Pardon me Beth… is that the cat that chewed your new shoes?
[Pardon me boy… is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?]
March 9th and 10th, 2013
What an awesome weekend we had in Chattanooga! While it was a little on the chilly side and somewhat overcast, we didn’t let that slow us down one bit. We got up early (yawn) on Saturday morning and headed out Chattanooga bound. The drive is practically all Interstate from our front door to the Chattanooga Choo Choo. We made excellent time and got to Lookout Mountain in time for another cup of coffee. Traveling with Beth is such a pleasure. She makes everything so easy 🙂 We chatted like we always do, and we were in Chattanooga before we knew it.
We planned our weekend getaway only a few days in advance, but we were quite excited about spending some time together on an adventure. I spent most of that week singing Chattanooga Choo Choo to Beth. For the sake of making a complete record of our trip, I thought I should include that here. 🙂
I offer for your entertainment, the Glen Miller version.
Our weekend was jam packed with weekend getaway goodness from the very beginning. We started the day with a journey to the center of the earth at Ruby Falls. We both had been to Ruby Falls before (is there anyone who hasn’t??), so we knew what to expect. Nothing has really changed about it, but it was still a fun time together in the heart of Lookout Mountain. It had been chilly outside, but the temperature underground was very nice (as always), so it allowed us to have fun while it warmed a bit outside!
Once we left Ruby Falls, we headed on over to nearby Rock City. It was still a little overcast and chilly out, but we still managed to enjoy a wonderful time at Rock City! I’m sure everyone has seen the famous “See Rock City” birdhouses and barns!
Here are a few of the many great pictures we got from Rock City, including one where we are playing “Hide and PP” 🙂 I really enjoy taking pictures of PP and my iPhone makes it easy to do since I always have it with me. PP is always reluctant for me to take the pictures at the moment, but she enjoys them when we get back! And I know her mom appreciates seeing them too 🙂
By the time we finished at Rock City, it was time to head over to the Chattanooga Choo Choo to check in! Neither of us had ever stayed at the Choo Choo, so we really didn’t know what to expect. We were pleasantly surprised! And it was a truly awesome experience! We stayed in one of the Victorian sleeping train cars, and it was a real treat. The whole atmosphere at the Choo was fabulous, and when we returned that night, there were even torches lit in the courtyard that burned late into the night and gave a nice ambience to our room 🙂
Here are some of the pictures of the Choo Choo and our room to give you a glimpse of what we experienced there. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend staying there in one of the train cars!
Once we checked in to the Choo Choo, we were starving! The closest place to eat was across the street at the Terminal Brewhouse. Boy did we make the right choice there! One of the best places we have ever had lunch or dinner! We loved it so much we went back the next day for lunch on our way home! The atmosphere was fantastic and the food was out of this world. The veggie lasagna was soooooooo good and I know PP got tired of hearing me talk about it, but it was fantastic. Here are some pictures of the Brewhouse and PP while we were there (one of my fav pics of PP). We didn’t do the buggy ride this trip, but that may be something for another time!
After we stuffed ourselves at the Brewhouse, we headed over to the Riverwalk which was just a couple of blocks away. The Riverwalk is a beautiful area of wide open space and walkways and bridges with a breathtaking view of the river. There are a number of things to do down there. The Tennessee Aquarium is there, as well as an IMAX theater, and restaurants galore! I have included some of the pictures from the Riverwalk in the Flickr slideshow at the end of this post. We stopped by the Cold Stone for some ice cream and parked ourselves on a bench for some serious people watching 🙂
We ended the evening with a dinner cruise on the Southern Belle riverboat which of course was docked on the river. Don’t be fooled, the Southern Belle is the little boat next to the very big “dock” that looks like a riverboat. It houses the gift shop and stores 🙂
We had a dinner of prime rib and live entertainment, both of which proved to be very interesting with stories themselves. The deck was beautiful in the moonlight, but it was a little too chilly and windy to stay out long.
We woke up for day two of our adventure and had a terrific breakfast buffet at the Choo Choo. While we contemplated the day, we asked our server for some suggestions. We learned that all of the shops and fun stores are located on the North Shore on the other side of the river 🙂 We made our way over there and spent the day at Coolidge Park and shopping along the North Shore. The shops there were very unique and different and we enjoyed our time on the North Shore even more than we did at Ruby Falls and Rock City.
PP even tamed a lion!
We ended day two by stopping back by the Terminal Brewhouse for a late lunch before heading back home. What a wonderful adventure we had! We loved every moment of it and we are looking forward to sharing more time and exciting adventures together in the near future. Stay tuned as we plan our Alaskan cruise!
