Sunday, January 19, 2014

See Rock City and Choo Choo Chattanooga

"Bend an ear and listen to my version
Of a really solid Tennessee excursion"


We just had to see Rock City, the unapologetic roadside tourist trap. I don't think we necessarily even knew what Rock City was beforehand, but the good book said we needed to see it and that's really all we needed to hear. Rock City is located just on the other side of the Tennessee border in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, so we hit the road.


Turns out the road was steep. So steep that there were periodic sand filled ramps for runaway trucks. Who knew that runaway trucks were such a problem?




I believe that the price of entry was lower due to it being winter, which got us off to a good start. Rock City ended up being a pretty multifaceted attraction. They were really in touch which their history, and there were signs about the good ole days everywhere I looked.


Upon entry we walked into a pretty surreal place with little walkways between giant rocks. There was zero wind and lush foliage everywhere. It had a Secret Garden feel to it.
















One of Rock City's claims to fame is there copious advertising, especially painted on barns. It had become sort of a meta-advertisement, with a plethora of barn advertisement related merchandise in the gift shop.






And then things got weird. What goes better with giant rocks than glowing black light gnomes? Nothing. Nothing.




There was a large room full of psychedelic displays of pretty much every nursery rhyme you've ever heard of. Many of them were pretty unsettling.






We took a little peek at the breathlessly named Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, but it was about to close so we didn't stay long.


Next we popped into nearby Chattanooga, TN, which was an important train depot and a prize during the Civil War.


Moon Pies are made in Chattanooga. So we ate some.


The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel was really really awesome and my favorite place in the city. It is situated in Terminal Station. 


Fun fact, Glen Miller's Chattanooga Choo Choo record was awarded the first ever "gold" certification by RCA Victor in 1942. Fun facts make you think don't they? Make you think.


Inside the place was opulent.





They even had a deal where you could pay to stay in a train car hotel room. The train car hotel room part sounded pretty cool. What they wanted you to pay for it was very not cool. Lydia and I have both slept in actual train sleeper cars in Europe, and we agreed it was an unpleasant experience.



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