Since the rendezvous didn’t start until Sun. afternoon, we took the time to tour Chattanooga and Nashville, TN. Chattanooga is on the TN River, a 188 mile, 4 day trip by boat, which is why we rented a car. Although many Loopers do take this side trip, we didn’t have enough time to see Chattanooga and Nashville (on the Cumberland R.), so we decided to drive. We went to Ruby Cavern in Lookout Mountain to see the 140’ tall underground waterfall. The tour of the cavern was fascinating and the waterfall was spectacular. From there we drove back to our hotel and took the free electric shuttle to the IMAX Theatre to see Born To Be Free. Chattanooga has several of these 20 passenger busses that run on batteries and drive thru several routes around the city. While they are a real boon for tourists, they are also used as commuter busses by the locals. We took the bus back to the hotel, changed clothes and got back on the bus to go to the Station House Res., a must see for us tourists. The big feature is singing waiters and waitresses, and it was a tough call as to which was more mediocre, the food or the entertainment. So much for touring! Since we didn’t cruise to Chat. by boat we missed “the best part of the river.” The TN River Gorge. Pat really wanted to see this so we boarded the TN. River Hi Speed Touring Catamaran for a 2 hour tour. Unfortunately, the weather was cold with showers and we had to spend most of the trip inside to keep warm. Also, we got behind a tow, which slowed us down and we couldn’t go as far into the Gorge as usual. The real highlight of the trip for Joe was when the Capt. (there are 2 Captains required for High Speed Cats) came out from the bridge. Joe peered in, and the Capt, Kyle Payne, invited him to see the helm. While in there Joe told the Capt. about the Great Loop and his own 100 Ton Master’s License, and they really hit it off. So much so that Joe spent the rest of the trip in one of the helm chairs, and had a real thrill. Just before pulling into the dock, Capt. Kyle invited Joe up to the aft deck and said, “watch this.” He had a remote control in his hand and proceeded to spin the boat, presumably 180 degrees to get alongside the dock, but spun it 180 plus 360 degrees. When asked why he did that he answered, “because we can!”
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