The Chatanooga Choo Choo

Every place in America seems to have a song about it and Chatanooga is no different!  But it wasn’t the train that took us there, but Dewey and Diane.

Dewey and Diane, two friends from the South American cruise, were great hosts.  They gave us a taste of several things that are a big part of American culture: food, war history and church!

With Dewey & Diane eating ribs & fried chicken

On the food front they took us to two restaurants featuring regional cuisine.  One was Sugars Ribs, a BBQ ribs restaurant overlooking the city.  Mmmmm, that sauce!  The other was called ‘Countryside’ and served up good wholesome family food in the southern tradition.  Great value!

House built in front of cannon left after the Civil War.

Dewey is an airforce vet, so military history is close to his heart.  They took us up Lookout Mountain  on the world’s steepest incline train.  There we saw a diorama film about the American Civil War.  They also drove us around to many of the historic battle sites in Georgia and Tennessee.  It’s hard to believe that 600 000 Americans lost their lives in that war!  Seeing all the memorial sites and plaques really brought it home.

Deer in the woods

Finally, church.  Religion is a big part of peoples’ lives in the south.

It was interesting to go along and share another American cultural experience.  They had a great band, nice people and even a shared fundraising meal to follow.

And if that wasn’t enough southern hospitality, Dewey and Diane drove us down to Atlanta, our next stop, a two hour drive in teeming rain, having already collected us from Knoxville, almost as far, to begin our stay!