Pardon Me Boy..........

….. is this the Chattanooga Choo Choo?  Why yes it is because that’s where Margo and I went on Saturday.  For those of you familiar with the song by Glenn Miller and performed by the Andrew Sisters you’re probably humming it right now (and will be for the rest of the day – sorry about that).  For you youngsters here’s a You Tube link.  See some history will ya.

Downtown Chattanooga is, how do I describe it?  It’s quaint, not too big for it’s britches and remarkably clean.  It’s one of those towns where the downtown is the tourist draw but not overly “touristy”.  Sure, the chain restaurants are here, Sticky Fingers, Panera Bread, Longhorn Steak House, and Starbucks but there are a lot of local cafés and coffee shops, places like the Choo Choo Café, Mean Mug Coffeehouse and Greyfriar’s, a coffeehouse where we supported the locals and got a really good cup of coffee and slice of pecan pie.

It’s very easy to get around.  We parked Hank in a parking garage (just $3.00 for the whole day) and took the shuttle all over town. Very green (all electric) for no green (as in very free).  They also have kiosks spread all over downtown where you can rent a bike by the hour.  The sidewalks are extremely wide so walking is a great way to get around as well.

CARTA shuttle.



We started at the iconic Chattanooga Choo Choo site.  Built in 1903 the terminal is now a hotel and again, free to explore.  The train’s passenger cars have been turned into hotel suites all surrounded by meticulously maintained gardens.  As with the whole area, history abounds here with information plaques and the train itself.

We continued north toward the riverfront and explored the area around the aquarium and the art district including the pedestrian bridge over the Tennessee River.  In this area they have sculptures displayed here and there.  These two caught our eye, for blog reader Teri, the Great Dane “High Four” and with a nod to our home town Ocala horse fans this horse.  It reminded us of the horse fever series around Ocala.  This one, although it looks like driftwood, is actually cast bronze.

High Four



It’s a very relaxing space and people were in no hurry, just enjoying the day.  We plan to come back next weekend and bring along our bikes.  There’s an 8 mile bike path along the river that we want to explore so we’ll see ya then.  Now get that song out of your head will ya.