Chattanooga Is Home

In Florida, off of Key Largo, there is an very unique place called Jules Undersea Lodge. It is essentially an underwater bed and breakfast, where you are surrounded by nothing but aquatic life. The prices range from $125 for three hours to $1,195 for a honeymoon package.

Chattanooga offers a similar deal, but it isn’t exactly under the ocean. It is under the fish at the Tennessee Aquarium.
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The Chattanoogan is reporting that Ravenchase, the treasure hunt for public and private groups, is coming to Chattanooga!

This summer, a national adventure-designing organization is branching out into Chattanooga. In a kick-off event scheduled for June 2, known as the “Great Chattanooga Chase,” players all around Chattanooga will follow treasure maps and solve ciphers in search of a treasure chest filled with exciting and especially kitschy gold prizes. Gadgets, planted actors and other oddities will aid the players on their quest and make for an entertaining Saturday afternoon.

According to the Ravenchase website, if this hunt goes well, they may set up regular hunts in Chattanooga. To register for this hunt, head over to the website and plunk down $20 (via paypal) per participant. Ravenchase will provide you with a clue that once solved, will tell you the start time and place.

This sounds like a lot of fun, I may have to see if my husband and his friends want to participate.

If you are looking for a bigger adventure, check out Ravenchase’s Great American Hunt.

[tags]Ravenchase, Chattanooga Ravenchase, treasure hunt[/tags]

One of the things I love about Chattanooga is that there is always something to do. And as a bonus, it usually isn’t too hard to find free activites for you and your family.

The Nightfall concert series is one of those free activies that people flock to in the summer. As a bonus, the concert always features local musicians, of all different kinds of musical stylings. From folk music to jazz to Celtic rock (and more), you can find a them here in Chattanooga.

From the Chattanooga Downtown Partnership:

The Chattanooga Downtown Partnership kicks off the 2007 Nightfall Concert Series on Friday, May 25, at Miller Plaza. Now in its 19th season, Nightfall continues to bring an eclectic mix of rock, blues, jazz, reggae, zydeco, funk, bluegrass and folk music to Downtown Chattanooga. Local musicians take the stage at 7 PM to get the crowd ready for headline performances by national and international talent beginning at 8 PM. This FREE 17-week series is held in Miller Plaza on Friday evenings from Memorial Day weekend through September 28, with the exception of the two Fridays during Riverbend. Beer, wine, food and non-alcoholic drink concessions are available on site. No outside food or beverages are allowed. A limited number of handicapped parking spaces are available on Georgia Avenue in front of the Joel Solomon Federal Building.

The following is the 2007 Nightfall schedule:
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Last summer our family had to go to Hamilton Place Mall for some reason. I noticed the movie marquee said something about free family films, so when I went home I looked it up. Then for the rest of the summer, Fuller and Damon had something fun to do on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. And Fuller got to go see his first movie in a movie theater.

Regal Cinemas at Hamilton Place Mall participates in the Family Film Festival every summer. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays there are two free movies for kids and parents to see in the late morning.
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It is hard to believe that the last day of classes for Hamilton County Schools is next Tuesday. Lots of parents will be wondering what to do with their children, to keep their minds and bodies active during the warmest months of the year.

One summer my mom scheduled my sisters and me for lots of day camp sessions through the local parks and recreation. I took photography, drama, and tennis. My sisters did pottery.

Day camps keep kids busy, helps stretch their minds, and maybe lets them experience something that they don’t get during the school year. Or they are able to focus specifically on something they want to get better at before going back to school in August.
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Tonight our family will be curling up in front of the DVD player, chilling out after a very busy week. But next weekend, I am making room in my schedule to head down to Laura Pettit’s home for a viewing of the Clothesline Show.

The Clothesline Show is a showcase of artwork from ten women in the Chattanooga area. Several of the artists are women that I know in some capacity, from blogging to church family members.
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Back in January I was excited to read about the penguins coming to Chattanooga and I can’t believe that they are here and being shown to the public now. The Penguins Rock exhibit opened today and thousands made their way to see the Gentoos and Macaronis. School children got to see the Penguin Keeper and ask her questions.

I love what the Penguin Keeper wrote about the Macaronis:

Olympic long distance swimmers are amazing to watch, but they would be no match for our macaroni penguins. These little birds spend more time in the water than on the rocky shoreline of “Penguins’ Rock.” In fact macaronis are swimming around about 80 percent of their lives. One co-worker even said, “The macaronis are like a bunch of 7 or 8 year olds that won’t get out of the pool.”

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When the St. Elmo community was building their playground, food was provided by several merchants. One morning, several trays of banana nut muffins arrived and were quickly consumed by busy workers. The muffins were from Neidlov’s Bakery, a local artisan bakery, and they were really, really good.

Today, Neidlov’s opened their new shop located at 215 East Main Street, across from the fire station. I decided to take Fuller there for a muffin and some coffee (for me) and to see the new shop in action. It was easy to find, and there was plenty of free parking along the curbside.

There were several people in the shop, enjoying their coffee, scones, and muffins. I ordered a cup of coffee, a lemon currant scone, and a blueberry muffin, for a total of $5. The young lady at the counter was very helpful, and didn’t cringe at the two year old sitting in his stroller shouting “Hi” to anyone in his line of sight. She was so helpful that she let me go with an IOU when I admitted that I didn’t have any cash, which was all Niedlov’s was prepared to take. (I usually pay credit or debit. I was very embarrassed. She was very, very nice.)

I was able to relax at a table, sipping my coffee (they proudly serve Greyfriar’s) while Fuller hogged both the scone and muffin. There was plenty of floor space in the shop, with five or six tables to sit for a while.
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There is an article in today’s Times Free Press that quotes Rhonda Seeber of the Parks and Recreation Department as saying,
“Chattanooga is growing into a bicycle mecca, and the city wants to promote cycling as a healthy lifestyle.”

Chattanooga a bicycle mecca? Sure, I will buy that.

Every year since 2003, the League of American Bicyclists has named Chattanooga a Bicycle Friendly Community and last May, Bicycling Magazine named Chattanooga as one of the “21 Best Cities for Cycling” in the U.S.

Our family enjoys riding our bikes around our neighborhood, but we are not as gung ho about cycling as some residents are. Many people in Chattanooga ride their bikes to work. Beginning again in May, Bike2Work groups will be meeting monthly at Walnut Street Square to have coffee and meet one another.
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I have been suffering from allergies since I was young, but it wasn’t until I moved to the Tennessee Valley that they really became a nuisance in my daily life. In fact, the day after I moved into Carter Hall up on Lookout Mountain, I immediately got a sinus infection due to allergies.

This season has probably been the worst for me. I blame part of that on the fact that I am now at home full time, without the benefits of conditioned air in an office building. Another place to put the blame is on the new playground where we have been spending a lot of time. And then there is just the overall quality of the air here in Chattanooga.
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