Saturday 16th January 2010 - Off to Tennessee

          It's a nice early start, and by ten-thirty it's breakfast in Clarksville, Tennessee.  From being quite unseasonably cold, it's now turning unseasonably warm.  It's all the fault of those people with several motor cars.  At least global warming is better when it's warm.

 

          Then it's across to Western Tennessee on US 79.  My first stop is Paris (they pronounce the last syllable as in "tennis").  This is twenty miles short of my destination, but I suspect, from my internet researches that this is where I'm going to end up.  I have a coke in one of the town centre bars, mainly to use the rest room, and check out the cheapest motel. 

          Then it's off to Dresden, the seat of Weakley county, where Glasgow used to be.  Dresden doesn't seem to run to motels, or very much else.  The site of the "historical" Glasgow is about seven miles north-east of here.  If there are any records, they will be in the courthouse here.

          The next stop is Martin (I can't think where they got a name like that: like the beer, it must be "domestic", rather than "imported').  This is where most of the motels are.  It's a university town, and seems to be much expanded.  It has the feel of a UK 'new town', with wide dual carriageways but no buildings along them.  The motels are out by the campus, and expensive by my standards.

          So it's back to Paris for the night.  The motel is very good for the price.  And it seems to be run by a couple of grown-up ladies, so it's probably very clean as well.

 

          Later that night, it started to rain very heavily, so Silver had to do the work.  I found a local Mexican restaurant which served a dark Mexican beer in 32 ounce glasses.  I've never seen glasses that size before, but Silver coughs diplomatically when I even think of having a second one.  Thirty-two ounces is two pints here, commonly called a 'quart'.