Day Three

Chattanooga Day 3

On my last full day in Chattanooga I slept in a bit. I could go to do the Poker Run any time I felt like it. As it turned out though, I got to wandering around town and never did do the Poker Run.

When I got up and got dressed, I made my way down to the Cricket Pavillion in downtown Chattanooga to find the Field Events had begun. I hung around for a couple of hours and watched some of the events. I also visited my vendor friends. I wanted to wish them well on the road and find out where they would be down the road. I'll see a few of them in New York in July. The majority will be West Virginia in August.

I finally left the Pavillion for the last time and headed out and about. I thought I would take off on the Poker Run but...I took a wrong turn somewhere! I went past the Aquarium and the Chattanooga ChooChoo. Then I wandered north. Through Chattanooga. Just seeing some of the city. In at least one case I saw more than I cared to see. Every city has at least one less than perfect neighborhood. It seems I found one of Chattanooga's worst. Not too flustered with where I had arrived, I kept my eyes open and my scooter in gear. Needless to say I did not tarry.

Up north, in the Hamilton area, I found Walt's. A beer hall, pool hall, dart hall. And home bar of the Chattanooga chapter of the Southern Sons MC. The fellows had been holding a dart tournament in order to raise money to send the local child dart champions to the state dart tournament in Nashville. Although I got there too late to participate in the tournament, I did make a donation to the cause.

It was getting near supper time and I had not eaten all day. I found O'Charley's on Shallowford and had at least one good stiff drink and something to eat. Then I stopped by Steele's HD to see what was going on and to buy the obligatory TShirt for the missing security blanket.

When I got back to my motel, I thought I would pack up so I could get an early start the next morning. Foiled again. Tom and Geri invited me to join them and friends who were coming over to the motel and attend the last night of the Riverbend Festival. This festival is an annual summertime event in Chattanooga (much like Milwaukee's Summerfest) where the atmosphere is pure carnival and there is plenty of food and drink to be had on a pay as you go basis. But first you have to get tokens! I guess this keeps the cash in only a few places around the park and supposedly cuts down on the crime rate. Anyway, I went. Tom and Geri, Tom and Virginia, and Ron (who's wife was home ill), and I rode down to the park and had a fine time.

The last night of the Riverbend Festival was very crowded. The headliner group on the CocaCola stage was Starship. Formerly Jefferson Starship. Minus Gracie Slick. The guys did just about every song (with and without Gracie) that they had ever recorded. They sounded great and everyone there seemed to enjoy the show. Immediately after the stage show Chattanooga put on a spectacular fireworks display from the Market Street Bridge over the Tennessee River.

When we left the Festival we naturally got into a traffic jam. Not good for Harley's. A teenaged girl in a jeep wanted to know if we'd like to race. We immediately informed her she would lose. Not only would she NOT be able to manuever through the traffic but, she just didn't have enough horse. She giggled and we finagled our way through traffic and onto the highway in record time.

We got back to the motel, locked down and said our goodbye's. All would be heading in different directions in the morning. Already Chattanooga and the TN State HOG Rally were fading into memory. I was glad I'd decided to go even if "HE" couldn't. I had seen some of my old pals and met some new ones. I had ridden some fantastic roads and some not so good roads. I had seen a bit more of this beautiful country of ours. The brotherhood of the road was alive and well.