[Magdalen] Day 3

[ROGER STOKES]

As the train couldn't take the strain the car had to take me up Lookout Mountain.  This meant I got to Lookout Point, which I might not have done had the Incline Railway been running. It was worth the effort of driving up the Scenic Highway.  "Scenic" in this context means bends and slopes, not views, as my concern was to keep the car on the road.  Having arrived at the top, paid to park and to enter the Park, I must admit it was worth it.  The views are stupendous and the explanatory panels around the site are very helpful.  The only question that remains for me is this - how did the Confederate forces in possession of this commandin position and the ridge a few miles away the other side of Chattanooga lose them?

I wish I had not had that abortive trip to the Incline Railway yesterday as it would have meant I could have gone that bit further to Nashville yesterday rather than making a special trip today. Having heard so much about the Grand Old Opry I thought I should make the effort and go there.  I wish I hadn't. The theatre was where the greatest country music singers appeared.  They would weep to see it now. Commercialization is too weak a word to describe what I saw-the very antithesis of country music's origins.

Dinner this evening was at the Flying Squirrel.  It is the sort of place you need to know about in order to find it.  A block back from Main Street, with the main Fire House for Chattanooga the other side of Main Street, it attracts a varied clientele.  The menu is varied and the quality excellent while the swelection of drinks is superb. When I arrived I was greeted with "Sit where you want" and there is a wide choise of seating areas.

Roger