We got to Chattanooga around 10am and hit up several local thrift shops. This is one of our favorite things to do when we're out of town. I love it because I find lots of great old clothes to turn into new clothes for Raileigh. Anyhow, we slowly made our way up I75 to Cleveland, TN. There was a Children's Orchard there. Children's Orchard is a kids consignment store. We had one in SC, within walking distance of our apartment. I have missed it so much! I used to go there all the time and find great deals on Raileigh clothes. Well, I was more than a little disappointed in this one. They're franchises, so I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes so far up, but I did. Oh well. I used the $5 gift certificate I'd been emailed for signing up for their newsletter and spent $1 on a skirt and pair of pants.
We started heading back towards Chattanooga and stopped a few times to get a letterbox. The first was by groovychick and was at the burial site of a Cherokee Indian Priestess. I definitely read the directions wrong. I thought it was a couple of miles of the interstate and it was more like 15 or 20. Ooops! Anyhow, Raileigh was sleeping, so I retrieved the box and Darren put it back so we could both see the site.
I think the area had been redone since the box was planted. I found it, but not exactly where the clues said it would be. Inside the box was a geocache and the stamp part of a hitchhiker. Hmmmmm.... On the way back to the car, I saw these beautiful berries.
We also stopped for a box called FFFF in Ooltewah, which was actually only about 4 miles from where we were staying. This company had placed all of these neat iron structures outside their entry. It was a really interesting place!
We then headed to check in to our hotel. After getting settled in, we headed out to dinner. We weren't sure where we wanted to go, but we were staying near the mall, so there were a lot of choices. We saw a McAllister's, a South Carolina favorite, so we new exactly what we wanted! Our favorite thing there is the beef and cheddar spud. Their spuds are HUGE!! It's really just 2 potatoes put together, but I went there several times before I learned this. Anyhow, they took this particular spud off the menu some time ago, but after doing some explaining, we were finally able to get one.
The next morning, we started our day at Booker T Washington State Park to work on a series on 7 letterboxes called band logos. We did a very short hike and got the 1st two.
After several failed attempts, we found one over near the boat ramp, and then headed to look for one near the playground. No luck there, but Raileigh did get out to play for a while.
We were pretty bored with the park by this point, so we opted out of the rest of the boxes and headed for Lookout Mountain. Our first stop was a little shop called Mountain Memories, home to a really cool vintage Coca-Cola planter and a beautiful letterbox by mstrwndl.
After a quick stop at the top of the mountain for another box, we headed down to eat some lunch and then we were off to Coolidge Park. I was so very excited about Coolidge Park. At this park, which is on the river, there is an amazingly beautiful vintage carousel. It really is beautiful! There are so many different animals on the carousel- a fish, frog, tiger, ostrich, unicorn, giraffe, just to name a few. Another cool part- it was really cheap! Raileigh was free and Darren and I each cost just $1. Darren and Raileigh rode first, while I took pictures. Then, we all three rode. I loved it. If we lived in Chattanooga, I would need a frequent rider card... not sure they make those, bu it sounds good!
After our carousal rides, we wandered around the park. We searched for a few letterboxes, but had no luck at all. The view of the bridges is great from the park and the scenery in general is quite enjoyable.
We headed back towards our hotel after this. We got ready for dinner, but decided to stop by a local park before we ate. Imagination Station is in nearby Collegedale. It has a great playground that is all designed by the local kids. There are also two trains to climb up on. Raileigh took a turn on the swings, one of her favorite things to do. She played around for a while and we found a letterbox. There were 2 there, but there was also about a zillion people there, so we opted out of one.
Dinnertime! We opted for Logan's, a yummy steakhouse that has good prices. Another restaurant we discovered in SC. We were starting to see a trend at this point. This was the 3rd place we'd gone because it was somewhere we missed from SC. You'll see the trend continue. We started calling this our SC trip even though we were in Tennessee! We checked out the local Dick's Sporting Goods after dinner, something else we do when we're out of town, then headed back to the hotel for a little CSI.
The next morning, I got to go to Hancock Fabrics. Yes, this just happens to be another place I miss from South Carolina. I got some cute fabric for some new Raileigh dresses and then we were off to the Children's Museum! The top floor was closed for the day because they were changing out exhibits. Most everything is downstairs, so we didn't mind. Plus, tickets were discounted because of it and we had a coupon, so we all went for around $13. This place was amazing! I don't even know where to start describing it to you. They had so many different areas- music, vets office, dinosaurs, little yellow house, water and sand, art and so much more. We spent a lot of time in the little yellow house. It was designed like the inside of a house and was for kids 4 and under. There was a play kitchen, a huge doghouse and car and lots of things to play with. Raileigh also loved the music area. There were giant instruments where all you had to do was push a button for them yo play. She loves music and she loves buttons, so this was perfect for her!
We walked to lunch at nearby Sticky Fingers, which just happens to be our favorite BBQ and another SC favorite. We enjoyed some yummy pulled pork sandwiches with Carolina sweet sauce. Amazing! Just to tell you how much I love this place- when I was being induced in the hospital and couldn't eat, this was the one thing I wanted!
After lunch, it was back to the museum. We explored some of the areas we'd already went to in the morning and some areas we hadn't been to yet. They had opened up the rooftop activities, so we went out there. We also played in the science and experiment area where Darren built this huge arch out of these giant block things.
When we left, Raileigh set a record for falling asleep- she was out before we'd even left the parking lot! Darren and I stopped for milk shakes. I got cookies and cream and honestly, it tasted like bananas. It was the most bizarre milkshake I have ever had. We then went to this HUGE used book/ cd/ dvd store we'd seen on the interstate. When I say huge, that is probably an understatement. McKay is amazing! It is 2 stories of wonderful used goodness. We were in there several hours and came out with 41 items. The best part- we only spent $30! I found about 25 books for Raileigh that were only 25 cents each!
That night, we headed back out to downtown to walk across the Walnut Street bridge. The Walnut Street bridge spans the river starting near the Hunter Art Museum and ends on the other side near Coolidge Park. We walked at sunset. I have to say, this is my favorite thing we did. It was so beautiful and so relaxing. We got Quizno's on the other side of the bridge and ate it from a bench overlooking the water. I could get used to evening walks on the bridge!
With Saturday morning, came our departure for Alabama and Nick and Christy's wedding. We lefy early, knowing we wanted to stop several times on the way. We got several quick boxes by SHH, TeddyHugger, and Team Bearcat.
Soon after, we managed to miss our exit off I24. The bad part was that is was another 20 miles until the next exit, straight up a mountain. Then, we got to turn around and drive the 20 miles back down to our exit. We saw a car who'd ran off in the runaway truck ramp. We finally stopped for lunch near Scotsdale (I think), AL. This is the town that's the home of the unclaimed baggage store, which we might have had time to stop at if not for our 45 minute detour! We had some delicious Mexican food and Raileigh had her first sopapilla.
We made it to Florence just in time to get ready and hurry over to the wedding. Raileigh wore one of the dresses I made her. Nick is Darren's cousin. He and Christy had chosen a beautiful spot outdoors along the river to exchange vows. There was a bridge spanning the background and a woman played the harp. It was really nice. A lot of Darren's family was there as well and it was really nice to see everyone!
It was time to head to the reception. It was held at an old building called the Gas Light in nearby Tuscumbia. We saw this street sign along the way and I just had to share it.
Seriously? East, South, and West at the same time? Anyhow, the reception was beautiful as well. Raileigh played with her cousin Brice. She adored him! He stole the show on the dance floor and it was really cute to watch Raileigh try and imitate him!
We enjoyed Sunday morning breakfast with Darren's family before heading home. We had several stops planned, but it rained the whole way home, so we just rode and stopped to eat. It was a wonderful trip! I enjoyed my time relaxing with my family! It was also special to be a part of Nick and Christy's special day! Congratulations to the Rice's!
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Wow! What an interesting trip! Love all the pics - thanks so much for sharing! :-)
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