Driving Across Country...what do I NEED to see?

:::building pressure:::

You know, we secured our wedding videographer before our wedding photographer because it was just THAT important to us.
 
stephenmick said:
If you stop in a place like Zion and don't take the time to shoot some video or stills, I'll kill you myself.
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LOL. All right. All right. Sheesh!

I sold one of my DVX's last week. But I've got one more. So, now I gotta consider getting more tapes and a car charger. My GF is going to throttle me. I am already thinking about taking her all the way down to Roswell because it might be hilarious to me. And that appears to be WAY out there....pun intended...
 
The nice thing about girlfriends with small bladders is, if they get on your nerves, you just leave them at the gas station while they are using the facilities... :)

I have had my camera with me on our northern treks, and got some nice footage. I completely missed getting anything from the Blueridge Parkway, because of the extremely hostile atmosphere in the car at the time. The only thing that kept crossing my mind was taking a sharp left turn off a mountain. I hope your trip goes smoother.
 
Rick Meyer said:
I am already thinking about taking her all the way down to Roswell because it might be hilarious to me. And that appears to be WAY out there....pun intended...
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Maybe this could be on the way to ... Mt. Rushmore? Only if she's really bad with directions, though.
 
Cut my last post short because I realized I was about to be late for a meeting.

As you're cruising down I-24 from Nashville, you'll see signs for Lynchburg, TN. The Jack Daniels distillery is there. Tours are pretty cool, but because the distillery is in a friggin' dry county (?!) they cannot sell Jack in their shop. You can find that at the liquor store when you stop in Monteagle a little further down the Interstate. (Or get a bottle of Gentleman Jack when you're in Nashville and see if the master distiller will sign it for you in Lynchburg.)

The Monteagle/Sewanee area is just about 45 minutes northwest of Chattanooga on I-24. If you do get to stop and eat at High Point or at least walk around the University, it isn't that much farther to the city.

Another spot worth seeing in Chatt-town:
http://nanasfrozencustard.com/index.html

You can also go across the river from the Aquarium to Coolidge Park. Take the girlfriend for a ride on the vintage carousel... should make up for some of the incessant filming/photos.

Also near the riverfront area in downtown is the artists' colony section of downtown Chattanooga. There's a great coffee shop there... Rembrandt's. Worth the stop. And of course, Chattanooga has lots of Civil War history: Sharp's Ridge, Point Park (Lookout Mountain), and Chicakamauga are all battlefield parks. Point Park is neat... great view from the top, incline railway from the foot of the mountain... but can be a little touristy. Chickamauga is the prettiest. Oh, and you'll find Bojangles in Chattanooga, too.

When you get near Asheville, take a stop in Hendersonville (about 20 miles south of Asheville on I-26). Go downtown and visit Mast General Store, eat lunch at Hannah Flannigan's (an Irish pub... get the bangers and mash), and maybe follow that up with tea and shisha at Hookah House.

Just east of Asheville on I-40 is Black Mountain, NC. It's a good stop. Mostly antiques and crafts. Good food (Grey Eagle or My Father's Pizza). If you're into hand-made instruments, Song of the Wood has dulcimers and bowed psaltries.

I'm sure I'll think of something else that I missed... but that's what I have for now.
 
C2V....wow. You've given me TONS of handy and relevant info and I intend on using believe me. I don't know how long we will be in Chattanooga for...probably 2 nights I imagine. But that will give us plenty of time to check some of this out. The Civil War stuff is very intriguing to me...bangers and mash? you kiddin? sounds great.

And, i will drag my gf's mother and aunt to the Jack Daniels distillery in a heartbeat. A TON of wineries and a few breweries near where I live and its a blast to see how its done...
 
Good call on Black Mountain, C2V. Really cool, relaxing place.

If you don't mind a small detour from I-40, check out Bowling Green in Kentucky. They have the Corvette Plant there, and you can see it in action. Pretty amazing from what my dad has shared with me.

I also realized that if you're heading up North from Raleigh to NY, you should check out Washington D.C. It's on the way. If you haven't been before, it's one of those things you need to visit at least once. All of the monuments and museums (Smithsonian, Holocaust) can easily take you a day or two.

And to relax, visit Kings Dominion or Busch Gardens. Both are amusement parks in Virginia.

I don't know if I ever knew when this trip was taking place. When will this be again?
 
Probably April or May. Some things need to happen first but we are shooting for April. If we are lucky, the end of March. But that will be tough to swing.
 
When you're in DC, take the Metro Red Line (to Shady Grove) and stop at Tenleytown/AU. When you come up the stairs from the Metro station, you'll be looking at Neisha... an incredible Thai restaurant. Or head up Wisconsin (there's a Best Buy across the street, turn around so that it's on your left) and eat at Guapo's. It touts itself as a Mexican restaurant, but all the employees are from El Salvador. The Salvadorian twist adds some really intersting flavor. I highly recommend the Mariscada.

And the recently-opened Newseum has the Unibomber's cabin on display right now. Might be worth a visit.

In case you haven't figured it out, I'm a very food-motivated person... so I try to plan trips around good eating spots, and catch the sights on the way.
 
oh yeah Tom. Definitely. I've definitely been stuck in a rut up here in Santa Maria...a beer would be good. Or 10. I'd like it to get your ass to NY for a visit...I still think you should just say "F IT!" and buy a ticket first...think of the consequences later. Its one of those cities you have just got to see.
 
North out Flagstaff to Page Az, over the damn, Bryce Canyon N.P. Highway 12 north to Capitol Reef N.P. East on Highway 95 through White Canyon, Natural Bridges, continue east to Moab, Arches N/P. north to Salt Lake.
If you are truly seeking some adventure DO NOT MISS UTAH.
Maps and directions available upon request.
Have fun...
A.
 
No, but Utah is its own country.... Mormon country ! While you are in SLC and want to see something weird, check out Temple Square.... Most days you will see fine corn-fed Mormon couples getting wedding pics taken with the temple in b.g.

Also the Tabernacle, home of the Tabernacle Choir, sometimes they do radio broadcasts from there (won't let you tape in there though....record stealth audio under still montage ?).

It's a strange culture, something to see. The young men in suits "Elders" will try to recruit you; politely take the literature, but do NOT let them put you on email or snail list-- you will never get rid of the mail. I got dragged there for a wedding once and took 3 yrs to get off the lists.

After all this agressive wholesomeness, head to Bryce Canyon, the most elegant, sculptural rock formations you will ever see in Utah or anywhere (Grand Canyon a huge trench in comparison) and cleanse thyself with at least six :beer:s.

If you do not DV all this, then you are a fool...:smile: In Ohio there is nothing to see but corn and cows. You are a lucky man.

Jeff :beer:
 
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