A few weekends ago Evan and I made our first trip to Chattanooga to meet his parents for a couple days of exploring the city and celebrating his mom’s birthday. We drove down early on a Saturday morning and started our adventure off immediately at the incredible Tennessee Aquarium. It is a very large aquarium divided into two separate buildings which each took about 1 1/2 hours to walk through. The first building we explored was labeled as the Ocean Journey and was, in my opinion, a bit more interesting and varied than the River Journey. The other reason I liked it better was because we beat the rush and didn’t have to fight through massive crowds to see the exhibits like we did for the second building. Check out some of the highlights of the aquarium below, but definitely plan a trip of your own sometime too!
After several hours at the aquarium, we were all in need of a bit of rest and libation, so we drove across the bridge to the other side of the Tennessee River. We ended up at Taco Mamacita which also has a Nashville location that we have visited several times previously. We ordered some yummy margaritas and mojitos and had a nice time discussing all the cool critters we had just learned about.
After our drinks we got checked in to our hotel and spent the next couple hours recharging our batteries and catching up. Later that evening we asked Brooke to choose a place for her birthday dinner and boy did she pick a winner! We went to a restaurant called Stir which is located on Market St. and is attached to the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel along with other restaurants, bars, music venues and comedy clubs. There was a bit of a wait for our table so we explored the area and the old railway station to kill time. We were seated after about 30 minutes of waiting and started out with an order of raw oysters for the table and a couple cocktails. When our main courses arrived we were all blown away by the lovely presentations and how delicious everything tasted. We each ordered something different and we were all very impressed and would highly recommend giving this place a shot!
We hung out in downtown Chattanooga for a little bit longer after dinner then headed back to our hotel for the night. The next day was our last one in Chatt Town so we got up and around in the morning and headed off to our next adventure: Lookout Mountain. Though it is possible to drive up to the top of Lookout Mountain, we wanted to have the full experience and decided to ride the Incline Railway to the top. Basically, you get in this old (but quite sturdy) trolley car that takes you straight up the face of the mountain at a breathtaking 72.7% grade. Even though I do have quite a fear of heights, I was able to appreciate the views and the engineering involved in the experience. Once we got to the top, the views from the observation deck were gorgeous and supposedly, you can see seven different states if you are in the right spots and using the right equipment (Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). After we finished at the observation deck we took a little stroll around the neighborhood at the top of the mountain which was full of beautiful mansions. There is also a historic park up there called Point Park that is supposed to have some beautiful views, but it had an entry fee and we were getting tired so we decided to skip it this time.
There are MANY more pictures and wonderful memories that I could share from this short, two-day trip to Chattanooga, but this should give you a pretty good idea! We had a blast exploring a new city, visiting the aquarium and eating yummy food, but spending time with Brooke and John was definitely the best part. I can’t wait for the next Boyer reunion!
Discovering Nashville 
Love the pics! Chattanooga is such a wonderful city.
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