This subject is dear to my heart, as it is near to my hometown, I grew up only 30 mi. from Chattanooga. I remember Rock City as being much more fun than Gaiman made it out to be, but then I was very young. Oh, and the red barns, with See Rock City? There was one in my hometown, but they are slowly disappearing. A part of roadside tourism, going. That makes me sad. Anyway, their website is www.seerockcity.com, if anyone wants to see pics and info.

Where did you grow up? I have family in Cleveland, TN, and while I've never been to Rock City, I was delighted to see it in the book.

I grew up in Dalton, GA, self-proclaimed "Carpet Capital of the World" Its been ages since I've been to Rock City, but I was at Ruby Falls a little more recently, and it was just as touristy and sad as Neil described it. I'm sure it used to be a beautiful natural wonder, but as it is now, a long flat path with recessed lighting and a laser show on the fall, that it could pass for entirely man-made.

The "Rock City" barns and signs (including bird houses) stretch north all the way to Kentucky. Born north of Knoxville I would always see them. I know once upon a time most were along Hwy 27. Now the last reminders are along I-75. For Neil to place the battle at in our backyard was a very special treat.

Incidently, VK, you should visit Cumberland Falls near Somerset Kentucky sometime. During the full moon it produces a "moon bow" only one of two places in the world that produces such an occurance. (the other being in South America.) And no tricky laser lightshows. *grins*

That sounds lovely! I'd like to make it up there sometime, but from my present location in FL, its kind of a long way. I think my husband's grandmother is up there though, so maybe one day....

Vanna White is from Dalton, Ga. (Also I think maybe the other moon bow is in Africa, not South America. I have been to Angel Falls and I don't remember anything about a moonbow there.)

I didn't know about Vanna, but I did know that Marla Maples Trump is from Dalton. Not very illustrious. Oh, and Deborah Norville, or at least her family.

Oops, maybe I got them mixed up. They are all blond. maybe i just think blond women are from dalton, like maybe it has a spring from which, um, spring, blonds. or something.

speaking of georgia and roadside things though, has anyone gone to Paradise Gardens? it is another of my favorite random-places.

miss sunshine, back in the US, yay!

I grew up just below Chattanooga, across the Georgia state line. My mother is from Lookout Mountain. Needless to say, I was wonderfully stunned by the use of Rock City.

The odd thing is that the website makes no mention nor includes any pics of the blacklit nursery rhyme dioramas that Neil describes. And they are most certainly there. You cannot complete the tour without descending into fairyland. Used to scare me to death, especially the enormous room at the end. Pitch black, glowing figures of Jack Sprat, the Cow Jumping Over the Moon and so forth. You couldn't see the ceiling.

Yeah. It certainly is a powerful place. If you haven't been, you should go.

OK, all of y'all need to come to ConCat, in Knoxville. It's Thanksgiving Weekend. And Neil's experience there gave K-Town ONE WHOLE LINE in AG.

Just pimping the Con.

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Originally posted by ViciousKitty:
I was at Ruby Falls a little more recently, and it was just as touristy and sad as Neil described it. I'm sure it used to be a beautiful natural wonder, but as it is now, a long flat path with recessed lighting and a laser show on the fall, that it could pass for entirely man-made.

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I just went to Ruby Falls last year. After numerous road trips with my grandparents between Ohio and Florida, the lure of those signs was finally too much for me. Like you said, the end result is more than a little disappointing...I was expecting some magnificent underground cascade of water. Instead it's really just a trickle falling out of a hole in the ceiling. Even the natural cave formations are kind of ruined by the cheesy lighting.

I'm amazed it is a real place. Is there a list of real places in the book?

If you visit Rock City, I wonder if Hot Sauce Charlie's is still near the base of the mountain?

When I was there some 8 years ago, Hot Sauce Charlie's was a BBQ Pork shack. Flies and smoke everywhere around this little tin shack. Awesome sandwich, topped with hot sauce and coleslaw. The latter was a surprise, but when in rome... and it is a nice foil for the heat.

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Originally posted by boi4pele:
I'm amazed it is a real place. Is there a list of real places in the book?

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I'd read that almost all the place that are visited in the book actually exist. I thought they were all places that Neil discovered on book signing tours around the states.

i figured that they were places he discovered when he "dropped off the planet" as he says he does once in a while when deadlines loom, and life won't let him write...

Just joined up to this forum.
I'm 45 and have been a Gaiman fan since the first Sandman came out.
I read American Gods the week it came out and was totally enthralled at the Rock City parts. I visited there in the early Sixties. Boy did that book bring back some cool memories!
So much so that I started searching, and found the Rock City site. More cool memories.
If i ever get the chance, I'd love to go there again.
As well as some of the other locales in the book.

Carry on...

"we gladly feast on those who would subdue us"

We drove from Binghamton to Galveston in 1982 and ended up taking many pictures of the mileage signs for Rock City, Lookout Mountain and Ruby Falls along the way. And yes, all those signs finally got to us and we stopped at Ruby Falls.