CHATTANOOGA, TN - DAY 2

Wednesday, September 24th, 2014

Day 51
Miles Traveled: 0
Total Miles Traveled: 1344



  No visit to Chattanooga would be complete without visiting Lookout Mountain and The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel.  
  We hopped on the city bus #15 which took us to the depot for the Incline Railway.  This was our first experience using a city bus and the bus driver, Norma, was extremely friendly and helpful.  She had been working for the city bus company, CARTA (Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority), for almost 30 years and had the most seniority of any of the drivers.  She got us safely to our destination and advised how to take the bus back to downtown.  We hope that all of our city bus experiences go this well.  They can be a great way to see the sites and not spend a lot of money getting there - as long as you can figure out how to read the bus maps (which often are difficult to interpret).

  "The Incline" started in November of 1895 (actually the second railway built up to Lookout Mountain) and is the steepest passenger railway in the world.  At its steepest point the grade is 72.7%.  

View going down the incline

  While at the top of Lookout Mountain there are several places to see - Ruby Falls, Rock Garden, and Point Park.  We choose to walk to Point Park, a National Military Park.  This is where "The Battle Above the Clouds" took place.  The views from this park were spectacular, and, much better than the views from "The Incline" Depot Observation Deck.  We got to see part of the Tennessee River that we had just cruised a couple days prior.  The area viewed is known as Moccasin Bend. 

View of TN River from Point Park on Lookout Mountain - Chattanooga is on the right 

  Prior to walking the park we saw the three-dimensional electronic battle map presentation about the Battles for Chattanooga.  It was very informative and gave a visual representation of what occurred and how the Union gained control of this area.
http://www.battlesforchattanooga.com/

  Also at this park is the New York Peace Memorial.  This monument honors BOTH the Union and Confederate forces and is one of the few that honors both in the same monument. 

New York Peace Memorial

  Our second stop was the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel.  You can actually book a room and stay in one of the Victorian Train Cars.  There were beautiful gardens out back and the lobby had an ornate dome ceiling.  Dan enjoyed most of all his ride on the train. 

Dan's train ride at Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel

To book a room or learn about its history go to:  http://www.choochoo.com/index.php


  Hungry from all our walking, we stopped at The General Store and picked up a couple of Chattanooga's famous Moon Pies.  They were just as good as when they started back in 1917.  To read about the Moon Pie history click on: http://moonpie.com/about#1

Moon Pie - YUM !!!