Great Loop: Chattanooga

Pardon me, boy, Is that the Chattanooga choo choo? (yes yes) Track twenty-nine...

The Chattanooga Choo Choo

Tucked between the mountains of Southeast Tennessee, along the beautiful Tennessee River, Chattanooga is a jewel of a city.  For years it was a rail transportation hub of the south.  From here lines stretched into the fertile valleys of the Tennessee, the Mississippi, and on into Atlanta, Alabama and beyond.  The Great Locomotive Chase took place here as the Union Army, during the Civil War, wrested control of the rail hub from the Confederates.  Following the war, a rail line was built to Cincinnati, to provide a route for southern goods and products to reach the northern states.  Commerce and industry continued to fuel Chattanooga's growth.  It is also home to a branch of the University of Tennessee.  I would recommend you add a stop in Chattanooga to your next vacation.  

The Aquarium on the City Front

The Art Museum and the bike path up the bluff.

The waterfront is the focal point for the city.  There are many wonderful restaurants, an arts district, the vintage Chattanooga Choo Choo Rail Station, ice cream parlors, bakeries, bike paths and night clubs all within an easy walking distance.

A bridge on the bike path east of downtown

After being confined on board during our days of upriver travel, we were anxious to get some exercise, so the bike paths became one of our first destinations.  

In our travels around town, it seemed people appeared fit and trim.  There were still the occasional person who appeared to love the culinary pleasures of life to excess, but overall it seemed people enjoyed being outdoors, walking, biking and exercising.  But then, maybe we saw them because we were active and the non-active were at home.  

We thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to ride for miles on beautiful bike paths which followed the rivers and creeks of the area.  As the paths were in the flood plain, they were often constructed as a continuous bridge or trestle along the edge of the water.  

Beth had never seen Kudzu Vines

Looking back at the Pedestrian/Biking Bridge from the Art Museum

The pedestrian and bike bridge across the Tennessee River

The paths were gently rolling with clean bathrooms and bike repair stations every couple of miles.  There were picnic pavilions, benches, historical signage and signage about the local vegetation.  People were friendly and it left you with a good feeling about being outdoors.

We met many other Loopers from all parts of the country.  This reinforced the notion that looping is an ongoing activity in which you can start anywhere and join the parade of boats that is encircling the eastern portion of the United States.  We are going to have a pile of "boat cards" when we get home.  We you receive one, it is like a business card for your boat, it becomes a memory jogger for names when you again encounter at another port or anchorage.  So we write details of our initial meeting on the back of the card as a memory jogger for our next encounter.

One morning we woke up to find a traditional steamboat had docked on the city front near us.  It was the American Queen which carries 436 passengers; it's the largest steamboat ever built, and offers grand interiors and public spaces to match. The ship sails the Upper and Lower Mississippi, as well as the Ohio River and their tributaries.  I was hoping it was the Delta Queen, which is the sister ship of the Delta King in Sacramento, but it was not.  The American Queen was built in 1995 and is a six deck recreation of a classic steamboat.  

One oddity I noticed is that the smoke stacks hinge down to provide clearance for passing under bridges.

Beth is cavorting with some of the art work that are found along the waterfront.

KniedLov's Bakery - Great Lunch Spot

At all of our stops, we often say how we wish we could stay longer.  There is so much to see and do.  Chattanooga is indeed one of those locations which offers so much it would be easy to stay and savor all that is available.

Amy Marie docked at Erwin Marine's Oligati Dock.

Safe with locked gate and we were on the inside to mitigate wakes.

No WiFi, only 50 amp power, and water.

Gas, Diesel, and pump-out on the Fuel Dock