Can you describe your nearest major town? What are your favorite things to see and do? If you had relatives visiting from out of state, where would you take them? And do you know some of the history of your town or city, things that make it special...

In putting together the Chapter page, I'm at a point where the local info links are coming together. If you have some cool inputs, I will add them to the page for each area where we have members living!

And soon, I'll be starting on the local event links...

 

I live pretty much between Sevierville , County seat of Sevier Co , Knoxville & Maryville . I think Scott told me he grew up in Seymour so he likely knows more than I do , But I have seen where a small Civil War Battle took place close to where I live , Battle Of Boyds Creek , Also the Trail Of Tears pretty much followed Boyds Creek , the actual creek , thru this area . Sevier Co , Pigeon Forge , Gatlinburg are huge tourist areas yr round . Its a lot of theme parks , outlet shopping etc , all nestled on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains Nat Park . Its become a crammed area yr round , Ive seen lines of traffic from the air from I40 all the way into PF in the summer . Im not much on shopping or things to entertain kids , which is a big draw here . Its a family oriented deal . I like it because the tourist income keeps our property taxes low . When Ive had relatives visit I took them to the park , but it was in winter , very few people . Unless you like outlet mall shopping or Dollywood or the other theme or music deals Id find something else to do here . We have lots of lakes in the area if you like fishing or boating . Ive taken relatives for sight seeing fligts & they seemed to enjoy that , Less traffic , Better view than staring at the back of another vehicle . I think there are operators at the airport in Sevierville that take people for sightseeing flights , as well as the helicopter operators . Its a very pretty area , I cant think of a better place to live . Sevier Co is like Mayberry .

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 28-Feb-02 AT 03:32 PM (EST)]I live in Collierville, which is a wonderful little town about 15 miles southeast of Memphis and a long spit from Mississippi. There ain't nuthin' to do in Collierville but wrench on Ford trucks! Memphis has lots of great things to do, though. Beale Street is fun, with booze and bands and street performers, and out-of-towners have to make a pilgrimage to Graceland. When the weather is a bit warmer, there are dinner cruises on the Mississippi River. The Mud Island Museum is pretty cool, and has a great topographic scale map of the entire Mississippi River, complete with water flowing down it, bridges, and the towns and cities laid out, that the kids love to run around on and play in. The Memphis Redbirds (AAA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) play ball in AutoZone Park downtown, which is a great new facility that beats the heck out of every major league facility I've ever been in. It seats 14,000 and is 75% full for pretty much every game, which is a nice crowd but you're still close to the action. It's also cheap, and best of all, you can get barbecued pork on your nachos! The Peabody Hotel across the street from AutoZone Park is a beautiful vestige of the "old south", with a gorgeous lobby bar to hang out in. The fountain in the middle has a family of ducks that spend the day in it, and then ride the elevator to a penthouse on the roof. The Peabody staff roll out the red carpet every morning and evening for them. It's really something to see the elevator doors open and a whole family of ducks come waddling out, down the red carpet, and into the fountain.

The best time of year to visit is May, for the annual Memphis in May festival. The weather is perfect, and fun things are going on every weekend along the riverfront. The first weekend is the Music Festival, with a hundred plus bands playing on a half dozen stages. The second weekend is the International Barbecue Cookoff -- the largest and most prestigious in the world -- with separate contests for pork shoulder, pork ribs, beef ribs, whole hog, etc. The third weekend is the International Festival, and the 4th weekend is the Great Southern Food Festival (all the fried chicken, okra, grits, collard greens, barbecue, gumbo, sausage gravy, country fried steak, etc., you can eat) and the Sunset Symphony. Stay away from July 4 through mid-September, 'cause the humidity will just about crush you.

 

I added both yours and Pauls inputs to the page map.

Thanks a whole bunch! I knew about the Peabody, but forgot to mention it...

 

what about Riverbend Festivle in Chattanooga. it is usually in june

 

The nearest town to me is Somerville, on the 64. The most interesting venue there is Willie German's Tractor Dealership, where my Ford 641 lives, waiting for the attentions of a genius, when the real tractors are all fixed. They just changed the speed limits in the town, so they are now 30mph through the most of it.. the 25mph bit went , but so did the faster sections.. You can probably tell that I have nothing to do today, just sitting here posting things. If anything really interesting happens in Somerville, I will remember to post about it here.

Wm
'96 F450 White with Grey interior Crew Cab. Banks Turbo, Intercooler and Exhaust,
Power pack Chip, shift kit, Auxiliary transmission, electronic enhanced transmission control,
16 forward and 4 reverse ratios. 340hp 660ft lb 4 wheel drive, 4.10 gears, 12,ooo# winch

 

'Seems to me Somerville is on the way to Happy Valley, where one of my stepsons once had a place.

Way on down Stagecoach road, and then we had to turn south unless we wanted to drive an extra 15 miles out of the way.

If I remember right, the tractor dealership was on the north side of the road, if it's the one I think it is.

 

Keep going down stage road till you get to country, then keep going some more, then slow down for the especially unfriendly cops in Oakland, speed up through more countryside, then slow down for Somerville, keep going, and Willie Germans is right through town, almost the other side, on the south side of the road. A very exciting place to go. (compared to every where else). Though The yard of Sidney Wilson is a fun place to go mudding - as long as it has rained some.. Kenny Feathers is the Police boss in town, a real friendly guy, used to be a trooper. the Pamida store is a good place to go get out of the rain, as is the Piggly Wiggly.. Other than that, My house is not too far away from that, and if you can find it, you are all welcome to come visit.

Wm
'96 F450 White with Grey interior Crew Cab. Banks Turbo, Intercooler and Exhaust,
Power pack Chip, shift kit, Auxiliary transmission, electronic enhanced transmission control,
16 forward and 4 reverse ratios. 340hp 660ft lb 4 wheel drive, 4.10 gears, 12,ooo# winch

 

I will if you're in Tennessee at the time...

I dunno if I can swing a road trip up north from Cally though.

 

Greywolf,

For extensive information on Bradley County, here in beautiful southeast Tennessee, visit www.bradleyco.net. Our county seat is Cleveland, and the Chamber of Commerce website (www.cleveland chamber.com) has a lot of information as well. The Sheriff's Office website is www.bradley sheriff.com, and will give you more information than you ever wanted about my second home.

Bradley County was formed in 1836 after a minority faction of the Cherokee signed away the last of their lands in Tennessee and Georgia. Part of the Trail of Tears began here. We have a lot of Civil War history in the area, which was a key railroad junction and served as a major staging area for General Sherman's "March to the Sea."

Lee University, the second largest private university in the state, is here, as well as Cleveland State Community College, where I serve on the adjunct faculty.

We are becoming somewhat of a bedroom community for Chattanoogans fleeing urban sprawl, and we have a lot of retirees moving here who are sick of Florida but can't afford land in Sevier County.

We can enjoy all the Chattanooga area tourist attractions without living there, and it's a short drive east to the mountains for camping, hiking, horse trails or trout fishing.

A good place to live.

Jim

 

Lord git me through my last year in the NAVY - I have a whole new world to explore in the south...

Oh well, I guess I can consider it deferred gratification!

 

Greywolf, Nice sig pic! You seem to never run out of ideas.

Btw, it was nice screaming hello to you!!!

 

I couldn't help myself -

I saw all of those mini-stickers at another site and hadda have 'em!

 

Hey there I live in North Bend Washington east bound outta Seattle by about 40 miles my little town is the last place to get gas at a reasonable price before crossing Snoqualmie Pass. In close proximity to North Bend we have Snoqualmie Falls a great place tocheck out for natural beauty we also have alot of Hondas to chase right now I am trying to get a place to legally go wheelin'. Other than what I listed there aint much else to do.