March 21: the Dragon, the Cleveland TN mausoleum, Chattanooga

We started out Friday morning at the tail end of the morning rush hour, but unlike the rest of our suburban brethren who were heading south into the city, we were heading north and out of town!

First, we stopped at Nora Mill in Helen to pick up some cereal and oatmeal; these would travel with us through our entire loop in Kristy's luggage.



From here, we made a beeline to US 129, the Dragon.



After the obligatory photo at the overlook,



we stopped for a tasty camping-food lunch on the foothils parkway.



Ask us sometime about the old dude we saw on his brand-spanking-new Harley, who barely made it out of the parking lot. Neither of us understood what someone so wobbly was doing all alone in the hills on a bike he could barely ride. I wish we'd gotten a photo.

Then, we found Cleveland, TN and the blood-stained mausoleum housing the body of Nina, a child who was killed by a train in 1871. The story goes that the mausoleum, built of white marble, developed 'blood' stains that could not be washed or scrubbed out, despite the best efforts of the townspeople.







The mysterious marble stains:



'Nina's little garden'



Next, we continued on to Chattanooga, where we spent the night.