Point Park and Chattanooga

As I write this post, it's gray and misty outside, the rain fogging between the trees like my backyard is something more mysterious than just my backyard. It's not, but that's the kind of mood I'm in right now -- like I want to turn everything into an intro scene to Lord of the Rings. It doesn't help that I'm listening to instrumental tracks from movies as I write. So forgive me if these next few posts sound a little overly sentimental or dramatic, like they should be backed up by the theme from Braveheart.

I'm trying to catch up on posts. I've over a week behind, and that week covers a couple big events, like my trip to Georgia and camping over Memorial Day Weekend. I was just about to type the sentence, "I hadn't been home in several years" -- it's funny that my heart still considers Georgia home, even though the ties that bind me to it are slowly dwindling. It's really just down to this girl, here:



But I'm getting ahead of myself. First things first.

Before we got to Georgia, we stopped in Chattanooga to explore a bit and eat lunch. Our main goal was to find something interesting that 1) wouldn't take too long 2) wouldn't cost much money, so we ended up at Point Park on Lookout Mountain.

It was a nice little park, with some civil war history and good views mixed in.

One part I found particularly interesting was the tiny museum dedicated to photography on Lookout Mountain, where apparently some guy figured out that people, soldiers included, would like to have their portraits taken with the view behind them. I didn't think to take any pictures inside the exhibit, but here's a (slightly shaky) panorama from right outside the museum door. That's pretty much the same, right?

After Point Park, we walked around Chattanooga, had some excellent lunch, and found an ice cream place recommended by a friend. All delicious. Here's a steam boat that was moored in the river -- I'd show you a closer picture, but it's one of those things that really looks better from far away. It was a little rundown.

This bridge is one of the ones that raises up to let big ships go through. I really wanted to push the buttons but managed to control myself.

 My parents in an impromptu snapshot. It was only because of them that we were able to come -- they'd been on their way to Georgia for a friend's wedding and invited us to ride with them.

Downtown Chattanooga really is pretty nice -- we were only there for a couple hours, but you could get a feel for the atmosphere. Art museums, bike rentals, pretty waterside parks, and this dude, here: 

All-in-all, a really nice stop on our way south.

See, that wasn't overly sentimental at all. Don't worry, that's coming in the next post.