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).
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 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.
Tomorrow the sun should come out again. Yay!
Meanderings & Mind Munchies 