Author: Mr A
Location: Atlanta, Georgia & Dallas, Texas, USA
I like to believe a holiday should change you in some way. For Catherine and I, this trip across the US has certainly had an impact on us. We have made some new friends, learnt some new things (like that gravy isn’t always brown, and kettles are not a universally recognised essential item for your kitchen), and decided to review our plans for next year (more mountains less scrubby desert).
The America we have met on this trip is one full of kind, respectful people (no..we didn’t meet any politicians). We had so many instances of people (friends and strangers) go out of their way to be thoughtful and courteous. When you read the headlines focusing on the negative headlines from here, as elsewhere, its easy to forget a country is made up of individuals. It’s hard not to generalise about the “behaviour” of groups of people from the same geography, race, religion or sex. As humans, we want the simple truths, but really we will find as much variation as commonality.
We have so many highlights it would be unfair to call them out, but I will. Thank you to all the people who went out of their way to help make our trip here go so well. Those who had us stay (may your livers recover), those who helped us settle in (Deborah of the care package extraordinaire), those who gave us tips on specific things to do in their patch, and most importantly to the doctors who provided a “just in case” safety net for Catherine (who can’t get medical travel insurance for her breathing disease).
We saw so much beauty in this country. The mid coast hinterland of California, then the giant sequoia trees and the soaring peaks of the Yosemite. Then over to Chicago’s downtown area along the lake front, then the much smaller scale lakefront community of Cicero, then on to the unique geological area of the Red River Gorge and finally the majesty of the Smoky Mountains.
We have eaten some fabulous food, cooked by friends or out and about, the choice of cuisine is almost endless. The option to not have sugar or dairy in it…a little harder. We sampled some amazing wines in California (Dave and SJ, Susan and Joe – you have such great taste!), and mind bending cocktails and bourbon courtesy of the Chases in Cicero.
Thank you for your hospitality America. It’s time to return to Sydney, and the life and friends we have there, but we are certain we shall return.
After many cups of tea and a proper southern breakfast (Mr A at least tried grits with cheese and maple syrup – an odd combination I thought!), we all went our separate ways.
I presented a few slides first, talking about the group and some thoughts I have for future opportunities with treatment and information, then Dr Gelbard and Dr Francis presented their findings from three years of longitudinal research with patients.
There is much more opportunity for more research and studies ahead. We’ve funded a further two years of data collection from the iSGS 1000, but more funding is required to enable clinical trials in the future. We’re hoping to somehow set up a charitable foundation to help fund this, and I have no doubt Alex and David will be keeping an eye out for any more grants they can apply for.
Catherine spent the afternoon preparing for her presentation tomorrow. I went for a wander, heading for Centennial Park. A bloke sidled up to me and said “Give me 20 bucks or I’ll cut you!”. Not an ideal situation, to say the least. Doesn’t he realise the shocking exchange rate?
Dinner was a very pleasant affair with two of the people we have met already on our travels who come to Atlanta for the conference Catherine is speaking at (Deborah from Pasadena and Kim from Yosemite), and two people who work for Vanderbilt University (Cheryl and Kate) who are organising the conference and providing support and guidance for the research team.
Travel for me is so much about meeting new people and getting a glimpse into their lives. Tonight was a great example of how rewarding that is.
The drive was winding and picturesque, and before long we were pulling into Gatlinburg.
It was an entertaining session of throwing back small shots of various flavours, accompanied by amusing banter from our bar man, but there was nothing ‘wow’ about anything we tasted, so we moved on. Mr A was feeling brave so tried the same with some whisky tasting over the road too. 
That proved enough alcohol for one day, and we stuck to the club sodas for the remainder of the evening!
It followed the very pretty ‘Little River’ for half the walk, before joining another walk which climbed a short way into the lower mountains before looping back to the beginning.
A very respectable 11.5km all up. From there we jumped back in the car and headed across the mountains.
It is also a jumping on/off point for the Appalachian Trail. This trail traverses about 3,500km (2,200 miles) from Maine to Georgia. We thought we might give it a go…or some of it anyhow…and get away from the crowds at the lookout.
There was no choice on this walk, we had to head up right away. Luckily my breathing is not ‘too’ awful just now, so I wheezed my way up. It took seconds to escape the crowds, with the occasional walkers coming back our way.
We walked about 2.5km before turning back, deciding 16km of walking and about 50 flights of climbing was ok for one day!
From here we continued down, finally settling in a motel in a little settlement called Franklyn. A local Mexican restaurant provided a cheap and quick early dinner, and hopefully we’ll have a restful night after all this fresh air and exercise!
The Auxier Ridge trail took us 8km out and back along a …wait for it…ridge…which was excellent for Catherine’s current breathing capacity and my old bones. It was another great recommendation from our mate Tom, although I think we only managed two of the five trails he suggested!
Bird life was a bit sparse, a couple of eagles graced us with their soaring presence briefly, then haughtily exited stage right when even Catherine looked too big a morsel for lunch. 
It looks as though a lot of people camp out on the end of the trail, despite the signs forbidding it. Pity they can’t manage to carry a few extra grams and take a trowel to bury their waste. Some things are universal unfortunately, we experience the same in Australia.
We staggered back to the car severely feeling the humidity, and retreated by mid afternoon to the wonderful AC cooled Cliffview Lodge. However, we had a bit of strange experience on the drive back, all of sudden really weird noises came out of the phone and car audio system while I was negotiating a tight bend. What the heck was that? A message came on the phone screen – it was a presidential alert testing the national emergency wireless system.
I’m surprised Trump didn’t use it to send a personal message to us all..something self-effacing, well thought through and fact based no doubt.
Mr A did some careful negotiating, using my breathing as an excuse, managed to get them to agree to refund us the next two nights…we’ll be checking out in the morning and moving to a better rated hotel.
We checked out of our damp and smelly Hemlock Lodge and headed across to our new accomodation at Cliffview Lodge. So much nicer! A large, clean room with a sliding door leading to a wraparound veranda with rocking chairs and swing benches overlooking a beautiful view.
We were unable to get to a couple of the other walks he recommended due to bogginess of the road – we really missed our Landcruiser here. But after this walk headed to Gray’s Arch.
More spectacular scenery awaited us there with just the very beginnings of autumn beginning to show in the foliage. We’re just loving being among these deciduous trees, reminding us of our lives in England, and the scenery and walks otherwise quite reminiscent of the Blue Mountains, just outside Sydney.
Once up, it was a spectacular view as we walked over this bridge, and then climbed under it to begin the walk back down.
To reach the underside of the bridge we had to squeeze through a narrow crack in the rock, but the view was worth it. The geology sure is impressive here!
Our hike down took us through more narrow, low and extremely steep and slippery pathways – we were so grateful Tom had loaned us two hiking poles.
Before long we were back at the car, ready to head back for showers and food.
It was time to try out those wave runners (jet skis). It went a lot less well for me then I had expected! I just could not get comfortable with the balance and steering, so quickly gave it up and returned dispirited to watch the nimble Mrs A roar off with Carol.
Tom and I headed out on kayaks. I confess to taking inordinate pleasure from regularly waiting for him to catch up with me after my dismal performance with an engine underneath me.
The bird life on the lake was prolific, and clearly had plenty of fish to keep them well fed. A bald eagle soared over head (sorry no photographic evidence), and the lakes edge was home to many Great Egrets.
After all this activity it was time for another lunch down on the water’s edge in their bar-come-pergola named “Margariterville” – yes they are Jimmy Buffet fans. We had a fabulous Chardonnay (Cakebread Cellars) with all the lovely dips and roasted garlic Carol had made.
To end this fine day, our last with these guys for a while, we headed off on their boat to potter around the lake and watch the sunset, clutching Manhattan cocktails Carol had prepared for us “to go”. 
Dinner at the local waterfront grill was a fun affair, with Carol and Tom’s neighbours from across the lake joining us.
What a wonderful community this is, with the lake drawing people together and giving them common ground to chat about and build relationships.
We went to bed a little sad knowing this was the last time we would see these guys for a while, but happy with so many great memories from this perfect weekend in Cicero.
It turns out the ‘biscuits’ are savoury dough circles baked in the oven, while on the stove top a mixture of sausage meat, flour and milk are cooked up. This is served with hot-pepper sauce and is surprisingly delicious!
After all this endless decadence, we decided we should go for a paddle on the lake (Morse Reservoir) and up to one of two water sources.
Tom’s boat was much longer and sleeker than ours and he was soon but a speck in the distance as Mark and I explored the shoreline. We spotted a bald eagle circling above, a red squirrel scurrying along the branches and cute little chipmunks hunting for snacks.
We eventually caught up with him and continued our exploration up the shallower areas, where Little Cicero Creek enters the lake, home to herons and turtles among other creatures.
Eight kilometres under paddle later, we returned to warm up in the garden jacuzzi, with our second cocktail for the day. This time Carol whipped us up lemon, lime and ginger beer with vodka – A Moscow Mule – delicious and served in ice cold metal mugs which fit perfectly in the drink holders!
A delicious dinner of marinated pork loin, pumpkin risotto and fresh salad, served with some very tasty wines followed, and the evening finished with much laughter over darts and a board game. Awesome fun!
Oh dear…would you take a boat trip with this guy? But we did …boat retrieved we were on our way across the lake. Music pumping, wine flowing, what a life. The night just unravelled from there!
What a blast to see these guys again, Tom’s the brother I never had from another mother.
I have no idea what we were laughing at half the time but this picture says it all.
We then made our way into central Chicago via the train, dragging our luggage a few blocks across town to our hotel as the sun began to go down.
As we have found on the whole trip, the Australian dollar is really against us, and we’re paying a lot of money for not that much. Our hotel (The Freehand) is centrally located, but the rooms are tiny, with a queen bed squished up against the wall so Mr A has to clamber over me to go to the bathroom!
Thursday: It was a fairly early start – I’m suffering from insomnia due to some medicine I’m currently taking, so had been awake since 3.30am! We strolled Chicago’s streets, looking for a café that might serve us a cup of tea. Everything was closed!
We wound our way along the Chicago River which passes right through the centre of the city, leading out to Lake Michigan. The city was positively sparkling in the morning sunlight, whispy clouds streaking through the blue sky.
The Navy Pier sits on the shore of the lake, an entertainment and conference facility with a large Ferris wheel at its central point. Again, everything was quiet and closed. It felt quite eerie strolling along the immaculately clean pathways, past perfectly manicured landscaping and flowers with hardly another soul around. The lake looks like an endless sea from here, stretching out as far as the eye can see.
The city is surrounded by parks and gardens, softening the hard angles of the buildings. Chicago is a good looking city architecturally, every building complimenting its surroundings and neighbours perfectly. Looking back from the serenity of the lake it was hard to imagine the hustle and bustle, the honking horns, the sirens and engine sounds echoing through the skyscrapers.
We eventually found our cup of tea, and continued our exploration to the Millennium Park and the art installations there.
We did a little shopping during the afternoon, mostly window shopping once we had done our exchange rate calculations and realised it would be cheaper to source products from Australia.
We had a lovely meal with him, and then Mr A and I stayed on to enjoy the show – Laura Rain and the Cesars. Spotting a lady sat alone on the table behind us, Mark invited her to join us. She turned out to be the very lovely Angel, fiancée of the drummer. The star attraction, Laura Rain popped out to say hello as well.
It was an entertaining show, fantastic blues guitar, incredible singing and of course great drumming! Before we knew it it was 1am and we were stumbling outside to find a taxi back to the hotel. What a fabulous night and finale to our visit to Chicago.