DOWNTOWN CHATTANOOGA, TN

Sept. 9-10 - We docked at Ross Landing in downtown Chattanooga near the Aquarium, the IMAX theator, an art museum, the Walnut St Pedestrian bridge, beautiful landscaped walkways, many restaurants and other attractions. The city has spent millions on improvements(none of it tax money) along the waterfront; it is really nice and immaculately clean which really impressed us. We enjoyed dining at Big River Grill & Brewing Works our first evening.

The following day we walked through the downtown area and found a neat popular barbeque place for lunch called Porkers where we met John. As soon as he found out where we were from and how we cruised from Summerland to Chattanooga, he was ready to come to visit us in the Keys. Before long, he had shared the story of our passage with other workers, and they were all ready to follow us home. A great place for barbeque with a welcoming staff!

Later that afternoon we started hiking up to the Walnut St. Pedestrian bridge, which is high above the river. It was formerly a highway bridge converted when new bridges were built. In addition to providing a panoramic overview of the entire area with Lookout Mountain & Signal Mountain in the background, there are nice benches all along the bridge with hanging baskets of flowers and potted plants. Historical plaques here & there provide information relating the story of the development of the city. In the photo of Bill above taken on the walking bridge, you can see OMEGA in the background way down below.

We enjoyed walking across the bridge and seeing a little of the area in North Chattanooga. Docked on the north side of the river is the Delta Queen, a large paddlewheel steamer brought up from New Orleans recently. Unfortunately she has been grounded by the Coast Guard, so now she is used as a floating hotel and restaurant. Other scenes of the area are shown below.