Chattanooga

There were three reasons why I decided to change my schedule and go to Chattanooga. Firstly I had been advised to go, secondly it was on my way to Nashville and more importantly I had found somewhere to stay on CS. I had been in email contact a with a guy,Nathan, he seemed up front and said I could stay with him. I called him as Justin and I were getting closer to Chattanooga, but had to leave a message on what sounded like a business answering service. He didn't call me back, I had Justin drop me off at the visitor centre. The man in the visitor centre Don, was lovely and let me use their computer to check that I had the right telephone number, I did. I also checked my Couchsurfing messages and I had another offer of a place to stay in town from Steve Wild. I emailed him back and said that I would call him if I did need a place to stay. I called Nathan again and left another message, I gave him half an hour and then called Steve. Steve was great, gave his address and was at home right now and would wait for me to get there. Don gave me a lift to Steve's and even offered me a place to stay if I had any further problems. I was really touched and so relieved. I wouldn't have ended up sleeping on the streets but getting a hotel would have put a hole in my budget and I would have come to Chattanooga for nothing.
Steve was lovely, he showed me straight into "my" room and immediately put me at my ease. He introduced me to his girlfriend Sarah and her son James. Then I got to meet the pets, the cat Samson and the dogs Charlie and Buddy. Buddy is a red husky, I've never seen one before and he's gorgeous. Once the formalities were out the way we went to dinner at the "Terminal", the building the bar is in was connected to the old railway terminal. Amtrak no longer runs a service to Chattanooga and the main terminal building is now a hotel. You can even stay in a converted railway carriage. I have to tell Scott about this place, although knowing Scott it's probably already on his to do list. It was great to sit down and relax, I had been a bit stressed when I had realised that I might not have somewhere to stay and here I was having a nice dinner with good company and a place to stay. And the offer of another place to stay if I wanted it.
I can't believe that it's February already, I'll be going home next month. Then I have to be responsible and get a job, let's hope that someone wants to employ me. For a Monday morning I woke up at a decent time, got up, had a shower and promptly went back to bed. I spent the morning reading with the cat lying on me. I only moved when Steve came home for lunch and I felt that I should actually do something with my day. I wandered around Chattanooga, like Savannah, there isn't any one amazing thing that you have to see but rather a few things that would be good to see. I walked across the river, the world's longest pedestrian only bridge is closed until May for repairs so I had to cross on the Market St. bridge. The north shore has more shops than the south side and is a little more lively during the day. I came back via the Veterans bridge and took time out for a coffee and to write a few postcards. I have no idea how many postcards I have written, I don't want to know as it costs me a dollar to send each one.
Steve and I went out for dinner and of course, a beer. We started at the "Hair of the Dog" and then moved on to the "Pickle Barrel". Here we met a couple, Michael and Sylvia, Michael knew Steve's brother and we just sat and chatted. They are a really friendly couple and Sylvia wanted me to ditch Steve and come and stay with them. I said that I'd think about it. We finished the night at the Chattanooga Billiards Club where I beat Steve at darts.
Yesterday I had an earlier start than Monday but didn't do much more with my day. I went up the incline railway to the top of Lookout Mountain, but I had chosen the wrong day. It was cold and foggy so I couldn't see anything. My consolation was that I wouldn't have seen anything the previous day either as Point Park, which overlooks the city, was closed because of snow. I was surprised because the top of the mountain wasn't as I expected. I figured that it would be empty, like a national park but it's a residential area. You even have to pay to park, all the streets have parking meters on them. I got scared going down on the railway, I had visions of the cable breaking and the carriage screaming down the mountain ending up as a pile of rubble. Of course it was fine and I am still in one piece. Steve and I went met one of his friends,Katie, for dinner and then we came back here. I was tired and just wanted to curl up in front of the t.v.. And now this morning I am getting organised once again, uploading photos, updating my blog, checking where I am going and how I am going to get there. I'll be in Nashville later for the next few days and then Memphis. Mardi Gras is coming up fast and then I'll go to Texas. It's all going by very fast.