Chattanooga Is Home

When I was in college, my parents were stationed in Charleston, South Carolina. I visited there on school breaks, but never really felt the city was mine to call home. (But anywhere my parents live, their house is definitely a home for me.)

One Christmas my sisters and I received a book of tickets to local tourist attractions. The Charleston board of tourism sold these books of discounted tickets to residents and called them “Be a Tourist in Your Hometown.” For the rest of Christmas break my sisters and I toured historic homes and other tourist spots in Charleston. And we have some wonderful memories of just being together.

I keep thinking about that Christmas break every time I drive by something that is rather touristy here in Chattanooga- from the Choo Choo to the Aquarium to the Chattanooga Ducks. I really want to experience them, but often feel like I have to have an out of town visitor accompanying me in order to make it appropriate.

Well, I decided I don’t have to wait for visitors, I can just take the time to be a tourist in my hometown. I don’t necessarily get a discount for being a resident, but I do get to spend some time with my son and understand my hometown a little better.

And if I write about my experience here, it might help someone who is coming to visit know what to expect as well.

I want to start with the CARTA Electric Shuttle. To me, the shuttles are one thing (out of many) that makes downtown truly special. First, they are free transportation around downtown. Second, they are electric, which is great for the environment. In fact, Chattanooga runs the largest fleet of electric vehicles in the world. If you want to know more about them, you can go to the Electric Vehicle Information Center, located at Shuttle Park South (the Chattanooga Choo-Choo).

While I know that it is not strictly tourists who use the free shuttle (I used it often when I worked downtown), but I think that some tourists may not know what it is all about.

It is really easy to catch a shuttle from any of the well marked shuttle stops along the Broad Street/ Market Street route. Right now the route goes from the Chattanooga Choo-Choo (where you can park at a CARTA parking lot), around the Chattanooga Hamilton County Bicentennial Library, and down Broad Street to the Bijou Theater (where you can park at the CARTA parking lot, if you want to head south by shuttle). From the theater, the Aquarium is steps away.

Chattanooga runs the largest fleet of electric vehicles in the world.

Yesterday we took the shuttle from Rock Point Books all the way to the Choo-Choo to explore what they had to offer. When we were done we took the shuttle back to Jack’s Alley. On both rides we had the same driver, a woman who was not just shuttling passengers, but was entertaining them as well. She took the time to announce each stop, let us know what was around that area, and even give historical facts about our city.

I have found that if you are on the shuttle and need to know where something is, you can ask the drivers and they can tell you how to get almost anywhere.

If you live here in Chattanooga, taking the shuttle around downtown is a great free treat for your little ones. I know my two year old loves it.

Next on hometown tourism: Pardon me boy, what do you do at the Chattanooga Choo Choo?
[tags]Chattanooga, Chattanooga shuttle, electric shuttle, Chattanooga tourism[/tags]