love in the air, cars on the road
Over at one of the AJC blogs — seriously, that newspaper is sprouting blogs like mushrooms: you can see the all-blogs feed here — they’ve started a discussion of affordable Valentine’s Day trips.
V-Day is actually a Monday this year, and I’m not sure how many people would be able to take it off. I can’t; my boyfriend can’t. We’re discussing taking off to Chattanooga with another couple for the weekend but that may not pan out. (If you’re interested, the Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors’ Bureau has links to all sorts of local hotels and B&Bs. Though I give this link with trepidation. Y’all, don’t book up all the pretty Chattanooga B&Bs, okay?)
But since a number of factors may conspire against us — weather, lack of access to funds, etc. — I am definitely interested in hearing about other things to do for Valentine’s weekend, inside and outside Atlanta.
I don’t know if I would call it “affordable,” but Chateau Elan is always a great trip – throw in a day at the spa… (actually it’s probably better when it is a little warmer, but it isn’t that cold now)
I grew up just south of Chattanooga, right over the state line. It is a wonderful city that has become very tourist friendly. Of the B&Bs you listed, I’d go with the Bluff View Inn. It is just above downtown, has a great view of the Tennessee River and is in the Bluff View Arts District. This puts you within seconds of Rembrandt’s (excellent coffee & pastries), two great restaurants, the Hunter Museum of Art, the Houston Glass Museum and a sculpture garden.
From there, it is not too much of a hike down to the Walnut Street Bridge (now pedestrian-only) and across to North Chattanooga. Lots of neat shops to be found there, as well as a riverside park. Grab lunch at Mud Pie, another coffeeshop that happens to keep a great beer selection and makes tremendously good pizza with ingredients not found on a Domino’s or Papa John’s menu. If it is later than lunch, you’re about a block and a half from Durty Nelly’s. Nelly’s is an Irish Pub that specializes in chili (don’t ask, just eat).
Back across the river in downtown are The Tivoli (don’t know what will be playing, but The Tivoli is Chattanooga’s own gem of a theatre — much like The Fox), The Pickle Barrel (one of the first great bars of my young adulthood, serves fried pickles) and The Read House (gorgeous turn-of-the-century hotel that is constantly under further restoration).
Sure, there’s the Aquarium and the Imax, but too many people see only those attractions and ignore the rest of the city. Heading out of Chattanooga proper and up Lookout Mountain will reward you with two of the greatest roadside attractions ever: Rock City and Ruby Falls. While you’re there, check out the view from Point Park and wonder why all of the street signs are named after nursery rhymes …
(Sorry. Got carried away. If you need more convincing, let me know.)