Chattanooga

We're back from our long weekend in Chattanooga, TN. Instead of boring you with all the details, I thought I'd let the pictures speak for themselves. We stayed at the Mayor's Mansion Inn which is a B & B right beside the UTC campus. We enjoyed some delicious breakfasts, got to know the "inn princess", Savannah, who was a gorgeous 7 year old chocolate lab, saw a wedding when we arrived on Saturday, and listened to the marching band practice two nights from the parking lot.

Here's a picture from the top of the parking deck that we used often. The fresh water aquarium is on the left and the ocean aquarium is the smaller one on the right. Both are right beside the river which has a great riverwalk with some cool water features. Mike took this picture on our way to the Chattanooga Lookouts game where they gave away a used car between innings. Let me tell you, there were some doozies. I'm sorry to say we weren't the lucky winners.....I think we'll survive.

Sunday we spent most of the day at the Tennessee Aquarium. Mike was a trooper and got me past most of the snakes without me having to see them. Let me tell you, I'm not happy about the "Snakes on a Plane" movie this week. All media outlets are now a threat to my well-being. Just kidding. Anyway, here are two macaws that were hilarious. We walked up, I said "Hello", just kidding, and one of them said "Hi Ya" back....then they preceeded to laugh their heads off. It was contagious. I think these birds might hold the secret to life.....just laugh as much as possible....I guess the good part is that they're imitating us.

I think the favorite part of the trip for both of us was the butterfly aka "flutterbye garden" at the aquarium. It was gorgeous and we took about a zillion pictures. This is not the prettiest picture of the bunch, but it is the most memorable. This was my "hitchhiker". As you're leaving the garden, they ask you to check your clothing because the butterflies are attracted to certain colors. This little guy was taking a ride on my purse. Right as Mike said "we won't have any on us"....there he was. I don't know why but it made me feel special. I LOVE butterflies.

The last full day of our trip we got a little culture at the Hunter American Art Museum in Chattanooga. Mike took this really cool shot outside in their sculpture garden. It was a kind of "Old Well" kind of looking thing with a wire top. I just like the picture.





Overall we had a great time. We ate lots of great food, got some much needed rest, and I got to see otters again (another one of my favorites). If you ever find yourself in Chattanooga we highly recommend Lupi's Pizza, the Sunday Farmer's Market, and especially The Blue Plate . Now it's back to the daily grind and looking forward to our next adventure....the beach at Labor Day where we'll observe the habits of the Cherry Grove natives. Where's your next destination?