This morning, we headed over to Rock City on Lookout Mountain. Rock City is an iconic tourist attraction in Chattanooga.
Greg and I both thoroughly enjoyed our time there despite its kitschiness. It is a cross between a garden, an amusement park, a trail, and a scenic overlook. I’m not sure how else to describe it.
However, it could be a little challenging for anyone with a fear of heights or closed-in spaces. 🙋♀️
Here, in no particular order, are some of my favorite photos from today.
This fellow had been carrying a baby on his back, but he had to take it off in order to get through the rock passage.This is how I went over all the bridges. I would have crawled on my hands and knees except there were people coming up behind me.Yeah. I didn’t do that one.Just to give you an idea of how high up that platform is that Greg is standing on in the previous photo.I felt more comfortable holding on to something. The height was giving me vertigo.
After Rock City, we came back to the camper to relax for the rest of the evening. The weather today has been absolutely perfect.
The sun finally made an appearance sometime after noon, and Greg and I headed back to Ross’s Landing in Chattanooga to check out the festival that we had seen the day before.
I have since learned that this particular festival is called the Chattanooga Seafood Bash, which explains the large quantities of seafood offered by the food stands there.
We decided to take a hike along the Riverbend Trail before indulging in the seafood.
There was a lot to look at during our walk, including various art installations, scenic views, and buildings with unique architecture.
I was so enchanted with this part of Chattanooga that I told Greg I could see myself living here. And then he reminded me of how hot it would get in the summer. Yeah, maybe not.
After our walk, we went back to the festival and shared a plate of jambalaya with a crab cake. Unfortunately, it was awful.
We have not had much luck with the food here in Tennessee.
Point Park
I suggested that on our way back to the camper we stop by Lookout Mountain and see what there was to see there. Once we were on the mountain, Greg saw a sign for Point Park and headed in that direction.
We discovered that Point Park is part of the Chattanooga and Chickamauga National Military Park. An important battle in the Civil War occurred here.
But I liked it for the great views overlooking Chattanooga and the Tennessee River.
Tennessee offers people many opportunities to kill themselves.
Greg and I briefly considered a hike to Sunset Rock but ultimately decided that our legs needed a break, so we headed back to the camper to rest up for our last day in Chattanooga.
Our first activity of the day was another cavern tour, this time the Raccoon Mountain Caverns. Since we are staying at the Raccoon Mountain Caverns and Campground, getting to the cave involved a simple walk across the parking lot from our camper.
I enjoyed this tour more than the Ruby Falls tour. Plus, we got to see bats, salamanders, and crickets inside the cave.
Well, I didn’t get to see the crickets, but I was assured that they were there by our tour guide and the other folks on the tour (they must have better eyesight than I do).
Mr. Bat. He was about 2 inches from nose to tail.Mr. Salamander. He was maybe 3/4 inch long.
Tennessee Aquarium
After lunch back at the camper, we headed to downtown Chattanooga for a tour of the Tennessee Aquarium.
This was Greg’s choice for how to spend a rainy afternoon. I am not really an animal or fish person — or even a museum person (too much information to absorb) — but Greg decided that my preferred activity, a train ride, would not be fun in the rain. He probably wasn’t wrong.
The aquarium is right on the river. There was an open air festival/market going on, complete with live music. The entire area gave off a lovely, family-friendly vibe. I hope to go back there this weekend to do a little shopping, eating, and music enjoyment.
Greg and I rode the escalator up to the top floor, where the start of the exhibits began, with a hundred rambunctious 4th graders. Luckily for us, they have the attention span of gnats, so they quickly disappeared ahead of us.
The aquarium comprises two buildings, one for freshwater critters and the other for saltwater. We made our way through both buildings.
As aquariums go, the Tennessee Aquarium is quite nice. I enjoyed it.
I frequently found myself wondering who was the one on displayThis octopus and I had a stare-down. I think I won.So pretty!
I loved the hardscaping outside the two aquarium buildings. It was very creative, and the kids had a great time running over the bridges and skipping across the artificial creeks.
Holy cow. The last few days have been great for waterfowl but not so great for Pennsylvanians trying to tour Tennessee.
We arrived in the Chattanooga area yesterday and managed to set up moments before the heavens unleashed.
Since the weather report said we wouldn’t be out of the downpour before Saturday, Greg and I looked for indoor things to do today and tomorrow.
First, we headed to Ruby Falls, which is a cavern inside Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga that has an 80-meter waterfall inside the mountain.
This cavern tour was unlike any of the ones I’ve been on before. It was more commercialized, with a rather cheesy video at the beginning describing the discovery of the cavern (which sounded too romanticized to be believable).
The half-mile walk to the waterfall was no-nonsense and included no commentary. The aisles were narrow, and the ceiling low. I had a few moments of claustrophobia at the beginning, but it passed quickly.
The main feature of the tour was the waterfall, which was quite impressive. I only wish they hadn’t used so many colored lights. The lights were distracting and completely distorted the photographs.
After lunch back at the camper, we headed out in the pouring rain again to take a tour of the Chattanooga Whiskey Experimental Distillery.
Unfortunately, I left my ID in the car, so I was not allowed to partake in the tasting.
Despite not getting to actually taste the whisky, I found the tour interesting. And I’m happy to say that I finally understand the difference between whiskey and bourbon.
Greg and I are about to head out on our first camping trip of 2025. We’ll be doing a six-week trip through Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, with most of the time spent in Tennessee. Here is our tentative itinerary:
Child #2 and Child #4 will be holding down the fort for us. I’ve outfitted both of their bedrooms with fire escape ladders in case they set the house on fire while we’re away.
Meanderings & Mind Munchies 