Day 7

Woke up to light rain and 37° temps, and as we left our campground around 8 AM, it started to flurry! Ironically, the temp in our hometown of Sugar Hill was 65° this morning.  Go figure.

Leaving Fort Mountain State Park in a light drizzle and flog, we drove to Chattanooga, which is about 50 miles to the northwest for a day of good food and sight seeing.

Chorizo home fries!

 Our visit to Chattanooga started at the Bluegrass Grill, which is located in a very stylishly renovated section of the city.  There was a long line in front, but we knew from our previous visit, that it was worth the wait, and since we both had down jackets, we were comfortable waiting. This restaurant has the top rating on Trip Advisor, and it certainly lived up to its billing.

Leaving the Bluegrass Grill, we walked to the old train station that has been converted into a hotel, and also houses the original Chattanooga Choo Choo, which originally ran between this city and Cincinnati.  Some of the original cars have been converted to hotel rooms, but since we were staying at the hotel, we couldn’t check them out.

 Returning to the van, we drove to the Hunter Museum that overlooks the Tennessee River.  The museum, which is attached to a mansion that was originally owned by the president of Coca Cola, houses a variety of American artworks dating back to George Washington’s time to very contemporary works as well.  

Thomas Hart Benton

Grandma Moses

We left the museum, stopped at a nearby cafe for lunch which consisted of coffee and almond biscotti, and then drove up to the top of Lookout Mountain where the National Park Service maintains a memorial to the Battle of Chattanooga which took place in November of 1863.   We listened to a ranger’s talk about the battle and learned some fascinating points:  #1.  The postal service began home delivery during the Civil War so that the families of deceased, missing, or captured soldiers could read the official notice of that in their own homes.  #2  Like residents of today’s European Union who would first tell you they were from France, the citizens of the US during the Civil War would first tell you they were from Tennessee.

This is the New York monument on Lookout Mountain.  It is one of the few Civil War memorials that depicts a Confederate and Union soldier.  

Descending form Lookout Mountain we returned to Chattanooga and picked up some take out Mexican food for our dinner.  It was still raining at this point in the afternoon, so we knew we would not be cooking outside.  Upon arriving at our campsite, the temp was now only 41°, so we’re anticipating another chilly night, thank goodness we have good sleeping bags!