August 12, 2014

Travel day from Marietta, GA to Chattanooga, TN

We were all hitched up and ready to leave by 10AM. 

It was a very nice pleasant drive.

 

We stopped at the visitor center after crossing over the state line into Tennessee where the clerk was very friendly and helpful loading us up with brochures.

 

Once leaving the visitor center, it was only a short drive to the campground at Camping World where they offer a full hook up for $23/night plus tax.  When we went inside the store to register we were offered a deal we couldn’t refuse.  If we paid $25 to renew our Good Sam membership (our current membership does not expire until September 2015) we would receive one night free camping.  The discounted rate with our Good Sam membership brought the rate down to $22.15 with tax.  AND we will be receiving a $10 check in the mail.  The clerk told us that there were many people who do not take advantage of the offer but for us it was a no brainer.

The campground is located next to Camping World.  It has a pool (that looked nice and clean but that we did not use) and showers that we did use that were okay.

After setting up we took a ride into downtown Chattanooga with our first stop at the famous Chattanooga Choo Choo. 

 

 This nickname was given to the first passenger train leaving Cincinnati for Chattanooga in 1880.

 

  It was the first major link in public transportation from the North to the South.

The Chattanooga Transportation Authority runs a free electric shuttle with many stations all over the city. (What a bonus for residents who use the shuttle to get to work).  There is a parking garage directly across from the Choo Choo.  There is $3 fee to park but when we went into the office to inquire about how often the shuttle runs we were given a parking token so it didn’t cost us anything.  Most shuttles come along every 5 minutes so we didn’t have to wait long.

We decided to get off at the Tennessee Aquarium. 

 

 

 

 

After using the rest room and taking a walk through the gift shop we made our way over to the Hunter Museum crossing over the Holmberg Pedestrian Bridge where we were rewarded with spectacular views.

 

 

 

 

 

Next we walked over another pedestrian bridge, the Walnut Street Bridge that crosses the Tennessee River to the North Shore.   

 

 

 

We had planned on walking along part of the Riverwalk but we were getting tired and hungry so we just crossed back over to the South Side on the Chief John Ross Bridge.  It wasn’t as pleasant as walking across the Walnut Street Bridge because of the fumes and traffic noise from the cars crossing the bridge.

If we had planned on being in the Chattanooga area longer than a couple of days we might have taken advantage of the Bicycle Transit System.  For the low fee of $6 you can get a pass good for 24 hours enabling you to tour the city as you ride from station to station. 

The only drawback I could see is that if a bike is not docked within hour, each additional 30 minutes costs $5. 

 

 

 

 

We didn’t have to wait long for a shuttle to take us back to our car at the parking garage.