Chattanooga Anniversary Weekend



A couple weeks ago, we were able to celebrate our very first wedding anniversary. It feels a little surreal to say that, because I cannot believe that it has already been a year. At the same time, I feel as though Rory and I have known each other for forever and that we have already been together for a long time. I look forward to the day when we have twenty, thirty, or fifty years of history together! We chose Chattanooga as our anniversary destination because it was in driving distance, and we had explored the city together for a few hours on the way to a holiday getaway when we were first dating. The city was so inviting, and we knew that we wanted to come back one day. That day came sooner than we thought!

On the way to Chattanooga Saturday morning, we were able to make a pit stop in Rome to see my best friend Teresa and her husband, Tribe. We got to eat some delicious Cajun food and enjoy time with them, which was so fun. We then made our way to Chattanooga, taking in the mountain scenery along the way. On this trip, we decided to use an AirBnB residence, and it was a great experience for us. Our hostess was super kind, and the little studio apartment was adorable and exactly what we needed. It was tucked away in the woods of Lookout Mountain, but it was only a ten minute drive from the heart of Chattanooga.

Saturday afternoon we had planned to go to Ruby Falls, because Rory hadn't been before. When we arrived, the line was crazy long, so we scratched that fast. Instead, we drove further up Lookout Mountain, enjoying the massive beautiful homes and taking in the breathtaking views. We stumbled upon a park called Point Park that had a relatively cheap entry and explored there. It was such a pleasant surprise, as we walked along beautiful trails and were able to see some amazing views of the city below and the mountains beside us. After our little spontaneous adventure, we ate at Tupelo Honey Cafe, which is always incredible.



Sunday morning we planned on doing several things around town, and it was overcast, so we were able to be outside without suffocating suffering heatstroke. For breakfast, we went to this adorable little cafe called Rembrandt's Coffee House. Dee-lish-us. Then, we explored the Tennessee Riverpark, the Walnut Street Bridge, and the Chattanooga Farmer's Market. The market was incredible- so many vendors with so many sights and smells. Food trucks, stands and the most amazing flowers you ever did see. We snagged a gorgeous bouquet of farm-grown flowers for ten bucks! I love flowers for all occasions, but especially for special occasions, and each time I looked at them, they put a smile on my face. All of the morning plans went by much faster than anticipated, so we went to a bookstore that Teresa and Tribb recommended to us. If you've ever been to a 2nd and Charles store, it was like that, but WAY BETTER. McKay's was huge. We probably spent an hour and a half in there, engrossed in the books, records, and Christmas CDs. Obvi. The sun decided to come back out and it warmed up considerably, so in an effort to beat the heat, we went to an IMAX movie called National Parks Adventure in 3D. The movie was incredible and inspired further travel plans. :)



Sadly, the restaurant we planned to go to on Sunday night for our "fancy special occasion dinner" was closed, so we had to come up with Plan B. Google led us to a seafood restaurant that was a little out of the way and not quite as "fancy special occasion" as we had hoped, but the food was good and it was on the water with a pretty view. On Monday, we were able to sleep in a little bit, and when we went to Ruby Falls, we were able to walk right in and jump on the next tour leaving! It had been almost twenty years since I had been (I. am. old.) but it was still somewhat familiar. The waterfall was beautiful, our tour guide was a trip and a half, and we did a touristy thing. So yay. On our way out of town we grabbed lunch at The Bitter Alibi, and OH MY GOODNESS it was so good. So. very. good. Probably our favorite meal of the weekend.



When we got home on Monday evening, we were greeted by our fur baby, and we ate a slice of our wedding cake along with some Chinese food. It was a great weekend, and probably our best trip we've taken so far together. It was our first non-family, non-friends, just-the-two of us trip since our honeymoon, and I am looking forward to more like it. I love to travel, and now traveling is all the more fun when I have bae by my side. :) Exploring new places and making memories is definitely one of my favorite things to do, and I hope we get to do a lot more of that as we journey together.