Chattanooga, Tennessee FUN!

Light shinning in through the beautiful old lobby…

A beautiful ceiling…. Where is this vintage beauty????

It is the beautiful old train station & now hotel of the infamous CHATTANOOGA CHOO CHOO in Chattanooga, Tennessee. On our Christmas trip (see previous post for Part 1) we also went to visit our friends Jo Ann & Mike that now live in Chattanooga. They took us around to see the sites including the old train station which you can see in the photo above. Along with the engine, & rail cars that are now hotel rooms. Each car has 2 rooms inside. And the silver car is the diner where you can have dinner in the diner!!!! CUTE! Then we piled in the car & took a tour of downtown admiring the old buildings. You KNOW I adore old architecture!

Leaving downtown behind we went across the bridge, parked & walked across the OLD bridge to view the river & some interesting things down in “The Arts District”.

Walking across you see Look Out Mountain in the distance, the bridge you drive across to come to this side, & that building on the left houses an INDOOR Merry Go Round.

Past that (as we’re walking across the bridge) we see The Delta Queen which used to be an old paddle boat that floated the Mississippi River. She was sold & brought to Chattanooga to become another “destination” style hotel. Do you see those glass peaks in the background? It is the new Aquarium that is touted to be TOP NOTCH & the city is very proud of it.

On the other side of the bridge you can see the columns of a beautiful old home that belonged to the gentleman that bought the recipe from Coca Cola to bottle Coke as we know it today. Originally Coke was used as a medicine but, by adding soda water it became a much loved beverage as it is today. The home was donated & all those modern buildings were added to become the current Art Museum for the city. That Tennessee River is really wide & running fast. NOT like the rivers here in parched/draught ridden Texas.

Now for some history!!! We went up to Look Out Mountain (remember it in the picture above?) & viewed the movie about “The Battle In The Clouds” which was a long & bloody Blue/Grey battle up the side of the mountain.

NOW, this area is a very upscale town that has to traverse a VERY CURY ROAD or use a monorail to get up or down. Can you imagine sending your child to school on the monorail?

How’s this for a view out your back door? The Tennessee River winding through Chattanooga below. Sprawled at your feet… Now, imagine being one of the foot soldiers (in the painting above) fighting your way UP that mountain or one sitting at the top trying to defend her…

The old battle ground now wraps itself around the top ridge of Look Out Mountain with cannons, a monument, & a very real since of the pain of the past.

With reminders sitting in the old fort area or even in people’s front yards (it is historical & you can not move the cannons if it is in your yard as it MUST stay where it was left & MANY of those fancy homes have them in yards both front & back).

Truly a time that was dark days for our nation but, when speaking of wars of today… my Hubby says “Better to fight them on their soil than on ours”. Can you imagine brothers fighting against each other? Americans fighting other Americans???? SAD & I hope we never revisit that time… Now on to a look on the other side of the park.

From the top of this point they say you can see 4 or 5 different states! Imagine!!!! You sure don’t get that here in Texas (where it can take you over 12 hours to just get out of the state!) THANK YOU Jo Ann & Mike we had so much fun! And I hope you enjoyed this little visit with us.

I’m sorry I am so behind in my posting but, I am trying to get caught up from our trip, close out our company books for the end of the year, & we are looking at property to build a new home (well, not really a home as we want out of the Home Owner’s Association & all that goes with it). We are looking for 2-3 acres where we can build a HUGE Barn to store the toys (RV, Deck Boat with solid top used for a diving platform & stargazing, 4 wheelers…) & to build a beautiful apartment inside with a huge Art Studio/Wood Shop. Click on the photo below (which is of course the concept) & you can see one of my Pinterest Boards of ideas for this type home.

This keeps a girl busy!!!! And away from her creating. I sure do miss it & all my buddies in BLOGLAND!

HUGS! Charlene