Chattanooga British Car Show

Oct. 31, 2013

This is our last show of the season and we're looking forward to seeing some of our old friends from Tennessee and Alabama.  I also decided that we would go a day early and spend some time in the Chattanooga area.  I made a reservation several months ago for a tour of the VW factory and was really looking forward to that.  Then, just yesterday I received an email informing me that due to some production problems, they had to cancel the Friday tours.  Bummer, but nothing we could do about it.  Maybe another time.  We left home about 8:00AM and after a little over an hour, were finally on the other side of town!  We ate breakfast at Simply Southern, in Lathemtown.  When we came out, there were several bees on the car. Maybe because its the same color, they thought it was the queen bee!  And, they stayed on the car for several miles and up to 60 mph before they finally blew off!

 We then had a very nice drive through Ball Ground, Jasper, Chatsworth, Dalton, Ringgold and then on into Ooltewah.  By taking the backroads, we were treated to beautiful fall colors for most of the trip. Ooltewah is a small town just east of Chattanooga that we decided to stay at tonight because it was close to the VW plant and another place of interest I wanted to see - Miller Industries.  Since VW was out, we went on to Miller Industries.  This is the largest producer of towing and recovery vehicles in the world.  I had called well in advance and they said they don't have set tours, but just come in and they would find someone to show us around.  So, we went in and the receptionist asked if we were in the towing business or associated with it.  I said no, but we had utilized their services in the past!  She really didn't want to let us have a tour, but after checking with several people, someone came in and gave us a tour.  It was very interesting and quite a difference from an automotive factory.  It is much smaller in volume and almost all work is done by humans. They do have a couple of robots, but most of the work is done by hand.  They would not allow pictures inside, but I did take a picture outside with some of their largest recovery vehicles.

This big boy toy can be yours for $625,000!  It can handle 60 tons -  about 70 Midgets!

Think this rig could handle the Midget?!

 After the tour, we took a scenic drive to Cleveland, about 20 miles away.  We stopped at some antique and bead stores and were going to check out the downtown, but there was a huge Halloween block party going on and the entire downtown area was blocked off.  So, we drove to the Old Fort restaurant, where we have eaten several times before, for dinner.  It was a delicious, home cooked meal - chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and collard greens, all washed down with some sweet iced tea!

After that, it was a nice ride back to the hotel.  Expect rain tonight, but the rest of the weekend is supposed to be very nice.  Tomorrow, we'll go to Chattanooga where we'll do some sightseeing and check into the Choo Choo hotel where we'll be for the show.

Nov. 1, 2013

After breakfast, I checked the car and the inside stayed dry!  We packed the car and put the top down.  It turned out to be a beautiful clear day.  We headed towards downtown Chattanooga and our first stop was the International Towing and Recovery Museum.  It was an interesting history of the tow truck and towing business with many restored old wreckers.

After we finished at the museum, we went to the Chattanooga Choo Choo to check in.  We unloaded the car, "freshened up" and then took the free, electric shuttle bus downtown for lunch and see the sights.

We had lunch at the Noodle House and then walked toward the river and to the Houston Museum.  Ms. Houston would be called a hoarder today, but she collected all sorts of things, especially glass.  Pitchers, plates, beer steins, vases, anything glass.  When she died in 1951, she had about 15,000 pieces.  These were donated to the city of Chattanooga and are now on display in a museum housed in an old Victorian house downtown across the street from the Hunter Art Museum.  We then walked on the old river bridge that has been made into a pedestrian only bridge.  There are about 5000 kids in town for the Head of the Hootch rowing competition.  There were a large number of boats rowing up and down river practicing for the competition that will be going on until Sunday.  After walking back down to one of the main streets, we caught the shuttle back to the hotel.  There was a casual dinner and get together at the hotel.  After eating and visiting with friends, we went back to the room.  Another day down!

Nov. 2, 2013

Today is cool and clear.  After cleaning up the car, I drove over to the show area.  There are about 6 Midgets, which is more than usual.  I didn't hear how many cars are here, b

ut it looks like a good turnout with some interesting cars.  About 1:30, we left in small groups for a scenic drive up to Missionary Ridge.  It was an interesting, if bumpy, drive up the historic ridge.  It is a residential area, but there are many historical markers along the road, as well as several monuments and cannons.  Many of the markers and cannons are in peoples yards.  When you cut the grass, you have to trim around the cannons, too!

The MG Midget class

Very nice 1967 Sunbeam Imp

Interior of beautiful 1957 Bentley.   The leather smelled wonderful!

Cannons on Missionary Ridge

After the scenic drive, it was back to the hotel to rest before heading downtown for dinner.  Then after dinner, it's back to the hotel for an awards ceremony and socializing.

We took the free, electric shuttle bus from the hotel to downtown and walked to the Hair of the Dog Pub for dinner.  It was a cute, two story pub in an old building.  Only problem was they don't have a smoking ban in restaurants in Chattanooga (I guess), because it was too smoky for us inside, but they had an outdoor patio that was OK.  The food was OK - it's pub food, what do you expect? - but I had a good beer - Erdinger Octoberfest Weisbrau.  After dinner, we walked around a bit, then went back to the hotel for the awards ceremony.  Tomorrow we'll say good byes and head home.

Nov. 3, 2013

We go up early, (because we gained an hour!) and had breakfast.  We then went back downtown to check out the Head of the Hooch rowing competition.  This is a very big rowing event with about 5000 rowers from all over the country, mostly college teams.  It used to be held on the Chattahoochee river in Atlanta, but it got too big and moved to Chattanooga and the Tennessee River.  It was a cool, clear, beautiful day and there was a carnival like atmosphere along the river.  Lots of tents with vendors, hundreds of long, sleek boats lined up, thousands of kids in their school's colors and just a lot of activity and very festive.  I got a few pictures and then my camera battery died so I took a few with my phone.  It was very interesting and I learned alot about the sport.  In this competition, the teams rowed up the river, around an island, then raced back to the finish line, racing against the clock, not other boats.  Each race lasted about 16-18 minutes, and there were boats constantly being put in the river and then being taken out.  We missed the eights (8 rowers + coxwain) but will check the schedule next year and try to see them.  

Overall view of the waterfront.  Tennessee aquarium is at upper left.

Gentlemen, choose your weapon!  Some of the oars laid out by team.

Just a few of the boats

 

Tree people!  Some of the junior competitors resting in their hammocks.

After enjoying some of the rowing, it was time to go back to the hotel, load the car and head home.  We had a nice, uneventful ride back in beautiful weather.  It is always nice to get back in your own bed!  Now its time to plan our travels for next year.  Stay tuned!