Monday, June 6, 2011

Tour of TN - Rock City

If you haven't noticed, I tend to not be able to just sit at home on the weekends. It always seems we have some kind of plans and if we don't I usually try to come up with something fun to keep us busy. I'm guessing the reason is because I'm here at the house all week and by the time Saturday rolls around...I've got cabin fever. So this past Saturday morning our little family headed out on a mini adventure to Chattanooga, TN to see Rock City.  

Taken with my new zoom lens from the interstate going 70 (err maybe more like 80) MPH.
Zoom, Zoom.
And no, I wasn't driving...everyone can relax now.

And yes, we are crazy. We even took Lola.

Look who's in his big boy car seat!

Why is that crazy? Well, Rock City doesn't exactly allow strollers because it has fun little spots like "The Needles Eye" and "The Fat Man Squeeze" that aren't exactly stroller friendly.


Therefore one of us was responsible for physically carrying the boy and the other was responsible for carrying all the gear the boy required for a full days worth of fun. Oh, did I mention we picked the hottest day of the year at 96 degrees. Yep. Crazy.


We meandered our way down the Enchanted Trail through dark underpasses, over  stone bridges and through crevasses. The rock formations were incredible and we welcomed the coolness of their shelter as we continued along our way. Eventually we came to a swinging bridge that led us across to one of the main highlights of Rock City.


Ethan and I thoroughly enjoyed the swinging bridge. Michael and Lola did not.

Rock City's main claim to fame (besides the cool rock formations) is that you can actually see 7 states thanks to the awesome view from Lovers Leap.

 

Unfortunately it was a bit hazy Saturday so I don't think we technically saw all seven states, but who knows! Does this count?



After we took in all the views we decided to stop for lunch, rest our legs a little bit, and air Ethan and I out. We had worked up a serious sweat. I should have measured myself before we left. Maybe the moby wrap helped me lose a couple of inches like those crazy seaweed wraps people use to do years ago (anyone else remember those?). Anyways...we enjoyed some pulled chicken sandwiches (I'm sensing a BBQ theme with this Tour of TN thing, I promise we have other things to eat here) and listened to a fun folk band.


After everyone had recharged it was time to hit the trail again. This time Michael had Ethan and I had Lola. To be honest, Ethan was easier to walk that Lola...we never properly trained her on this technique and boy are we paying for it!

Funny side note:
Michael told me later that Ethan apparently had spotted
two women making out when I took this picture.
I mean, look at his face. Boys will be boys I guess.
Next we headed on our way to see the amazing 100 foot waterfall. It was beautiful and I would have paid almost anything to get into that pool of water at the bottom!


Now we get to the more, how should I say, interesting, part of the trip. We had arrived at Fairyland Caverns and Mother Goose Village which had been there since the 1930's I think. It was filled with gnomes and creepy nursery rhyme characters that were painted with glow in the dark paint.


Around this time I started having stomach issues. Some might blame it on the sandwich and high heat index. I'm choosing to blame it on the creepy creatures and the fact that there were no exits in sight in the cavern what-so-ever. Take your pick, but we hurried our way through this last part of the tour.




Finally we reached the end and headed back to the car. I'm glad we went this year even though Ethan won't remember a thing. I'm sure we won't be able to go back for several more years because to be honest I couldn't imagine carrying a child over 1 on my body for that long of a period of time. Next time we go though we will be fully prepared for all the fun that is in store.



A great time was had by all and we had two exhausted kids who napped the entire one and a half hours home. Unfortunately for us they were fully recharged once we arrived at the house. Michael and I on the other hand were not!


5 comments :

  1. I loved Rock City! and those gnomes are still there?! Haha.

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  2. We went to Rock City I think back in 2004...I was just thinking about taking Nolan there the other day. Glad you guys had a great time...and yes you are brave by taking Ethan and Lola :)

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  3. That looks like a really pretty place, but I feel your pain traveling with a little one. We are not brave enough just yet to try an outing like that!

    BTW, what kind of carrier is that? Is it a Moby? Funny the things I notice!

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  4. Looks like a wonderful place! So glad you had a great time!

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  5. How awesome - I love all of the pics!!! And yes, those characters were super creepy - yikes!

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