"Woo, woo, Chattanooga there you are!" June 6th: Elkin, NC – Chattanooga, TN (334 miles / 53,7 mil)

So after a night in the winner of the 2013 "Damp motel rooms"-contest we felt the need to get out and breathe some crisp southern air. Luckily it was raining... We had a couple of donuts in the car, so those became our breakfast as we set the course for Morganton. We had really no plans to stop in Morganton, so we didn't either. The first destination was to be Black Mountain in North Carolina – so after hitting Morganton we got onto the highway and sped up the steep mountains. 

The reason we were going to Black Mountain is not very exciting, but I'm gonna tell it anyway. I can't exactly remember if it was in junior high or in high school, but we got an assignment saying that we were to pick a town in the US and write about it. Of course most people chose NY or LA or Washington DC, but I thought "I wanna write about a place I know nothing about". So I went on Google Maps or Earth or something like that, found the US and just started zooming. And where did I end up? In a little town called Black Mountain in NC. So after doing an assignment on the place I thought it'd be nice to visit it. Which it actually was! It's a cute little town; it has plenty of small shops, a hardware store that has pretty much EVERYTHING you will EVER need and lots of coffee shops and restaurants. 

We needed to get some lunch and were recommended a place called Trailhead. Dan had a burger, I think (and I think this because that's what he usually eats... whenever we're stopping for food, if the place has burgers – Dan's in) and I had a portobello mushroom burger which was supposed to be "Like a party in your mouth". It was good, but more like "Having drinks with a friend". 

I'm gonna go get another burger.. 

It was time to leave the cozy feel of Black Mountain and head towards our final destination for the day, Chattanooga! We turned back onto highway 40 which took us to Lauada, and then followed 74 – another scenic byway – through Nantahala National Forest. On the way there we drove through some heavy rain and Dan, being the artist that he is, decided to capture some of natures' finest moments:

This trip is definitely a blessing for both of us and based on the luck we've had, I have a feeling someone is looking out for us and giving us each day as a gift. After taking this picture, Dan's pretty certain that someone is George Washington...

We've done a good job in terms of visiting national forests over here, and some of them are absolutely stunning. Like White Forest in New Hampshire, Shenandoah in Virginia and now Nantahala in North Carolina, that westwards turns into Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee. I must say I was tempted to try some real river rafting while here, cause there was a new rafting place around every turn, but we settled for a cigarette and a view of the river.

When we came out from the tall trees the landscape opened once again and again it was a feast for the eye. 

Our plan for taking a picture of every state sign we passed didn't work out too well.. but at least we got a couple ;o)

I've learned that whenever I'm reading the map and Dan sighs a heavy "Ahhhhhhhhhhh..." – it's picture time..

Uhm.. Where did the car go...?

We were closing in on Chattanooga and for every mile a certain song played louder and louder in my head. I've linked a version of it here, so you can let it play while reading on ;o)

(From Sun Valley Serenade (1941))

When we hit the town border, navigation wasn't exactly easy. The map we had didn't have enough details and we had really no idea where we were going. The areas we drove through were kinda shady and in some areas it almost reminded me of pictures I've seen of Detroit.

It wasn't nearly as bad though, and it seemed like a quiet place. What we found most peculiar was that between these abandoned buildings were high end restaurants and popular night clubs. Who'd 'a thunk? So we parked the car and took a stroll to see if we could find a place to eat. And what did we find? Oh, yeah! The Chattanooga Choo Choo terminal:

That was really all I came for – and to later sing the song out loud in the city, which I did – but we were still hungry. We saw an old couple that were all dressed up and decided to stalk them for a few blocks. We didn't know if they were going to dinner or just to their car, but at least we could give it a try. And there you go; around a deserted car shop, across a parking lot, under an old bride, through some dead bushes and between what seemed to be two buildings inspired by Coolio's "Gangsta's paradise" lied the Flying Squirrel. A bar/restaurant throbbing with young and old Chattanoogans laughing in happy unison. Thank you old couple that let us stalk you without calling the police on us! 

And shortly after, the food was on the table.

We were still a little "meh" about the area so we decided to head south to find a place to stay the night. On the way "out of town" however we found ourselves driving further "in to town" and out of nowhere came downtown Chattanooga. Now, this looked more like the pictures we'd found on Google.. And people say we didn't do our research... Phuh.. 

As we were driving through the nice streets and passed some of the bars, both of us got really quiet, and I think we at some point realized that we were thinking the same thing. After spending some nights at motels and in small places like This-town-shouldn't-fucking-exist-because-it's-in-the-middle-of-nowhereland, a night in a real town would actually be kinda nice. We went around to a few hotels, found one that was kinda affordable and checked in early enough to still have time for a couple of beers.

I don't know if any of you guys have ever been to Chattanooga, but the nightlife there was pretty good for a Thursday night. We found a strip with some bars and nightclubs and decided (for whatever reason) to go for the karaoke place; Sing it or Wing it. It was packed!
$1 a beer though, is enough to make us stay – and so we did.

Robin: "I really like red."
Dan: "Now, see guys.. That's a true story, right there"