Chattanooga: Scenes from the Weekend

When arrived at our hotel in Chattanooga Friday night (which I will say wasn't the fanciest and we didn't pay top dollar for), we were pleasantly surprised to find they had upgraded our room to one with an in-room jacuzzi and they had left candy bars and a birthday card for me. Thanks, Courtyard by Marriott!

Saturday morning we started our day of Tennessee outdoor-ness with a trip to Ruby Falls. It's an underground cave with a giant waterfall at the end.

Before the adventures started.


Plus or minus 1,000 feet underground.

Stalactites and stalacmites. Quick, can anybody tell me the difference?


This was the waterfall at the end of the underground hike. Pictures don't really show how awesome it really is.

At Lookout Mountain.


There were a lot of Chilean miner jokes made on our underground tour. I just liked the pink hat!

Pretty or what?
The hat was not for style, it was COLD!

Switching gears, after Ruby Falls, we continued up the mountain to Rock City. Doug wants me to point out here that Rock City is in Georgia. He got a kick out of that! The state line runs literally through a neighborhood along a street going up the mountain. Anyway, the name Rock City is misleading, it's WAY cooler than it sounds, and it's much more than rocks. Think gardens and cliffs that lead you up a mountain to a view of 7 states all at once on a clear day.



Can you see 7 states in this picture?

They were starting to put up their Christmas decor at Rock City.



Fat Man's Squeeze

The lookout point. That area part way down with the railing is called Lover's Leap. #nothankyou

Another cool waterfall.

And more Christmas decor!


Then we headed to the Chattanooga Nature Center and did a drive-through nature trail. After several hours of walking and hiking, driving was nice.



Random bamboo in Tennessee along the drive.

Later Saturday night, we had dinner at a tapas restaurant that was quite delicious. I thought Chattanooga was going to be more or less small town country, but I was impressed with their downtown area, and the lofts and restaurants they have. Thumbs up all around! Sunday morning we headed to this crafts fair before brunch. Twist my arm... This doesn't really show it well at all but it was all very hip and etsy-like art. I got a necklace made out of recycled t-shirts. She made it for me on the spot after I requested the colors I wanted.

Modeling my t-shirt necklace.

We ate brunch at Food Works. $1 mimosas and cinnamon apple-stuffed pancakes. YES please! The food was picture-worthy:


Just before heading home! We had a great time!