Fun Times in Chattanooga

Over the weekend of October 3rd-5th, we had the pleasure of meeting up with Rob's sister and brother-in-law (L&C) in Chattanooga. The weather attempted to dash our plans for the weekend, but with a little flexibility, we had grand time!

L&C drove down from Philly for the wedding of one of their best friends sons in Chattanooga, and it was the perfect opportunity to spend some time with them and have them be our first "official" visitors on Sandrobber. We were going to take a cruise on Friday, but the weather was rather unfriendly, so we left the boat at the marina, and drove to Chattanooga to meet-up at the Aquarium...we might have surprised them by hiding in the bushes as they came around the corner...

Surprise!

The Chattanooga Aquarium was really great. We have been to the Atlanta Aquarium a couple of times, and we were pleasantly surprised by the experience here. They have done a wonderful job of offering a more intimate experience, and as well a much more comprehensive presentation of the fresh water exhibits...which makes perfect sense. We toured the salt water exhibits first, took a lunch break at a nearby pub, and then returned to see the fresh water exhibits. All in all a great experience.

Tennessee Aquarium from the river.

By mid-afternoon, it was time for L&C to get ready for the rehearsal dinner (up Lookout Mountain) and we headed back to the marina to bring Sandrobber down to Chattanooga for the weekend. By now, the weather had cleared through, the lock was wide open, and we were safely tucked into our slip at the Bluffs dock in downtown by about 6:30pm. While L&C were partying at the rehearsal dinner, we walked around downtown (with a mandatory stop at the Moon Pie store) grabbed some dinner, and headed back to the boat. As the Three Sisters Bluegrass Festival was playing on the waterfront, we piled on another layer of clothes and headed over to check it out. Not really our cup of tea, but it was fun seeing the festival in action and all of the people gathered having a good time. It didn't take long for us to be ready to head back to the boat and call it a night.

Tucked in for the night.

Saturday morning was gorgeous, albeit a tad cool (in the 40's to start). But it was a perfect day for a cruise down the river from the comfort of the pilot house. We had the river to ourselves...hardly anyone out. We traveled about 13 miles downriver, enjoying the company and the beautiful scenery. No real change of color out yet...probably a few weeks too early for this. But a beautiful and enjoyable cruise.

Sadly...and way too quickly, it was time to part company in the early afternoon. L&C took off to get ready for the wedding, and we ended up just crashing on the boat and taking a nap! Later on, we ventured out and walked across the river on the pedestrian bridge and checked out the North Shore...a nice cozy boutique area with some unique shops. Then we decided to go to a movie for the first time in about 6 months. It was fun just having a good old fashioned "date night".

Our thanks to L&C for making it a fantastic weekend...it was terrific to meet up and enjoy time together. We are so glad that you guys decided to make the journey to Chattanooga!

Sunrise on Sunday

The Delta Queen directly across the river from our slip...in a bit of disrepair.

Early morning fishin' on the Tennessee

Our boat-warming gift from L&C...awesome!