We left Betsy and Sean's house in Hendersonville yesterday at about 10:45ish. Although I hadn't wanted to take I-40 all the way west to Tennessee, we took a wrong turn and the easiest and fastest thing to do at that point was get back on I-40. So we drove on the interstates all day. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop near the state border, and we stopped again at a flea market/antique place in Tennessee (which was a waste of time.) We arrived at our Boondockers Welcome host's house at about 6pm.<BR>
Our host has a very large field of mostly grass behind what looks like some kind of business. There are several picnic tables spread out in the field (along with a bunch of RVs and boats which are obviously being stored here. There is a sweet path that leads from the back of the field down to the shores of the Chattanooga Creek. It's quiet and dark, but there are no hookups here. We got ourselves settled upon arrival, then took the Jeep into the center of Chatta, which was only about a 10-minute drive. We ate dinner at Champy's, which is well known for its fried chicken, which Joey loves. The meal did not disappoint-- the chicken was delicious, moist and fresh, and everything, including our fried pickle appy, came out blazing hot. We really enjoyed the meal, and brought home leftovers.<BR>
No hookups proved to be a problem for us, because it is too hot to leave Cassie in the RV while we go explore the Scenic City. I found a bunch of places where we could take her--scultpure gardens, Rock City, and Lookout Mountain. But this morning, it was overcast and rain was predicted. We decided to go to Lookout Mountain tomorrow. Meanwhile, we packed up for a day trip, and went downtown. My goal was the Riverwalk, and the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge, the longest pedestrian bridge anywhere. It crosses the Tennessee River, which runs through Chatta and cuts a valley between Lookout Mountain and Signal Mountain.<BR>
We had some trouble navigating the streets, but finally found a parking lot. We had to download an app to pay for it. Then we walked over to the Riverfront, going past the highly recommended Aquarium (which we could not visit because of the dog issue.) We made a loop, not knowing where we were going, but finally got to the bridge. After resting for a little while, we took our photos and then just as we were ready to start walking, we watched a big black cloud head toward us, and it started to rain. We decided to head back to the car instead--it wasn't a rain CLOUD, it was RAIN. By the time we got to the car, we and Cassie were all soaked to the skin. That seems to be the theme of this vacation--too much rain!<BR>
We were very disheartened, and decided to go back to the RV, because all our ideas of things to do were outside being rained on. We came back, ate our lunches, and then of course it stopped raining. But we didn't want to go anywhere that would be soaking wet. So Joey and Cassie hung out in the RV, and I went to a place about 15 minutes away which had 8 antique centers in one location. I spent a couple of hours walking through the antique stores, but didn't find any Roseville that i needed. I came home, stopping for ice on the way, and Joey said it had poured here again.<BR>
So we've been here all evening, and we are hoping that tomorrow will indeed be sunny. We want to go up to the top of Lookout Mountain and to Rock City, both of which allow dogs. There is a National Historic Site at the top of the mountain, where there was a major battle during the Civil War. I'm looking foward to all of it, and just PRAY there will not be rain!
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