Chattanooga Is Home

Living at the base of Lookout Mountain gives me so much visual pleasure during the changing of the seasons. Now that fall has arrived, I have been eagerly waiting for the explosion of reds, oranges, and yellows to take over the landscape I see out my back door.

According to weather.com’s fall foliage map, the Tennessee Valley is nearing or at the peak of fall color. Personally, I don’t think the peak has arrived since I still see more green than anything right now. I see a lot of leaves on the ground though, so I am lead to believe due to the dry summer we may not get the great burst of fall colors we have had in the past.

Tennessee was listed on Peter Greenberg’s list of 8 Great and Unusual Fall Foliage Destinations. He called Tennessee a “true foliage state” and mentioned different ways to view the fall colors:

“By road, you can drive along the Cherohala Skyway and the Ocoee Scenic Byway. This is an especially popular time for motorcycles to drive along the skyway or byway. By rail, you can ride the Tennessee Valley Railroad on restored vintage trains in Chattanooga. In Knoxville, you can take the Three Rivers Rambler Train and explore east Tennessee. By boat, you can ride the Southern Belle Riverboat and enjoy lunch or dinner while viewing the fall foliage.”

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I know there is a scientific explanation for what is happening but I have to say that I have no idea what is going on. Ya’ll it got cold! This isn’t fun for me. Enjoying warm weather, less clothing, and sandals is fun. Suddenly having to put on a sweatshirt and socks is not.

And with the quick change in weather comes a runny nose, congestion, and coughing. My two year old developed a cold overnight.

The sudden reverse in seasonal weather has hit other areas of the country harder than here in Chattanooga, I know. But here we are dealing with the possible cancellation of an egg hunt. The cold Fuller got has canceled our playdate for tomorrow. And I am really glad that our church does not host an Easter Sunrise Service because it would be really, really cold on Sunday morning.

But hopefully the weather will warm up a bit for the 10,000 egg hunt held on Sunday at Camp Jordan. Hamilton Life Church will be hosting the free event. There will be inflatable games and free hot dogs, starting at 1 pm. The eggstravaganza starts at 2 pm.

[tags]Chattanooga, Easter, egg hunt Chattanooga, Camp Jordan, Hamilton Life Church[/tags]

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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Answer: They blog about it!

I read last evening that it was going to snow and honestly, I didn’t believe it. The last time we got a decent* amount of snow was when I was in college and I was stranded on Lookout Mountain for almost a week. Being afraid of driving in the weather didn’t help either.

By the time we woke up this morning the snow had transitioned to rain and the streets were slushy, not icy. I took some pictures from out the windows and then bundled my son outside to show him the white stuff. He was interested in it and really like the part where he got to make (and throw) snowballs. We also played with the dogs, letting them chase balls that disappeared when they hit the ground.

Most schools are closed today. If you need to know if your school or business is closed or delayed, Snowbird is always very helpful.

*Decent is a totally relative term. To me, decent is 4-5 inches and it stays around for a while. The snow today isn’t really decent, it is yucky. Snow turning into rain is messy and not as much fun to take a 2 year old out. However, he did think otherwise, he cried when we made him come inside.

A few years ago, News Channel 3 had a billboard off of I-24 that promoted their chief meteorologist, Paul Barys and his 3 degree guarantee. It was a billboard of him pointing to a digital readout of the current temperature with a tag line that read, “I said it would be like this!”

That tag line has kind of become a joke around our home. Whenever the topic of the sun, rain, windy, snow (or lack thereof), clouds, or balmy breezes comes up then usually someone says, “Paul said it would be like this!”  And recently that has morphed into a “Darn you Paul Barys!” since it is especially funny to think that the meteorologist controls the weather and we want to blame him for any inconvenient change in the weather.  

Well, I am here to give a first person report that Chattanooga is cold. And we would like to blame Paul Barys and any other weather person in the Tennessee Valley. 

It is very, very cold. My face hurts when I go outside. I can taste ice in my mouth when I breathe. I actually zipped up my coat this morning, before leaving the house.

Home Turf Media is working on putting a weather widget on the sidebar of this blog, if it was there I would point you to it to see exactly how cold it is. According to various outdoor thermostats it is 30 degrees. (Update: I see it is there now, on the main page.)

With the wind factored in, it is too cold to go outside and stand around listening to bluegrass and story telling. I don’t care if there is hot cider in my gloved hands. This year the Appalachian Christmas will just have to go on without me. I think Chattanooga will survive.

[tags]Chattanooga, weather, WRCB TV, Paul Barys[/tags]