atlanta to the coast

Atlanta to the Coast - Addendum / November 8, 2019 by Mark

One place we didn’t make it to on the trip was Ashville, OH. We had planned to stop there, but the site would have been closed by the time we arrived.

I had read about the world’s oldest working traffic light several years ago, and our tour took us very close to it. It wasn’t until Mindy did some research that we determined it was only 25 minutes from our house!

So, we just completed a quick trip down to check it out, at Ohio’s Small Town Museum in Ashville. The manager took us on a guided tour of the place, and had a lot of interesting info. Here’s the traffic light in question. It was originally installed in 1932, and was taken down for maintenance in the 80’s. Unfortunately, the state wouldn’t let them put it back in operation, since the colorblind couldn’t use it.

More interesting exhibits there…

A flag from around the time Ohio became the 17tth state.

Roy Rogers worked in the town at the local cannery. He got fired for always singing on the job…

A local theater (in the same spot as the museum), which died with the talkies.

All in all, a worthwhile jaunt to see the light and the other exhibits. That’s all, folks!

Atlanta to the Coast - Day 8 / October 29, 2019 by Mark

Our last day began with a trip through the misty mountains (which took longer than planned due to a GPS set to “no tolls”)…

…before making it to Charleston, WV and Mexican food at Plaza Maya.

This was just down the street from our fourth state house of the trip, and by far the largest. It’s a U-shaped building with the senate and house of delegates at each end. So I’m guessing employees get their 10K steps in without a problem.

Next to the prerequisite veterans’ statues is one celebrating women vets. Mindy noted that the names of those responsible for getting it in place were all men…

The rotunda is under reconstruction, so we couldn’t see a lot inside.

Our final stop on the road trip was a strange mini-museum dedicated to Big Boy restaurants. Apparently, one of the original drive-ins was located here. Now it’s in a parking lot.

Then we pointed the car toward home.

The whole trip ran just over 2000 miles over 8 days, and we are happy to be home. I’ll be posting a video covering the whole trip next week under the “From the Pop Culture Bunker” banner on SFPPN. Thanks for following us!

Atlanta to the Coast - Day 7 / October 28, 2019 by Mark

Our penultimate tour day began with a cameo by RBG.

Then we were off to our third state house of the trip, and by far our smallest one. The Raleigh capitol is roughly the size of many county courthouses.

We did have a bit of excitement there—someone was filming a production onsite. we saw extras standing in place, waiting to walk through the background.

Across the street was the North Carolina Museum of History—compact but well laid out (and free). It included 2 exhibits tailor-made for us: quilts and classic toys.

On the road to Roanoke, we came upon Shangri-La, a tiny town built in the front yard of it’s creator (who passed away decades ago).

A quick lunch at Gina’s Family Restaurant - a burger and a fish sammich.

We made it to the Roanoke hotel, took a nap, then went down into town. We started with a NY slice.

Did you know Roanoke has a hipster district?

We had read about a giant star up on a mountain, so we drove up a spooky road to find it.

We finished things up with a post-star snack at Blue Cow Ice Cream.

That will do it for today. I just spent 90 minutes getting these loaded up (thanks slow hotel internet!) Tomorrow, a final statehouse, and then home.

Atlanta to the Coast - Day 6 / October 27, 2019 by Mark

An abbreviated post today, as we spent most of the day visiting with friends and family in NC.

After breakfast with an old college friend and his wife, we drove into Raleigh and hit a couple “big things”. First, we dropped by the Daily Planet…

…and then “Big Acorn”, which is “dropped” every New Year’s Eve in Raleigh to celebrate ala Times Square.

The rest of the day was spent with our niece and her family—a lot of fun! Thanks, guys.

Back to the regular schedule tomorrow—another statehouse, then onto Virginia.

Atlanta to the Coast - Day 5 / October 26, 2019 by Mark

After a night in a very comfortable room (thanks hotel points!), we kicked things off at the Edgar Allen Poe branch library at Sullivan's Island. Built originally as a military bunker with 2 feet thick walls and iron doors. Poe was stationed there, hence the name. Inside, a regular library.

This goes under the category of—what the???

One of many bridges we crossed today—there’s a lot of islands here.

Our first major stop—the Charleston Tea Company. It’s the only place in the US where tea is grown and processed (they make tea for Bigelow and Sam’s Club, among others). Here’s shots of the processing center. It takes less than 24 hours from field to tea bags.

Atlanta to the Coast - Day 4 / October 25, 2019 by Mark

After a surprisingly comfortable night (if you walk out of your room and you’re outside, its a MOTEL, not a HOTEL)…

…we went down the street to fulfill one of our road trip rules. We visited an obscure museum—in this case, the Vidalia Onion Museum.

On the way to Savannah, we stopped to pick up our mail.

Savannah. Home to Spanish Moss and a LOT of bars. If you’ve ever gone on a cruise, you would recognize a port of call—five stores endlessly repeated. Despite that, it was pretty.

Lunch was held at the British Tea Company—meat pies! A Cornish pasty and chicken curry, plus a very thick shortbread.

The afternoon had a Gothic theme. First, the Bonaventure Cemetery, which was the site of the book and film “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”. It’s very creepy.

Second, the ruins of the Sheldon Church, which was burned down in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

Finally, we made it to Charleston. We’re still on the outskirts (it took a couple attempts to find the hotel—Charleston must have an issue with signage). While waiting for a Baptist convention to check in, we went across the street for dinner—shrimp po-boy and an omelette.

OK, that’ll do it for today. Onto Charleston and NC!

Atlanta to the Coast - Day 3 / October 24, 2019 by Mark

LAT 32.1 LON 82.2
Vidalia, GA

A shorter day, so we’re still in Georgia. We started in Atlanta and our second state capitol of the trip. It’s quite a beautiful building, although less grand than Kentucky. It’s also more of a hassle to visit, even after waiting until later in the morning to attack the freeways.

Legally, every state capitol must come with a two-headed calf.

Then, we headed across town to Ponce City Market, a massive facility with a hipster uber-food court, apartments, and shops.

Mindy read about this chicken place, so we tried it—a long wait but fantastic food!

This is a Chicken Pot Hand Pie (and biscuits).

After a stop at Pearson’s Farms for pecans, we made it to the onion capital of Georgia. We’ll check out the museum tomorrow. Meanwhile, just a few minutes away is Santa Claus, a (very) small town built in 1941 to get people to come to a pecan farm in the area.

That’s plenty for one day. Off to Savannah and Charleston tomorrow.

Atlanta to the Coast - Day 2 / October 23, 2019 by Mark

LAT 33.5 LON 84.29
Marietta, GA

A little later than planned as we were out carousing with our niece Maggie (aka walking around a town square then eating tacos).

Today started out at the Museum of Appalachia, a combination old-timey town, petting zoo, and museum of oddities. The latter, involving 250K objects, was collected by one guy.

…pigs and peacocks (that natural combination).

Some of the oddities were very odd indeed.

I thought my friend Cat would appreciate this.

This is a perpetual motion machine, built in the 1800’s. The inventor insisted on removing a few parts so others couldn’t steal his idea. Unfortunately, he left it that way, and no one can figure out how to fix it.

Here’s a creepy metal coffin—the plate above goes over the face hole.

Here’s a lovely piece of early 20th century racism.

This guy’s history is far more interesting than the mini-mill he built.

If you’ve ever seen those concrete crosses, here’s where they came from.

They moved this cabin from the spot where Mark Twain was apparently conceived (but never lived).

This is the cabin used in the old Daniel Boone TV series (Daniel Boone was a maaan…yes, a biiiig maaan…)

Then, we moved through Knoxville, and the fabulous Sunsphere. This was home to a World’s Fair, and made famous on The Simpsons for storing wigs.

Moving on to lunch at City Cafe Diner—a really good sammich, and a piece of cake that got devoured before we took a pic (so here it is in the dessert case).

I believe the cake is dense enough that light cannot escape it.

We later came upon an atomic-powered mouse that was terrorizing an exterminating company.

Moving on to an impressive rock garden behind a church, with lilliputian buildings made out of pebbles, shells, and cement.

Finally, we made it to Marietta, GA. Home our niece and Big Chicken (she’s not a big chicken, it’s just an attraction at a KFC—forget it).

She also took us to the Marietta Square, and a huge food market. We had some yummy tacos, and they had margaritas (I was the designated driver).

After some playtime with Maggie’s dog Ripley, it was time to return to the hotel and collapse.

Tomorrow, Atlanta, pecans, onions, and St. Nick’s southern HQ.

Atlanta to the Coast - Day 1 / October 22, 2019 by Mark

LAT 36.9 LON 84.5
Clinton, TN

It’s time for another road trip—down to the Southeast to see relatives, friends, and more wacky attractions. We’re driving a loop to Atlanta, Charleston, Raleigh, Williamsburg, Roanoke, and back home.

Today, we toured the first of several state capitals in Frankfort, KY. It was quite ornate both inside and out. However, it rather overshadowed the small town (population 27,000) it inhabits.