Atlanta to Shelbyville, TN
The first thing Debbie asked me when we woke up was "Where would you like to get breakfast". Ever the gentleman, I replied "I don't mind, what would you like for waffle?". And so we were decided.
In the event, although we went to Waffle House, we both had hash browns for breakfast: Debbie's with bacon, mine with chilli and sausage. I was expecting flecks of chilli pepper. What I got was a smothering of chilli con carne, which made a surprisingly good breakfast.
After breakfast we set off towards Nashville, with the car roof down. It was my first time driving. As we approached 50 MPH on the freeway, I asked Debbie "Is the car meant to vibrate like that?". Debbie helpfully released the handbrake for me.
I'd planned a route that kept us off the Interstate for the most part, and we travelled Northwest to Cedartown, then into Alabama, where we decided to put the roof of the car back up. It had been fun, but I couldn't feel my fingers any more.
We entered Alabama over a mountain, so its farmlands revealed themselves to us as we passed over a crest. Someone lived in a house with that view, which must be terrific.
We passed through a town called Centre, pausing for an extremely greasy lunch at a chain called Huddle House where the waitress felt it necessary to tell us she had an aunt who lived in Kingston upon Thames. Then we drove over the Chatooga river and North to Fort Payne. From there we crossed the Tennessee river and made our way North into Tennessee on Alabama 79 -- a fantastic 2 lane road through the woods with very few bends, not much traffic, and not many side roads.
In Winchester TN, we paused to photograph a cinema, just because it was called "Oldham".
On that very corner, was a small sign for the Jack Daniels distillery. We decided there and then to take a detour to visit it. We were coming from an unusual direction, so the route was along a very scenic drive, whos only downside was the 45 MPH speed limit (which the SUVs that kept looming behind me were loath to observe).
The distillery tour was delightfully free of charge. A man with an accent and a collection of one-liners led us around, showing us the charcoal burning area (no burning today):
The cave from which their water emerges:
Their mould-covered trees (this is apparently common around breweries and distilleries because of the CO2 in the atmosphere):
... and a barrel storage barn, containing (he claimed) $4.5 million dollars in duty alone (so a little under that in actual value of whiskey).
We decided to leave Nashville for tomorrow, and made a beeline for nearby Shelbyville. If you think you know why we chose Shelbyville, you're probably right. There is no neighbouring Springfield.
Too lazy to seek out a motel of character, we settled for the first place we saw, a clean and cheap Super 8 motel.
We've crossed a timezone line, so while my tummy says it's time for tea, the eateries of Shelbyville probably won't be up to speed for another couple of hours.
Dinner was at the "Catfish House", a restaurant in the "family restaurant" mould, which closes at 9PM, so it was lucky we got hungry early. Debbie had steak, and I had a steak and catfish combo. The waitress was astonished at my cosmopoltan ways (I asked for my steak rare).
The meals were served with coleslaw, white beans and hush puppies. When they came, Debbie asked "So what are hush puppies?"
I didn't know. They looked like falafels. I took a bite. "Deep fried bread".
My catfish was much nicer than last time I had it -- last time it barely had a flavour. This time it tasted of fish. My steak was tasty; medium done.