A Day Trip To Chattanooga, TN

After months of leaving the house to only make necessary trips to the store, doctors, etc, we decided it was time to get out and believed we could do it safely.  Bev wanted to go to Chattanooga so along with Cindy and Pat, we got on the road at 9am.  We have only been into downtown two times and the last one was several years ago for a fairly short time with friends.  Bev had four things she wanted to do – visit a bakery, go to the Riverwalk, go to Lookout Mountain, and eat at the Acropolis so I made a travel plan to accomplish those plus drive around downtown, go to the north shore area, and go to Bluff View.

Our first stop was the Bluff View Art District and the Bluff View Bakery (which was closed - bummer) so we checked out the sculptures (the driftwood looking horse is actually bronze) and the overlook (above shot).

After a quick web search, Cindy found another bakery a short distance away so we headed down to Niedlov’s Café and Bakery where the girls picked up a few treats to eat for a late breakfast - I had eaten leftover lasagna at home.

From there we headed to the river walk area where there was a crafts fair (Chattanooga River Market) happening on the Aquarium Plaza.  The 16 mile long Riverwalk is very well done and had plenty of users this day.  Since there was no place to park the car in the shade for the dogs, I drove over to the north shore to check it out while the ladies shopped and I found it to be worth a visit.

So after I picked them up, we headed across the Tennessee River and they quickly saw some shops they wanted to hit.  The area also contains a large shopping area called Moccasin Bend which they chose not to visit.  Once again, with no shaded parking, the pups and I just drove around checked out where the regular people live and discovered the riverside is also well developed on this side of the river.

From there, we took the scenic drive up to the top of Lookout Mountain only to discover that Point Park was closed (I assume due to Covid-19) which was a big disappointment as we wanted to see the view from 1700 feet above the city.  Here are a couple of shots from the web .

There were some large homes along the road (not the regular people) with spectacular views and I can’t imagine what their price tag would be.  

From there we neglected the usual tourist destinations (The Incline, Rock City, Ruby Falls) and headed for the restaurant for a very late lunch (or early supper) but very concerned about being able to find a cool spot for the dogs.

As it turned out, The Acropolis had outdoor seating in the shade where the pups were welcome, so it worked out perfectly and they were on their best behavior.  The tables were well spaced, there was a breeze and the humidity was only 35% making the 85F temp plenty comfortable.

We began by ordering drinks and an appetizer of “Saganaki - Kesseri Greek cheese, seasoned and seared, then lit aflame at your table”  $8.95.  We yelled the mandatory oohpah but missed the flaming pic.

Bev and Cindy each ordered “Gyros - Gyro meat is a combination of lamb and beef, mixed with fresh herbs and spices. Served on pita bread with lettuce, tomato relish, and tzatziki sauce.”  $9

Pat ordered the “Pastitsio - Seasoned ground sirloin, penne pasta, parmesan, béchamel & homemade marinara sauce.”  Hers was a bigger version of the one on the right of my plate below.

I ordered the “Greek Combo - Pastitsio, moussaka, gyro meat & stuffed grape leaves.”  $16

We were all very happy with our meals and after visiting the case containing their famous desserts we headed out with a couple of to-go boxes of treats for the 90 minute drive back to Almost Heaven South.

It turned out to be a fine day and the 9½ hour trip sure helped our "cabin fever." 

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

9/5/20 meal date