MY VISIT

Part 1

This is going to take a couple of parts. Part 1: very long. First, we went to Chattanooga. We drove so much, and it was very inclined (meaning it was a mountain). There were houses, but I didn’t really care (I got distracted by birds). We finally made it, and I had brownie and cookies left over from Georgia. I needed a boost of energy, so I took one square and half of that with the brownie. The hiking spot was called Point Park. We walked out and had to go to the bathroom. After we went, I started to see some buildings/houses that looked old-fashioned. We went inside a gift shop first, and I saw a lot of things from the Civil War. There were old fashioned bullets and weapons. There were also books about the Civil War and how Chattanooga was made. Then, what I bought is my National Park Passport. Every Park we go to, I put a stamp there, and sometimes even stickers. There are also sections for the regions that you are in. The region I was in is the southeast region and got three stamps. The first one said, “Chickamauga & Chattanooga Lookout Mountain Battlefield”, the second one said, “Trail of Tears Moccasin Bend Nat’l Archeological District” and the third one said, “Chickamauga & Chattanooga Network to Freedom”. After I got the stamps, my mom promised to get the sticker. We went through a little door about what happened in the Civil War and headed out. When we got to Point Park, we walked for a while. First, we walked up to see the edge of the mountain and we were so high up! Then we saw cannons and a building with people’s names engraved on it. The building was marbled, creamy white, and the cannons had sea green wheels, with a black top. We followed the path down some stairs. Then, I saw a lot of big rocks hanging off of the mountain. There was a person doing a tree pose on it, and I thought the person was going to fall off. They didn’t, so that was good. We went through a wooden arch that looked like a house and got an amazing view of the city. We turned around and went back. There was another door that we went through, and there were puzzles to figure out and pictures of people standing and sitting at the edge of the rock! We went out again and then walked back. On the way back we saw a house, but it was all broken down. It looked old fashioned too. Also next to the house was a shed, and I said that there might be chickens in it. 

We were driving back and there was a restaurant nearby. It was a cafe called “Cafe On The Corner”. It was really cool. We sat outdoors right next to a fire pit. Our appetizer was fried green tomatoes and they tasted good. I had to walk inside the restaurant all by myself. It was scary, but I made it. When I got back my food and drink were there! I had ordered meatloaf with mashed potatoes. I didn’t tell you about the drink I got before my bathroom, I got lemonade. We went back (I also forgot to tell you this) The big puddle was still there (It wasn’t big, it was huge). My dad lifted me up and I finally got to the car. 

We drove to Brentwood, which is where the hotel was. It was a Hilton Suite. When I walked in-.. IT WAS AMAZING! It was very modern and had waterfalls. There was a bar/restaurant and it looked very cool (even though we didn’t eat there). After my mom checked us in, we were waiting for the elevator. There was one open on the other side of the lobby, but we didn’t know that there was till we went out to dinner. The ceiling was like multiple windows. I could also see every floor, there were four (not including the one that we were on). I tried to see if I could touch the waterfall, and I could! Right when I touched it, the elevator opened! I walked inside, and it was a glass elevator with a gold rim and lines that attached it together. We made it to our floor and walked down the walkway. When we got to the end, our room was there, waiting for us. When we walked in, I went nuts! There were doors leading into bedrooms, and a huge and modern bathroom. I asked my mom if it was a pull-out couch and there was. Then behind the next door was a bedroom, where I placed Groody (A stuffed animal). Then I went to the door next to the bedroom to find myself in the same bathroom. Two doors to the same bathroom! We also had a balcony! It was very hard to open at first, but we finally did it! I sat down for what seemed to be three seconds, and then my mom and dad said we should go to Franklin, a little town.

I didn’t want to go, but I ended up being in the car. We were there for a little bit. There were just some people playing music, a fountain and a bunch of stores. After that, we headed back, and wanted to get mexican food. It was called “Cinco De Mayo”, and even though we had to wait 15 minutes, it was worth it! It was crowded, so at first I hated it. After some chips and salsa, I was fine! I got a taco with beans and rice with water. For dessert I got a chimichanga, but with a crepe tortilla and filled with… well I don’t really know. It also came with ice cream on the side. We went back to the hotel and then our room after that. I went to bed and then woke up to start a brand new day. 

I was waking up, and just like that, breakfast. My mom said that we were supposed to have a southern breakfast since we were in TN, but since it was a Sunday, it didn’t happen. I was really angry and hungry- hangry.. To make it worse, they still had coffee so my mom and dad could have some. I would have taken coffee (If I didn’t hate it!). Luckily, there was a breakfast place right next to us, called “First Watch”. We drove over there, about two minutes, and then we were there. I went inside, and had to wait a little, but then sat down. I got a fruit crepe with jelly (Cherry, strawberry or raspberry jam, I don’t know which one…) with sourdough bread. Last, it came with yogurt smeared inside of the crepe, coated in cinnamon sugar. It was so good! My drink was orange juice. We came back to the hotel to go to the Parthenon. 

We didn’t go to Greece though, we stayed in Nashville. It was only a couple of minutes until we arrived. I ate a piece of my brownie (Still from Georgia) and then got out of the car. I was in very green grass that was very tall.As we kept walking past some trees, the grass turned brownish green, and it was very dry and short. There were also no trees. In the middle of the dry grass though, was a big building, the Parthenon. Next to it was a statue, of I don’t remember who. There were a lot of people, it was a park full of people and dogs. Nashville is also known as music city, so there were people playing music on the ledge of the Parthenon. We kept walking and there was a marble statue of women, fighting for voting rights. We kept walking to a track-like area, it was just a sidewalk in the shape of an oval. In the middle was grass, where people were having picnics. There were so many dogs! As my mom waited in line, I was running around the sidewalk. When it was time, I came running back. As we put our mask on and went inside, I saw a lot of old fashioned silverware and coins. At the very end, we saw a huge Athena, because the Parthenon was supposed to be a home for her. She was holding a six foot Nike (Which means that the Athena was huge!), who is like an angel. She was also holding a shield with Medusa’s face on in, because Athena was the one who killed her. It scares other gods. In the middle of her chest, is a gruesome face, to also scare other gods, in resemblance of Medusa. I also rubbed my hand on a griffin. Last, when we came out of the room of Athena, I was looking around in the gift shop. I didn’t get anything though (Which is okay). We came out and got back in the car. 

We drove to Nashville, to find the Liberty Bell and the Capitol Building. I found the building, while my dad found the bell. We were looking for a parking space and climbed up some stairs. There was a flower bed of red, white and blue pansies. There was a bell, with a silver holder, hanging up high on a silver ledge. Under the ledge was every single type of music, like rock, jazz, blues, classical and more. My dad put me on the ledge and took some pictures. It wasn’t the Liberty Bell though. We kept searching past some grass and gardens until we almost walked around the whole building! Finally my dad found it and this bell I could ring. I rang it three times. 

After that, we drove to a restaurant called “The Mockingbird”. We still had an hour, so we drove down Music Row, full of outdoor music and indoor music bands, with bars and restaurants. The sidewalks and streets were very crowded, and if you want to know, we drove. We wanted to reach the end of the row, because there was a statue that looked like two roller coaster tracks, twisting to try to make a heart shape. I was hangry again, but after a little bit of driving around, I was okay. We drove past some roads and statues, until about 45 minutes had passed. We came back to the restaurant, which still wasn’t open, so we went to a restaurant at a low and wide step. While my mom and dad looked at the menu, I was dancing on the step. It was almost like a stage, yeah, about that wide, but a lot lower. My mom and dad were done, and the restaurant was about to open, so we waited by the golden gate with some lavender plants on a ledge that goes around the whole restaurant for the outdoor seating. 

I was looking around, and there were three prisms on a table outside by the gate and wall. There was a plant inside one of the prisms though, which was interesting. There was also a gold staircase that leads to extra seating too. When they let us in, the floor was very geometrical, and the walls were beige and grey. There was also a bar. We got outdoor seating, so we went outside to eat. We sat down and ordered our drinks. I got a blackberry drink with mint and lemon, but instead of a glass, it came in a bag! It also had a yellow bendy straw. After that, we ordered appetizers and then me and my mom went to the bathroom to wash our hands. We walked down a red carpet to a leather seat, which is where you can wait for the people in the doors, since there are only two of them. Nobody was in the first or second one when we came, so we went in. The lighting was very relaxing and cool. We sat down at our seats again, and our appetizers were there. They were mimi grilled cheese sandwiches and humus with triangle pita bread. When our food arrived, I got mac-and-cheese, but way fancier, a rainbow cookie and some fruit. It came in almost like a lunch tray, but smaller and cuter. It was delicious! After that, I saved my cookie for dessert. And I also forgot to tell you… it was Easter! We got the Easter dessert special, which was really good. 

Then we were going to walk to the pedestrian bridge. I didn’t know what that meant, so my mom said that it had know cars on it, just people. It was a couple minutes, but we were there in no time! We walked back and forth, and at the end on the bridge, we were right next to the statue with the roller coaster tracks! Then, we walked back and then drove back to the hotel in Brentwood. 

The next day, we had to leave the cool hotel, even though I didn’t want to. It was okay though, and since I loved the breakfast place too, we went there also. This time I got orange juice with a huge (And I mean huge) chocolate chip pancake. 

After that we went to the  Andrew Jackson House. When we walked in to the entrance, it was a short wait to the front desk. After we checked in, we had to check in again, but this time, inside. You could scan codes with your phone by signs to give you more information about Andrew Jackson, but we forgot. First we saw a little movie about Andrew Jackson and then after that, we saw a timeline about his life and a model of the house he used to live in. In the next room were weapons and tools from the War Of 1812. 

After we looked, we went outside through the garden which is just open land, to his house. It looked kind of like the white house. There was a lady dressed like she was from the 1800’s and she ended up being our tour guide! Other people asked her some questions about the house and Andrew Jaskson, but all I thought was if he had chickens! When we went inside, everything looked old fashioned, and the lady said that three quarters of everything is original, even the wallpaper. 

When we got out of the house, the tour guide let us go on our own. We went down a dirt and rock path to some wooden houses that belonged to slaves. In the distance, there were cows who had a pattern that went white, black, white. Then, as we kept walking down a clear river, we saw houses that no longer had walls and a roof, even a floor, just grey bricks in the shape of the houses. As we turned around we had to stop because of a tractor, and then ended up in a garden, which is where Andrew Jackson’s grave is there. His wife’s and his family’s is next and near his too.We headed back toward the gift shop, and I got a pocket watch. I also got a “Build Your Own Instrument”. 

Then we went back to the car and drove to the next hotel, nearest to Kentucky. When we got in, it looked okay, but when we got to our room… It was bad. That is all I can say. It was bad. There was garbage under the bed, and the socket was missing. Luckily, the food we got was great. We got pizza from a place called, “Fox’s Pizza Den” After that, my mom got brittle from the Andrew Jackson gift shop. We went to bed and got out as quickly as we could the next day.

Part 2   

This is part 2 of the Tennessee trip. We went to a couple of other states and then came back to get to Pigeon Forge, to get to the Smoky Mountains. I will talk about the Smoky Mountains under North Carolina, but I will talk about the hotel.

We were driving down the main strip and it was crazy! There was a building that looked like a skyscraper, and there was a huge balloon King Kong at the top of it. There were also crazy rides and stores. We took a turn down our road and came to the hotel.

The hotel was called, “Black Fox Lodge” It looked really cool from the outside, and even cooler on the inside! It had a restaurant in it and it was called, “The Black Fox”. After we walked down the hall, we went up the elevator. When we made it to our room, it looked great! I am saying that now, but when I was there, I was kind of disappointed. The bathroom was small, and it wasn’t really what I was expecting. We also had a balcony, so we looked out. There was a river! We decided to go downstairs and eat. I got pizza with french fries. It tasted really good! After that, we went on the lake walk. When we were going around the building I realized that there was a splash pad! I never went on it. I really didn’t care. We had to jump over a metal fence, but none of us got hurt. As we walked down and back, we went past bird war. The American Geese were fighting the Canadian Geese. We also passed the rapids. Last, there was a beautiful sunset. After that we went home and I ate a chocolate muffin. Then I went to bed for the next day.

The next day we were driving to the Smoky Mountains. First, was a gift shop area, where I got a bear sticker to put in my passport. As we kept going up, there was a visitor center. We went and got four passport stamps. They each said, “Smoky Mountains” on it, but had different road and town names on it. Then, we had our next stop. We were going to get two more stamps, but had to wait in a long line. We also went inside a little store area because it was drizzling. I got a stuffed animal possum who I named smokey. As we kept driving up, it got way colder, and I could see a lot of smoke! It was amazing! 

*Continues in North Carolina* 

After the Smoky Mountains, I got to another checkpoint. It was also very sunny out, so I took the sweater jacket off. I needed to go to the bathroom, so I went. After I came back, we went to get the last three stamps. It still said, “Smoky Mountains” on it, but again, with different towns. When we came out, we walked to a couple of old fashioned houses that were made back in the day. Now, there was an outhouse, so a while ago. Time to drive to Georgia!