Monday 27 July 2015

Day Eight

Got up early for once. We were out of the hotel just after 8am and on the way to our first stop. It wasn't far and it was the reason we were staying in Bowling Green. So by 8.30am we were in here http://www.corvettemuseum.org/.  Corvettes have been made in Bowling Green since 1981 and the museum opened in 1994.

The first Corvette from 1953
There were plenty of different Corvettes from over the years. We wandered around and decided which ones we would have and which looked a bit naff.

My choice
Ann's Choice (It was Roy Orbison's car)
In the middle of the museum was a place called the Skydome, which was basically a round room with a high ceiling. What we realised as we looked at the exhibits was that last year a sinkhole opened up underneath it and eight cars fell in. Their total worth was about $1million. They got removed in the days afterward but most were damaged beyond repair, so now they are just on display as they ended up.

Not much to look at
We spent about an hour and a half there before we started our journey south. Soon we had crossed the border into Tennessee and not long afterwards we passed through a famous city.

Nashville - Home of country music
Soon we stopped for gas. Decided to get some supplies in. The woman behind the counter had a very southern drawl and confused Ann when she said to us 'Doyoowannaaasaaakk'. Ann looked at her bemused whilst I replied no. She was asking us if we wanted a bag. It did, however, provide me with much entertainment for the next hour as I kept asking Ann 'Doyoowannaaasaaakk?'

We headed on south and soon got onto the Natchez Trace Parkway. We didn't really know what it was but we joined it as it took us towards another place we needed to go. In actual fact in turns out it is an old Native American trail which runs from Nashville to Natchez, some 444 miles. It has a lot of historical sites along it and a variety of wildlife. Thought we might have a chance of seeing a bear, but we didn't. Did see some extraordinary spiders webs in the trees.

Large webs
I asked Ann whether she thought that the spiders that spun them were big enough to catch bears and store them in the web. Was told to shut up about spiders.

It wasn't long before we reached our next goal of Alabama. Decided to stop for lunch but had trouble finding somewhere. Eventually found Florence and stopped. The woman behind the counter of Subway was amazed by our accents. Don't think they get many outsiders down that way.

We ate and moved on, eventually we made it into Mississippi. Stopped for the night in Tupelo, the birthplace of The King. Woman on the reception desk asked us where we were from. We said England. She said I knew it was from somewhere that way and pointed yonder.

Had a swim in the hotel pool, unfortunately it was inside which meant we couldn't make use of the sun and the 93 degrees outside.

Popped out for dinner at the Waffle House. It was Ann's idea but as soon as we got there she was regretting it. It was not the most salubrious of locations, but hey ho, we're British and we got on with it. It was fine. Hilarious moment when we ordered. The waitress thought Ann asked for 'Two more toasts' with her scrambled egg, ham and toast. Ann then had to adopt a southern drawl and say 'Tumatetoes'.

Anyhow, now back at the hotel. In a surprise twist, Ann is not watching Harry Potter, however she is watching Jurassic Park 3, which I am sure I have mentioned in past blogs three or five years ago.

Tomorrow we move on, but not too far, we don't even leave the state! Hurrah. Hoping for an outdoor pool.