In Chattanooga, I'm a Yankee .. and that's got nothing to do with baseball!

My first week truly on my own. This is the first stop on my trip to a new place where I know NO ONE. Stop one on this adventure was close to home, stop two was near some dear friends … stop three is all brand new. The first few days the only places I’d been, other than my really nice AirBnB were Trader Joe’s and Publix. Directly across the street from where I’m staying is a bar/restaurant called Parkway Pourhouse, because it’s on Riverfront Parkway. Two days after I arrived it was Mardi Gras … and the Pourhouse was jumping! The band started about 2pm and stopped exactly at 9pm when they closed.

Mardi Gras means the next day was Ashe Wednesday. I went to The Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, built in 1890, located right in the center of the city of Chattanooga for mass and ashes. I went to the same church for mass on Sunday. Just as in the churches in NC, things are a bit different in south. There were ladies, young ladies, with their heads covered and to receive communion you kneel at the altar. Everything else was exactly the same, as it should be. Which is always comforting.

Being on Riverfront Parkway I’m right near the walking path along The Tennessee River. I took the path to the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge and back again. It was a pretty walk and the weather has been wonderful. Up until today (3/7/2022) it’s been sunny and in the mid-70’s. Today the temp dropped and it rained all day.

Yesterday was my Chattanooga tourist day. I went to Ruby Falls www.rubyfalls.com, Point Park on Lookout Mountain Point Park Battlefield (visitchattanooga.com), Rock City (actually in Georgia) About - See Rock City - Chattanooga's Best Attraction and Bragg Reservation Missionary Ridge - Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

Rock City is definitely NOT Chattanooga’s best attraction. It was apparently a beautiful area that was converted into a very strange garden. It does have beautiful views and I have plenty of pictures, but it was so commercialized … I felt like I was in Disney World – including the fact that when you exited it landed you in a gift shop! (It’s actually in Georgia, not Chattanooga.)

Ruby Falls was beautiful … you’ll see some great pictures and videos once I figure out how to put them in the gallery page!

Then there was Point Park Battlefield on Lookout Mountain… that was an experience. As I was reading the sign about the number of Confederate Casualties there was a man standing next to me reading the sign about the number of Union Casualties … then I heard him say to his friend “This is the one that says we didn’t kill enough Yankees.” Yup… I’m in the south. I have another week here in Chattanooga before I make my way to Nashville on Saturday.