Morning Folks 07 15 07

A Day in Chattanooga

Ed and I spent Friday night and Saturday with Zeppelin and Arabella. This visit we decided to see some of the downtown Chattanooga area that I was curious to learn about. We started out with a Duck Tour. (all of these pictures were posted in a small format. But you should be able to see them better if you click on them.)

The term "duck", used to describe this amphibious vehicle is actually spelled DUKW.

D designates 1942-the year these were put into use

U is for amphibious UTILITY

K means Front Wheel Drive

W means Rear Wheel Drive

Captain Bill of the General Eisenhauer DUKW explained this to us as we headed through downtown Chattanooga toward the Tennessee River.

Grandma made the serious mistake of buying "quackers" for Zeppelin and Arabella.

Here we go heading into the river down the Duck ramp.

It was a beautiful day and the slow pace of the Duck as it floated down the river was very relaxing...in spite of all the quacking.

Here is a view of the Aquarium behind the "Passage" a large monument built to commemorate the Trail of Tears and the Native Americans' relocation to reservations in 1837. (Notice the water canon and see more on this memorial further down the page.)

The Hunter Museum of Art sits on a bluff overlooking the river. There is a Grandma Moses exhibit there now that Ed and I are planning to see in the next couple of weeks.
The Southern Belle went by us on the river. This is a dinner boat that is lots of fun. Ed and I spent a New Year's Eve on this boat one year.This is a view of a couple of old homes on the river. The one on the left is the McLellan house and by TN standards at 108 years old, is ancient! These Tennesseeans haven't been to the home of my friends Kitty and Rick up in Franklin, MA. Now that is old! 200+.

Another view of the Riverfront that hosts many events, including a huge weeklong music festival in June. Here they are getting ready for the Ironman competition tomorrow. I am not sure what that building is in the background, but I will find out!

Captain Bill turned over the wheel to Zeppelin.

Then Arabella took a turn. That was lots of fun.

Arabella helped Captain Bill navigate the River while Grandma looked on.

Arabella, Grandma, Grampa and Zeppelin all had a great time on this Ducktour. (We just had to buy the picture.)

After the Duck Tour, we walked around the downtown area. Here is one of the sculptures that is found along the way. It is really a lovely downtown. Not even close to the traffic you find in Boston and the streets are nice and clean.

Arabella takes a snooze.

The Passage is a beautiful "artspace" area on the river. It is a tribute to the Native Americans of the area, designed by Cherokee artists. It is made of steps leading to the river, with water flowing down the walls and down the stairs, like tears, into the river where the area's Indians began their march along the trail of tears to relocation to reservations in Oklahoma.

Along the wall are beautiful medallions, depicting the 7 tribes from the Chattanooga area that were relocated.

Grmpa and Arabella in front of one of the medallions.

Water canon at the bottom of the memorial that you can see in the picture above taken from the Duckboat.

This is a moving tribute and I hope to go back to read all of the information provided there, written in English and in the native language of the Cherokee and other tribes. It is beautiful and I really haven't done it justice. For more info, go to http://www.chattanooga.gov/Mayors_Office/9_CherokeePassage.htm

But it is also a place of energy as the kids all splash on the stairs and in the wading pool at the bottom of the stairs. It was a cool and refreshing spot on a hot summer day.
Grampa and Arabella take the stairs at Grampa's pace.

Arabella ascends at her pace!

Arabella and Zeppeln enjoy the cool water. One of the medallions is on the wall in the background.


We had a great day with the kids and I was so happy to be seeing some of the sights. There are lots more things to do and see here, too. I hope this might interest some of you in a trip down to see us. Y'all are welcome any time!

Have a great day.

Love,

Suz