Tennessee

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Interstate 40 traverses the entire width of this wide state

I-24 and I-81 are also roads that cross this state from top to bottom

North to south is the short path across this state while East to West is forever

We have driven all of these roads and more many times each way and Tennessee is,

although a rural farming state, quite diverse and pretty

We have visited in all seasons and have experienced very hot, humid and snowy,

icy roads in all kinds of weather

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I think we need to start with Memphis where for us Elvis was and is the main attraction

We have visited and toured the home of the "King" many times including once on his birthday

We have questioned the spelling of his name on his gravesite and speculated he is still alive in Hawaii

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We have driven into and out of Memphis from just about every direction

including Mississippi and Alabama

We have eaten fine BBQ there and fast food and we have always been treated very well

My brother and his family live near Atoka which is a small farming community near Memphis and we have visited there

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We have spent the night in Jackson and once saw King Kong with some college kids there while we were on a Christmas vacation trip

We were also mistaken for being homeless and treated so well by a very well-meaning man

It was very cold and we had matching coats on and had decided to walk back to our motel from yet another movie

It was an interesting feeling especially because we would be homeless later after working for our Church

My first visit to Nashville was with my then best friend who was going to attend Belmont College and I was on my way to Georgia Southern

Later we would visit these friends again many times including one in Nashville

Linda got her ears pierced when we were visiting these same friends and while I went to see the Parthenon, another beautiful place

Later that night we went ghost hunting and had a most memorable experience

Nashville is a very neat town and we have visited the Hermitage often and we were there when the original Opryland Closed

We actually visited Opryland on the last night it was open and purchased some very highly discounted sweaters

We talked with people who were crying real tears partially because they were losing their livelihood and partially because of the event

We have driven past famous homes and we remember almost a horse country atmosphere going out of Nashville

In Chattanooga we went to the top of Lookout Mountain and visited the swinging bridge and the winter wonderland place with all the elves

The views extend a long ways and you can see into Georgia on a clear day

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Rock City was almost always a place we drove up to and stopped at and we have walked all over it through narrow places and the swinging bridge

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There are roadside signs everywhere encouraging your visit to Rock City

We rode an incline cable car-railroad up the steep side of this mountain and it is a memory we will always cherish

We gave some fleeting thought to settling there once but for many reasons chose not to

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Once while taking back roads just past a horrible accident where a trucker was killed, we found and visited the home and burial place of Sgt York

Actually all we knew about him at that time was that Cary Cooper had played him in a movie, of course he is a very famous WW1 hero

I suppose that Knoxville is the area and city we are most familiar with

It is the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and we often visited with our children usually right after Christmas

Sometimes we would go to the Park even though when we got there it was closed because of snow and then we would take back roads around it

We have often stayed in Sevierville and we have gone to Dolly Parton's theme park and as much as we love her, we have never seen her in person

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We love taking the cable car in Gatlinburg, playing miniature golf on a steep hillside and just walking and shopping but never buying very much

Cades Cove is one of our favorite places and we have seen bears and some claim I even have chased a small bear there

Deer are all over the place and the drive into Gatlinburg along the rushing river is gorgeous

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Much of the winding drive across the National Park is in Tennessee and it is beautiful

In Bristol we have driven past the small but neat looking racetrack and we had a horrible late night accident near there

If it had not been but for the Grace of God and the common sense of the Trooper investigating we would have had a life altering experience

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Another neat place to visit in Tennessee is the Jack Daniels Distillery where we took our college age daughter and visited once

We don't drink but it was a really neat place and we really enjoyed going there even if it was in winter

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To sum up we remember more about this state than we expected to and mostly it is good

We liked Tennessee for the most part and

we would not have any issue with returning to visit another time

The fun gates that guard the Elvis Estate symbolize Memphis to us!