4/1/09

Port of Call: Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga waterfront
Before cruising up the inland waterway, we had no idea what to expect of the deep south - specifically Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. We had heard of Memphis and Nashville, but Chattanooga? Where in the world is that? We're not alone. Most people we know have no clue either.

But that was about to change. In May of 2006, we cruised from Tarpon Springs (north of Clearwater/St Pete) to Dog Island (near Carrabelle, Fl), then traveled west on the intracoastal to Mobile Bay, and up the Tenn-Tom Waterway to Fulton, Mississippi . We stayed at Midway Marina for a few months, and left the boat there for the winter. The following year, we cruised the Tennessee River and docked at  Hales Bar Marina in Guild, Tennessee, about 25 miles west of Chattanooga. Mai Thai has been tied up there since.

We have had some fun times here in the deep south. We learned a lot about the Civil War, having visited several national military park, of which Shiloh on the MS/TN border is the most famous. We love Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga. And Atlanta, which is just two hours south of the marina. Atlanta has a huge Korean population; we go there to provision for Asian groceries and to get a fix on Asian food. We believe Atlanta has some of the best Korean food, at very reasonable prices.

For this posting, I share with you a video clip of our first week in Chattanooga.