My Cup Overflows: Chattanooga Weekend Getaway

This past weekend, we left all stress, schedules, and work behind as we headed to Chattanooga. We had so much fun visiting with family, touring a few of the local sites, exploring a local park, and chillin' by the pool. A much needed getaway indeed!

Although I took TONS of pictures, I'll post just a few of my favorites. To check out our entire trip album (I know you want to :)), click here.

Friday: Left early to head to Granny and Grandpa's house just outside of Chattanooga. We LOVE it there - so quiet and peaceful. We enjoyed grilled burgers and dogs for lunch/dinner and some quality time with family before heading to our hotel downtown.

Cole thought this looked like Grandpa :)

Granny's garden

I stole Granny's glasses!

Saturday: Awoke to the LOUD sound of the fire alarm in our room along with flashing blue lights around 4 a.m. our time.

Yep - it was chaos.

Michael and I woke up with sheer panic. I grabbed Cole out of his bed (he was still sleeping - I couldn't believe it! Of course, as soon as I picked him up, he began to cry) and immediately ran into the hallway. Michael ran out with me until he realized he was still in his boxers - HA! He did think to run back in the room (and had also thought to grab the room key) and found some shorts and a shirt. We headed down four flights of stairs with other guests and made our way to the street across from the hotel entrance. Only did we realize once we were outside that neither one of us had shoes. :) Come to find out the alarm was triggered by excessive smoke in a smoking room on the second floor. CrAzY! Cole finally calmed down and enjoyed seeing the three fire engines pull up shortly thereafter.

Well, it didn't end there. Evidently, after the firemen clear a building, they access the alarm panel and turn off the alarms and lights. Well, our hotel panel was malfunctioning and they couldn't turn off either one. The hotel manager called maintenance and at 7 a.m. we were finally back in our room. Thank goodness for a spacious lobby, wonderful hotel management, and compliant guests - everyone actually handled it quite well :) We were also thankful that after a quick breakfast, Cole went back to sleep (as did we) until 10:30 a.m. Our day began a little later than expected, but we now have a nice story and new memory to share and laugh about in the future. My only regret is I didn't have my camera!

Around 11 a.m. we headed to the Aquarium. Michael and I had been in the past, but not since the addition of Ocean Journey. It was WONDERFUL! All the animals were great, but the butterfly garden was a favorite.

After a lunch in the Aquarium square, we let Cole play in the new 'pools' that weave all through the area. They represent the TN streams and rivers and are so much FUN. Not to mention they were a welcomed relief from the 90+ degree temps! Along with constant music from local musicians under the aquarium bridge, it was the perfect way to end our afternoon.

Tuckered out as we head to the hotel for a nap (I think this moment was one highlight of our trip for Michael :))

Saturday evening, we ventured to Rock City. It had been years since Michael and I visited and we were excited to share it with Cole - especially since 'rocks' are one of his newest fascinations :) We loved going in the evening. . . the weather was much cooler and the crowds were scarce. We basically had the park to ourselves except for the wedding that was taking place in the center pavilion. Lovely night!

Sunday: Our original 'travel home' date, but we were having so much fun, we decided to spend one more day in the city.

Our Nashville Zoo membership had saved us $$ on Aquarium admission and we also had FREE admission to the Chattanooga Zoo. We knew it was a small zoo, but checked it out as our morning adventure. It was very nice, clean, and had quite a few animals that we don't see at the Nashville Zoo. Fun morning!

We drove around the city taking in sites and fell in love with the revived area of Northshore, just across the river from downtown. We ate lunch at the Northshore Grille and then headed back to the Aquarium pools for some play before naptime.

Sunday evening, we just wanted to keep it low-key and relax. We headed to Coolidge Park in Northshore and spent the evening people watching while Cole played in the fountains.