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Posted

Work had been stressing me out recently, so I decided to take a day for myself and do something fun. I wanted to get a little way out from Nashville (since I am sick to death of it) because I love driving, and find it really relaxing when I'm stressed.

Ultimately I decided on Raccoon Mountain, a place with a cave, gem and gold panning and a few other things. After spending as much time there as needed, I decided to get off the highway and drive around downtown Chattanooga for a bit. The whole area is very touristy, and has lots of funky restaurants and shops mixed in with the touristy stuff. I found a visitor center, and decided to go to a winery just south of town.

At the winery, tour guide Adam told me the history of the land and winery, then showed me around the facilities. At the end of the tour, I got to taste 5 different wines, my favorites of which were the Catoosa County white, Chenin blanc, and Tailgate Red...a red wine specially made for Georgia Bulldog fans to drink while tailgating! Sounds low brow, but it was actually one of the better reds I've had, though admittedly I have drank much more white wine than red.

When I was done, I headed back to Nashville, making a stop for gas and dinner at Wendys in Murfreesboro.

So I had a nice little day to myself. I wish there was more interesting stuff near me that didn't cost so much, as I'd like to do days like this more often.

And let me mention...the cave tour was $11 for half an hour. Figuring that most theme parks charge $50ish for at least 8 hours...8 hours in that cave would have cost me $176!!! Another way to show that theme park admission is fair for the entertainment you get.

 

-Julie

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And here is where they bottle everything by hand. They were preparing to bottle their Niagara white wine tomorrow.

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The fermentation tanks. It smelled great in here! And is it creepy that I noticed that my tour guide smelled great too? Didn't want to mention it to him for fear of looking like a total freak (oh wait, I come across that way anyway!)

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At the visitor center, I found a small winery about 6 miles away in Georgia, so I went there. For $5 I got to tour the fermenting tanks and whatnot, and got to taste some of their wines, and got a wine glass to take home.

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Aww, the kids museum...dang, where's Kevin when you need him?

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Because I spent less than an hour at Raccoon Mountain, I wanted to find something else to do, so I went to the visitor center. The visitor center was like "Elevator ride" meets Superstar Limo.

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After the cave tour, I got a bag of ore and did jemstone panning. It's not something that lends isself to letting you to take photos while you're doing it since your hands are wet. But it's very fun. These were my finds.

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And yet another. The water has the same mineral in it that they coat the backs of mirrors with.

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Here's another random, very nice picture from inside the cave.

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This one supposedly looks like Scooby Doo, but I think it looks more like Grizzly Peak.

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And this one looks like an iguana shedding it's skin. The nose is to the far right, with a mouth running along it horizonally, with skin near the back. I know, this one is a bit of a stretch.

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This formation looks like a sabre toothed tiger. The nose is the far right point, with the eye above it, the long tooth hanging below it, and the paw in the front.

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This was my tour guide (I forget his name). When I said I was from Nashville, he said he'd never been that far west because he hated to travel, and never went anywhere. Sad to think that the extent of his world is Chattanooga.

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Not to mention the politically incorrect redneck merchandise.

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Woah! Lots of it over here too!

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Hey, there's some Elissa friendly merchandise over here!

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Not surprisingly, I was the only person in sight besides the employees. That's what happens when you visit at noon on a Monday in January.

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Ok, time for Raccoon Mountain. I think...*think*...that this is an "Elissa Approved" attraction.

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Usually my fortunes are eerily accurate, but this one couldn't have missed the mark any further. Wrong on all three counts!

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I stopped at an all you can eat Chinese buffet in Kimball, TN for lunch. Well, there goes *that* new years resolution!

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I have always thought these signs on Monteagle were funny. As a kid, I imagined that at the top of the ramp, it was just a drop off, and you could go up to the top and see trucks that had fallen over the edge. Alas, I was incorrect.

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I got up at 8:00am, and when I headed out, I realized that I was over 2000 miles overdue for an oil change! Yikes! I stopped at the only place I could find and they charged me $35 to change my oil. Note to self...learn to change your own oil.

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Posted

Thanks for sharing the pics. Speaking of "runaway truck ramps," there's a particularly goofy one on I-80 west between Truckee and Sacramento, California. The ramp goes off the interstate and ends at the top of a gully overlooking the railroad tracks--like something you'd see in an old Burt Reynolds movie.

Posted

Those are really some nice cave shots, Julie. Better ones than I came up with, years and years ago.

 

And your 'guide' looked rather sweet - altho he also looked like he wasn't even a guide, heh heh.

 

"Uh shure lady. (inhale) I'll be your guide. I'll show you the caves. (exhale) Uh - where are they now?..."

 

(It almost sounds dirty, and a bit 'pervy' - but it's the best I could come up with, lol.)

 

 

Chinese buffet looked nice. I love sweet and sour pork, chicken, and/or beef. And I love buffets in general, too, LOL.

 

Thanks for sharing another "USRT-Adventure!"

Posted
Wine from Tenn... I think I'll pass and just sip on the moonshine.

 

Hey now, it was wine from Georgia! hehe It wasn't bad, but wasn't so good that I felt compelled to buy any after my tasting. Their musacdine wine is award winning, but it was my least favorite...blech.

 

-Julie

Posted

I know exactly where that runaway ramp picture was taken! That's awesome! I'll actually be driving that road in a little over a week. Looks like you guys had a good time! Good TR Julie.

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