Rock City was fun enough, but there was nothing mega-cool about it. However, it was this visit to Rock City that triggered a changed of perspective in my head as it related to doing ‘things’ and visiting places. Lisa and I left Clearwater on the morning of Saturday, August 5, 1995 and drove into Tennessee before stopping for the night. In the area of Chatanooga was the roadside attraction Rock City - a mountainous group of caverns, lookout points, and man-made additions that are heavily advertised on a smattering of barn-tops that can be seen from I-75.
Nothing to write home about, I can assure you. The most interesting attraction is the Lover’s Leap lookout point to which the dubious claim that you can “SEE SEVEN STATES” applies. No one has ever proven or disproven the claim. But when it comes to my personal history, our visit to Rock City was a signicant event in my life.
Lisa in front of Lover’s Leap
Do you believe it?
Although Lisa and I had just visited Disney World, the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando, Clearwater, and two movie star midgets, it wasn’t until we saw Rock City that the itch came to me to somehow document the places I was visiting. I had long admired my friend Bob Satterfield and his commitment to doing unique and interesting things - among them visiting no end of historical sites. He always took a slew of photos and he always bought a slew of souvenirs at each place he saw, usually including a hat pin if available. I wasn’t into hat pins, so I decided to purchase my first magnet at Rock City - probably inspired by my Mom and her parents, who would occasionally purchase magnets for their refrigerators. (Grandma and Grandpa Murphy collected magnets of all fifty states - even if they hadn’t visited them). I also decided to snap a lot of photos of us at Rock City. I have included some of them here, but mercifully eliminated the shots of most rock formations that did not include us in them.
Me in front of God-only-knows what
Lisa on the swinging bridge
Feigning petrification on the bridge
Lisa and a non-swinging bridge, I assume
Lisa and Mushroom rock
More than just this new commitment to document my goings-on, it instilled a sense of fun and awe and gumption to do whatever it took to capture some cool moments in my life. As those who visit know, my refrigerator now boasts over 200 magnets from the last twelve years - and proudly sitting top left is the very first one: Rock City. And this new perspective not only continued to carry me through life for the past dozen years, but it undoubtedly had reverberated into the creation of first, my annual Christmas newsletters…and second, this very website.
My first magnet…ever
Coming next: a final word about this trip - a reflection written in 1995…
Glad to hear I was an influence in some part of your life! And I can blame you for the magnets on my frig!
Bob
October 22nd, 2007