Since moving to Nashville eight years ago, we have done three overnights in Chattanooga. It’s only a two-hour drive, and it’s a fun city to explore.
Our first trek was a surprise trip that Mr. Handsome planned for our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple. We stayed at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel, and although the converted Pullman railroad car was a bit drafty, we had a wonderful time.
Our second time in Chattanooga was in fall 2021 with almost-two-year-old Little Buddy. We listened to the suggestions of the many “See Rock City” advertisements along I-24 and were in awe of the natural beauty.
Our most recent trip was last month, with both kids. We rode the Incline Railway, toured a historical site, and stopped by the Tennessee Aquarium.
Located in the heart of Downtown Chattanooga, the Tennessee Aquarium is easy to access and within walking distance of a variety of restaurants. The setup makes it really simple to visit with children or large groups.
The exhibits are split up into two separate buildings–the River Journey and the Ocean Journey. You take an elevator to the top level of each and then leisurely make your way along a one-way route, which is a series of ramps and small rooms, that leads you back to the entrance. This layout makes it easy to keep track of your kids and to stay with the other members of your group.
Other aquariums we have been to consist of a number of large rooms where everyone goes their own direction, making it difficult to stick by the people you came with. When you’re in a huge area surrounded by 300 other people, moving from tank to tank, the experience is just not as enjoyable. The setup of the Tennessee Aquarium allows you to feel more relaxed and spend more time taking in the exhibits.
Do you enjoy aquariums? Which ones have you been to? In addition to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, we have also visited the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
You sure travel a lot.
Jealous much? I like hearing about her trips!
It’s hard to travel with little kids. I don’t think anyone is jealous of that.
She does, but at least pretty much all of it includes her kids and all activities are appropriate for kids, and I think that’s nice. Especially the beach trips. I didn’t live near the ocean as a kid, we lived in the woods, so the ocean was an incredible treat to me, because it was so different and I just loved the salt water, so I can imagine that her kids love that. I think that if you can afford to go on a lot of trips, do it and don’t mind what people say. I’d do the same if I could.
The Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto is amazing, as is the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I’ve also been to cute smaller ones in Atlantic City, NJ and Niagara Falls USA. The zoo in Pittsburgh also has a wonderful one that’s part of zoo admission (and has much-needed A/C in the summer!). I love aquariums and zoos because you never know what the animals may be doing on any given day, so there’s always a slightly different experience every time you go.
Sounds like a good set up . We plan to take our kids to an aquarium next week . I can’t wait to see if my youngest babies will enjoy looking at the fish.
I’ve been to the Georgia Aquarium and the Tennessee Aquarium. I enjoy both, but I really enjoyed the Tennessee better. It’s less overcrowded, and I like the way the ramps work from top to bottom on visiting.