[lhuff]

Looks like there's a Superbike Event going on at Road Atlanta from August 31st to September 2nd. That could be kind of cool.

Laura

[UKCraig]

If I'd known that I would have booked the return flights for the Monday!! Oh well! It is certainly something to keep in the back of the mind in case we get way ahead of schedule, but I'm reluctant to pay to get in to a qualifyng day. I wanna see racing! Or, if no racing, I just wanna have a quick (free) nose around the venue!

This has potential also. Though it's hardly top fuel dragsters! Mind you, I guess we could always enter the rental car! Having said all that, I think I know what we should do on the Friday night... Braves are playing the Mets at Turner Field :)

[UKCraig]

Has anyone ever been to the Museum of Aviation near Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, GA? It has some interesting looking exhibits, it has free entry, and could potentially fit nicely in between Jack Daniels and Turner Field. Any thoughts?

To fill the time in Atlanta itself I am thinking perhaps dinner at The Varsity, maybe the touristy destinations of the CNN tour, World of Coca Cola or perhaps the Aquarium. Depending on whether or not we're sick of camping we could stop over at Stone Mountain like I did last year.

Also, I'm looking at the map and Chattanooga is kinda on the route I guess we'll be taking. Is it worth stopping and spending time there? I'm thinking about Ruby Falls, the terrifying looking Incline Railway, Rock City
and, for something a little different, the flying saucer house! Any other suggestions?

One other thing... any photo opportunities at Dollywood? I certainly don't intend to pay to go in, but it might make an amusing happy snap if there's a dirty great sign at the front of the property!! :)

[UKCraig]

Just tried to book a Mustang convertible for this trip (had one on my last trip and it was a good car) but the price has gone up a lot since I looked the other day. I presume maybe they've taken a load of bookings??

Anyway, was wondering what kind of weather we could expect during my trip (22/8 - 1/9) as maybe a convertible isn't the ideal car anyway? I can get a Chrysler 300C or a Dodge Charger for just over half the price of the pony car! Much as I'd like a convertible, that's enough to sell the idea to me, unless the weather is guaranteed to be perfect convertible weather? :)

[lhuff]

You're driving through the south in the middle of summer. I'm not even crazy enough to drive with the top down. Get something with a roof and an air conditioner. I don't know about the Chrysler, but Kurt Busch seems to really enjoy his Charger. :) Go #2!

Laura

[UKCraig]

But we're English, we're renowned for enjoying the sun when other people scoff and sit indoors with their aircon pumping out full blast! In this case, though, I'm kinda coming round to the idea of having a roof above my head again. It's more practical and secure seeing there'll be two of us and our kit. The last thing we need is to wake up and find someone's slashed the roof on the car so they could nick our bags off the back seat.

I'm off out racing or the weekend in a bit, and will be seeing the guy I'm travelling with there, I'll see what he thinks. Actually he'll probably suggest we hire a comedy car such as a Corvette or Hummer... so maybe I'll just tell him we're hiring a car with a roof and choose which one myself!

[UKCraig]

Kurt's not the only one to drive a Charger. JPM does too. And, now I've booked my car, so will I :) 450 bucks all-in, unlimited miles, including two drivers, LDW/CDW/SCDW and a tank of gas. Not bad!

Weds 22nd August fly Manchester to Atlanta and drive north to North Georgia Premium Outlet Center at Dawsonville GA (61 miles) to stock up on cheap clothes. hotel booked
Thurs 23rd August Drive to Tallulah Gorge State Park and stop for hike (55 miles) Then head to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (100 miles) via the Cherokee entrance. Stop at Clingmans Dome before driving to Cades Cove and set up camp before heading back out to watch sunset. Campground booked.
Fri 24th August Continue exploring Great Smoky Mountains National Park, take longer hike, then drive to the Natural Tunnel State Park VA (144 miles). Campground booked.
Sat 25th August explore Natural Tunnel State Park VA before driving to Bristol TN and having a brief look around and finally on to the Bristol Motor Speedway (50 miles) for the Nextel Cup race in the evening. (Gates open 1pm, race at 8pm) Return to Natural Tunnel State Park VA (50 miles) for the night. Campground and race tickets booked.
Sun 26th August drive to Corbin KY and have lunch at the original KFC (106 miles) before driving on to Mammoth Cave NP KY (151 miles) and setting up camp. Campground booked.
Mon 27th August take Historic Tour at Mammoth Cave NP before driving to Bowling Green KY (32 miles) and taking the 1.30pm GM Factory Tour. After the tour, head across the street to look around the National Corvette Museum. Cave tour, factory tour and hotel booked
Tues 28th August head south to Nashville (67 miles) and explore downtown on foot. Then head out to Opryland and visit Opry Mills Outlet Center before checking in to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel (nice name. NOT!) Finally visit the Grand Ole Opry at 7pm. Hotel and tickets booked
Weds 29th August head south to Lynchburg TN (97 miles) and visit the Jack Daniels Distillery. Afterwards drive to Chattanooga (102 miles) and explore downtown on foot. Find accomodation locally.
Thurs 30th August head to Lookout Mountain and visit Ruby Falls, Incline Railway and Rock City before heading back towards Atlanta GA (216 miles) Find accomodation locally.
Fri 31st August drive south to the Museum of Aviation near Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, GA. Afterwards return to Atlanta, eat at The Varsity then head to Turner Field for Braves vs Mets at 7.35pm hotel booked
Sat 1st September start the day with a track tour of Atlanta Motor Speedway before returning to Atlanta to visit World Of Coca Cola, take CNN tour and visit Martin Luther King Jr Historic Site before returning to airport for return flight at 8.25pm

All in all I'm pretty happy with that... I shall be looking forward it for the next couple of months! As usual, if anyone has any other tips or suggestions, I'd be delighted to hear them!

[UKCraig]

I am really looking forward to this trip now. It's rained non-stop (and rained hard) for three weeks here and I need some sun! Working outdoors, as I do, is no fun when the weather is like this. Thankfully my race tickets arrived with me the other day which cheered me up no end :)

Thanks to mousseau76 mentioning the GM Factory Tour I am looking forward to that - it will really put the icing on the cake of the latest installment of the 'Chasing Cars' series! :)