Burchett Blessing's: Chattanooga

Earlier this week, Clay, Lilliana and I packed up and went on a little impromptu trip to East Tennessee. Clay and I have never been that way before and decided that we needed a quick little getaway before our lives got a little more hectic this Summer. Clay is scheduled to take his LSAT review course starting in June and Lilliana starts ballet that same time. We decided to just take advantage of Lilliana's week off from school and enjoy some time as a family.

We left early Tuesday morning and decided that we would go the scenic route which was through Savannah, TN and over instead of the interstate up to Nashville and down. Although, it took quite a bit longer the scenery was nice and Lilliana was really good in the car. We stopped in Savannah at a fun little restaurant called, Uptown. The food was really good and I enjoyed a fabulous strawberry and chicken salad with vinaigrette dressing. L enjoyed their wonderful chicken fingers and fruit and Clay got an Italian panini. It was a great start to our vacation and then off we headed to Chattanooga.

We did stop again at Sewanee to have a look at the beautiful campus. Clay had always wanted to go by there so we decided since it was on the way, we would have a look. I was also able to get some great pictures of Lilliana while we were there. At that point, I wish I had our favorite photographer in my pocket and I really could have gotten some fabulous shots!

Once we finally arrived in Chattanooga, we stopped and ate at Mellow Mushroom and enjoyed a yummy pizza and cheesy bread sticks. From there, we headed to our hotel, the Chattanooga Choo Choo and got settled for the evening. Well, although we had been in the car all day, we attempted to get settled but Miss Priss was a little more reluctant than she normally is when sleeping in "Bobby's Bed" at home. I think this is the first time we had her in a hotel, in the same room as us and it proved to be difficult. She was wild as a horse and flipping all over the beds, laughing and just being plain crazy. She finally settled down just before 10 but, she did sleep all night.

We woke up and ate at the restaurant that was connected to the Hotel and then headed for a fun filled day at the Aquarium. It was so great and we were glad that we had decided to split it up into 2 trips with a nap in between. There was so much to see and after just one-half of it we were ready for lunch and naps. We enjoyed lunch at a nice Mexican place downtown before heading back to the Choo Choo. Although, L fought us again for a nap, she gave out a little more quickly than she had the night before and snoozed until 5:00.

Afterwards, we headed back downtown, this time on the free electric shuttle that picked up right outside our hotel. Lilliana thought she was so big and liked to sing "Wheels on the Bus" while we were headed down the road. Needless to say, she was a hit, and everyone was listening to her before long. :)

We finished up our evening enjoying the second half of the Aquarium and then decided to eat dinner again at The Mellow Mushroom. Lilliana was requesting pizza again and we figured it wouldn't hurt.

On Thursday morning, we enjoyed breakfast again at the hotel and then met my friend Amber down in the lobby to get a coupon for the CDM and allow the kids to play for a bit and explore the trains. Unfortunately Will fell and skinned his knee shortly into their visit and L was shortly there after so out visit was short lived. L and I then rode the shuttle back downtown to enjoy the Creative Discovery Museum while Clay packed the car and took a little tour of the city. We had a fabulous time and probably could have stayed all day had we not needed to get back to Memphis. On our way out, we stopped and enjoyed a late lunch at Mt. Vernon's and then went by Lookout Point.

Lilliana fell asleep shortly after getting on the road back to Memphis and enjoyed a good nap before watching a few episode of Mickey Mouse for the remainder of the trip. We stopped in Jackson on the way back for dinner at Los Portales, and then stayed on course for the next hour.

It was a great trip and I definitely think we'll be back. Lilliana had such a great time and I really enjoyed our little escape away from Memphis. Chattanooga is such a beautiful city and there is just so much that appeals to all.