Tow Trucks and Space Shuttles

Day Three

We’re sitting here in a coffee shop in Huntsville, Alabama scanning negatives and downing coffee. People are giving us quizzical looks.

Day two was great. We started off in Chattanooga, TN. We left the motel at 10am (we did sleep in, but it was the first day) and planned to be at our first stop within 30 minutes.

Two hours later, we arrived. We got a little distracted, i.e lost along the way.

Which I think, is half the fun. Valerie, however, gets antsy and anxious and is always begging me to pull out the GPS. Then I refuse and insist that I know where I am going, and even if I don’t, that makes it even more of an adventure. Then she gets quiet and tries to sneak a peak at it when I’m not looking. I don’t want to end up in the woods alone and resorting to Donner Party habits, but I believe that its a good thing to get lost and be disconnected for awhile. It’s like a reset button for your mind, body, and spirit.

I know where I’m supposed to be when I get there.
Taken with a Holga using 120 format Kodak Ektar 100 speed film

Getting a bit lost was good, because we stumbled upon the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. We were intrigued by the large cannon in the woods, so after a short hike we found a field of them, along with monuments to the soldiers who died there. It was weird to imagine a battle taking place there, because it was so quiet and peaceful. War is not the answer kids.

Statue dedicated to all the men from Iowa who lost their lives in the battle of Chickamauga.
Taken using a Holga using 120 format Kodak Ektar 100 speed film.

After there, we headed into downtown Chattanooga, cruising around until we found our destination: The International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum.

Yes kids, thats right. I can’t make this shit up. A towing museum. A museum devoted to towing. AND a Hall of Fame. Whaaat??? How could we not stop? It was wonderful. We both learned a lot about tow trucks, or wreckers as they are more commonly called by people in the industry. It was totally worth it for the semi-creepy but well intentioned memorial outside the museum, dedicated to all who have lost their lives in the line of towing duty.

Chattanooga takes towing very seriously.

Afterwards, we had a quick bite to eat at the Grapevine Cafe (great Caesar Salad and homemade fries) and then we were off to Huntsville, Alabama. I have to say not much else happened afterwards, because we were both exhausted and delirious. We developed our film, set up camp for the night and we to bed at 9:30pm.

Next up, the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center.

Because after all, life is really just about tow trucks and space shuttles.

-M

We tried our first attempt at geocaching yesterday. Yes, an attempt because we failed miserably. Even though I updated my maps on Garmin (thanks a lot) we still hit a detour and the road it wanted us to go down was closed to traffic and stated that there would be “NO TRESPASSING” and there wasn’t a great place to leave our car to walk it. We had places to go and people to see, so we abandoned the venture, but there will surely be more.

Mary doesn’t like the fact that, if we don’t actually have a map, then you have to look at the map on a GPS map. She starts yelling. I think she might need something to get over her hate of technology. If I have a map, I am perfectly content to look at a paper map, we just need to physically have said map. As you can tell, when you put two opinionated women in a car, you get an argument or two. Come hell or high water, we’ll have to buy state maps as soon as we enter said state from now on. Maps are superior anyway, GPS likes to only give you the information they think is important. We like to have all the information, whether we use it or not. We love that our GPS devices tell us where to find the nearest coffee house, that is purely good.

Mary said most of everything you need to know. I want you to know that I got to sit on a FUCKING CANNON and it was awesome. I also felt strangely proud of the Arkansas brigade that protected their hill with cannons and didn’t report any casualties. I think my ancestors were in Arkansas at the time of the civil war, so those men would have been hometown men! It was painful to immagine that hill littered in bloody bodies. It was so peaceful.

Highlight of the towing museum: statue/fountain of a tower saving a woman and child with one hand, above a pool with a car bumper sticking out. Seriously? I’ll upload their video to our YouTube account.

Also, best camping experience ever. Warm dinner, dry tent, tea before bed and a shower in the morning. That is life.

-V