A World Apart

Those of you following our journey know that we have been staying at small towns and rural places since we left Waukegan, IL on August 28th. Once we left Alton, IL on September 11 (Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers) it became very isolated.  Our most recent, long-term stop is in New Johnsonville, TN. We are making a trip to Nashville to visit and then we will fly to Connecticut for a few weeks to wait out hurricane season. 

Even though our marina is in New Johnsonville, TN, we have to start this  blog with (Old) Johnsonville. Johnsonville (Named after Andrew Johnson who commissioned the city and was a future President) was built on the Tennessee River specifically as a Union Army depot to supply General William Tacumseh Sherman with supplies on his march through Georgia.  An existing rail line in Nashville was extended 66 miles west to the depot.  All manner of goods would arrive in Johnsonville from the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to the Tennessee River and go by train to Nashville and on to Sherman.  This only lasted for about a year at which time Sherman decided to live off the land and did not need supplies from the west.  Shortly thereafter, the Union Army left Johnsonville, but people stayed and the town survived.  In 1944, the TVA finished the Kentucky Dam, forming the Kentucky Lake from the Tennessee River, drowning the town of Johnsonville.  Literally, there are houses, roads, and businesses at the bottom of the lake. The people moved a couple of miles away and formed the town of New Johnsonville (Population 2,027).  The closest area to shop (it has the Walmart) is about 10 miles away in Waverly (population 4,105). 

Above is the New Johnsonville State Park Civil War Museum. Do you notice something missing?  We drove right by it the first time even though it was exactly where the museum should be according to the directions. 

State Park Civil War Museum

Keep all of the above in mind as you hear the rest of the story.

When we pull into a marina we often can’t tell much about the surrounding town. Pebble Isle Marina is very nice and well run. It has a restaurant and gift shop and is well kept. However, it is the first marina we have stayed at that had no cell phone service. The Wi-Fi at the boat was also nonexistent, which is uncommon at marinas. Usually, we have cell service if there’s no Wi-Fi. The restaurant is a great location on the water and has good, but not fancy, bar food and drinks.

Fred took the courtesy car to the local Walmart and after returning, it was clear that the Marina restaurant was the best restaurant in town. When we went to the restaurant, Fred asked the waitress if she could recommend anything in Nashville (our destination for the airport) and she said she had never been there. It seems that she has only lived within a 30 mile radius.

Today we had a car pick us up to take us the 65 miles to Nashville, where we plan to spend a day before leaving for CT. After we left the marina, we first went through Waverly, TN where 22 people were killed in floods last month when they got 18” of rain in a day. There are piles and piles of debris and condemned houses, and it seems unlikely this town will continue to exist.  

Flood debris in Waverly

We continued on the local roads for another 30 miles before we got to the influence of Nashville. It was an extremely rural area, and the car driver said most people don’t even want to go to Nashville as they have everything they need within a few miles. From New Johnsonville to close to Nashville is very rural, relatively poor and not mobile.  

Nashville, on the other hand, is a hopping place. Lots to do, lots of aspiring musicians and lots of people. It’s a world apart from the New Johnsonville area in a way you can’t see in the Northeast.

Nashville

We had dinner at one of the local bars. We went to a barbecue joint in the heart of downtown Nashville. We watched what seemed like two bands taking turns with the live entertainment. The downtown was amazing. It was bar after bar with neon lights. Each one had the doors and windows open so you could hear the live bands as you walked along the sidewalk. It was a cacophony of country music.  

This item was in the barbecue place we went to. You might not even recognize this. It’s a cigarette machine!  The old type that I remember from my childhood. Except one pack of cigarettes is $9.00!  😮