Upon leaving Slidell, LA (near New Orleans), we pointed ol’ Harold the RV towards the Atlanta area via the southern states of Mississippi, Alabama, a bit of Tennessee and Georgia. Our destination for this leg of our zig-zag journey was the home of our dear friends Mark and Cheryl, wonderful folks we first met four decades ago while living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area during our young married days. But I get ahead of myself… there were many advantures along the way.

As you already know, Lois and I neither go far nor fast in our motorhome, and we had a lot of ground to cover ahead of us. You see, this was our very first trip through the Deep South, so all the more reason to take our time to learn and enjoy life in the Southeast.

Laurel, Mississippi — In Search of Ben and Erin

When it comes to celebrities, I don’t consider myself a groupie, it’s just not my thing. Though, when I was growing up in the Bay Area, I daydreamed about being a full-time SF Giants bat boy. If only I had the money and means (and my parents’s permission) to travel with the club and hang-out with Willie Mays… bliss. But beyond that one example, I’ve never fantasized about things such as touring the World with a pick-your-favorite 60’s or 70’s rock band. If there was ever the tiniest, remotest thought of doing so, it was forever squashed at college when I witnessed the annual zombies-in-tie-dye procession of Dead Heads invading Berkeley, reeking of weed and waiting in long lines to listen to Jerry Garcia at The Greek. Nope, that’s not me!

And yet… here were Lois and I spending four nights in Laurel, MS. Why? To see, of course, the city and venue for Ben and Erin Napier’s “Home Town” HGTV series! Furthermore, bonus points were in play in case we caught a lucky glimpse of any of the cast. Does this make us groupies? Nah…

So what happened in Laurel? The weather was warm and humid. Our campsite was great. We found good food to eat. The art museum was OK. And Lois enjoyed the shopping. Most importantly, we verified with our own eyes that the downtown neighborhoods are full of cute houses.

But “Was there a celebrity sighting?”, you ask.

One morning, we took a 1 hour “Home Town” tour of the downtown area on an eight person golf cart. Our guide was hilarious, and he showed us many of the hot spots and renovated houses shown on HGTV. Much to our chagrin, our guide reported that the previous groupies (dare I admit) spotted Erin on a morning power walk. But, alas, there was no sighting on our tour. Until… UNTIL… as we disembarked from the golf cart in downtown Laurel, a rather large, bearded, middle aged man made the turn in front of us, cranked down the window of his old truck, then stuck out his head, greeting us with “Hey y’all, welcome to Laurel!” Yes, it was co-star Ben Napier in the flesh. 😎❤️👏🏻

Then, as Lois and I soaked in the moment, I said out loud “I wonder if he’s on his way to work?”, to which Lois quickly responded, “Come on, let’s go to Ben’s workshop!”. Sure enough, there he was, just getting started on that day’s woodworking project. Like a fish in a bowl, he did his thing while we and others, separated by a glass wall, watched — all the time taking faux selfies with fans on one side and a completely oblivious Ben on the other.

But we’re not groupies, are we?

Click Images to Enlarge

Birmingham, Alabama — Coming Face to Face with Hellacious Truths

Birmingham, Montgomery, Selma are ground zero for racial atrocities and front lines for the 1960’s civil rights movement.

Lois and I traveled to Birmingham, neither for urban adventures nor taking in the scenic beauty of its surroundings. Our purpose in coming here was to see, learn and face the dark truth of the racial atrocities that played-out in this infamous city, and to hear stories of the subsequent heroic battles for civil rights.

Toward this end, we did a 4 hour tour focused on the history of the racial conflict — presented in chronological order — starting with the systematic post-Civil War erosion of freed slave rights, continuing into the establishment of 20th century Jim Crow laws, and ending with the Civil Rights battles of the 1960’s.

Five people were in attendance:
- A white Alabaman guide, a few years older than us, who has spent most of his life in the Birmingham area.
- An African-American couple from Texas who, like us, came to see and learn.
- Me and Lois.

That said, I’m going to end this here. There is no possible way for me to relay to you the stories we heard of the dark, dehumanizing, hellacious horrors and atrocities that freed Americans suffered under the KKK and institutionalized white supremacy. Via this tour, we received exactly what we came for. But needless to say, by the time we finished it, we were physically and emotionally sickened to our core. This experience has left an indelible stain on our consciousness. There is much we need to process.

Huntsville, Alabama — Rocket City

Next on the NASA hit parade — Huntsville’s U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Unique to this museum is its focus on our country’s civilian rocket program and our race to space against the Soviets..

Many people know the story. In the waning weeks of World War II, our country was searching for Wernher von Braun and his German V2 rocket team… and so were the Soviets. At the same time, the German rocket team fled their development lab and began moving to the west, undercover, desperate to locate and surrender to the Americans. Fortunately, von Braun and his rocket scientists found us first, and just like that, we had ourselves a rocket team. Huntsville, Alabama was their chosen home.

So what has come out of NASA in Huntsville? Nearly every successful large rocket produced including Redstone, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and now the Artemis rocket that will resume manned flights to the moon next year. When you visit the its U.S. Space and Rocket Center, you see them all!

Chattanooga, Tennessee — Rivers, Foothills, Battle Sites and Choo Choos

As Lois and I rolled down the road to our RV Park near Chattanooga — after leaving Huntsville that morning — the highway chosen for us by Apple Maps seemed to have a terrible time deciding the best way to get us there. After crossing from Alabama into Tennessee, we spent all of 15 minutes in the state before dipping into Georgia. Hold on… 20 minutes later we were back in Tennessee. That is, until we reentered Georgia where our RV Park was located. Thank goodness for GPS. It expertly guided Harold the RV straight through this interstate mess. I guess the very wiggly Tennessee River is ultimately to blame. But whatever the reason, in less than an hour we traversed AL-TN-GA-TN-GA. Who knew?

Chattanooga and its surrounds are gorgeous. Set in the Appalachian foothills, the Tennessee River cuts a deep lazy path through and around the city. The area’s indigenous shade and pine trees are ginormous in size thanks to fertile soil and abundant rain. Seemingly 20 vibrant shades of green are evident in its vast forests, sprawling in every direction. There are no open fields to speak of, so land must first be cleared before any construction begins. This means if you want to see the horizon, you must first journey to one of the tall hills surrounding the river. From these vantage points, you can see, among other things, Appalachian mountain peaks in the distance. Gorgeous scenery combines with warm friendly people. I believe the Chattanooga river valley could be a very nice place to live.

Though we didn’t spend much time in downtown Chattanooga, it does seems to offer culture, art, and (we assume) live music (this is Tennesee after all!). And speaking of music, what’s a trip to Chattanooga without a train ride?

Pardon me, boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?
(Yes, yes) Track 29!
Boy, you can give me a shine.
— Glenn Miller Band, 1940

One afternoon, we visited the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Sadly, the learning and informational aspect of the museum was somewhat lacking, especially compared to the top notch train museum in Sacramento, CA. But no matter. Our purpose for stopping by was simply to enjoy a cozy out-and-back trip across town on a vintage train. Better yet, we sprung for the popcorn and soda upgrade and blissfully enjoyed our snacks as the scenery slowly passed by.

So how many times did they play Glenn Miller’s catchy “Chattanooga Choo Choo” song? Not even once. For that matter, it wasn’t even mentioned. What’s up with that? I guess this oldie but goodie has gone the way of the dinosaurs. Ouch, what does that say about us?

Fayetteville, Georgia (near Atlanta) — Catching Up with Friends

Mark and Cheryl, it was so good to see you! You have a lovely home, and you live in an amazing community in Georgia. We had so much fun visiting the World of Coke, taking in Georgia’s natural beauty at Stone Mountain Park, and touring your neighborhood woods and lakes along the Peach Tree CIty/Fayetteville golf cart paths. But most importantly, you were very warm and hospitable towards us in spite of the 40 years that separated us (where did time go?). Upon our arrival, Lois and I were so grateful that in just moments, we were able to pick things up exactly where we left them — great laughs, catching up with each other, and sweet conversations about the Lord. We couldn’t have imagined a better visit. Thank you!

Where to Next?

Our first stop on our next leg of travel is Savannah, GA, after which we make a big turn to the North and begin our crawl up the Atlantic coast. More adventures await! Stay tuned…

Journey through the Deep South