Chatt Story
by Scott Hardie on May 16, 2023
Kelly and I are home from a brief road trip to Chattanooga.
The primary reason for going was the wedding of an old friend of Kelly. The ceremony was beautiful, held on the banks of Fall Creek Falls Lake, with some of the best-written vows I've ever heard, at once personal and profound. Then we got to kick back with other old friends at the reception, laughing for hours and catching up. That was a wonderful night. My only regret is being both over and under dressed: The bride and groom met through a medieval LARP, so the wedding had a medieval theme, and I expected to be one of the few non-LARPers wearing a traditional suit, but it turned out that I was the only person not wearing medieval garb. Still, it was fun to stop at a gas station at midnight on the way home and watch people try to guess what I in my suit and Kelly in her medieval dress were doing at that hour.
The day before that, we did as Tennessee's barns have commanded for generations and saw Rock City, a mountaintop attraction famous for its hiking trails and expansive view from the top. If you visit a major theme park while overweight, employees will sometimes discreetly let you know about a private area off to the side of each attraction's entrance where you can try fitting into a demo ride vehicle, and I wish that Rock City had a similar way to test some of its tight squeezes before we got partway up the trail and discovered that there was no way for me to fit through the narrow passages through the limestone. Once we transitioned to the accessible trail segments, it was a much more pleasant experience, and we were in such good moods by the end that we couldn't resist bringing home a garden gnome, the attraction's signature souvenir.
We also visited the Chattanooga Zoo, which was as calming and pleasant as every zoo I've ever visited, except perhaps for the odor inside the reptile building. I don't know when zoos became merely the stuff of school field trips and parental desperation to take the kids somewhere, because as a childless adult, I've always found them to be soothing and rejuvenating experiences. There's something about the peace of wild things that makes me forget my problems and relax, in spite of the caging of animals that I find more ethically problematic with each passing year. Chattanooga's zoo is wonderful, but you don't have to be there to get the same experience; go check out your local city zoo the next time that you need to check out.
One Reply to Chatt Story
Logical Operator
The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »
February 10-16
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Yesterday, Kelly and I joined friends who had free passes to shop at the new Ikea store in Tampa before it opens to the public. It was our my first time in one of those stores, and it was every bit the harrowing shopping marathon I'd heard it was. For a store that boasts so frequently about how efficient everything is, having you proceed through the store in one long winding line for four hours sure doesn't feel that way, but every store has ways of getting you to buy more than you came for and Ikea has come up with a unique one. Go »Ten Best of 2006
The feature is done. It was frustrating not being able to see more movies this year, and the brevity of the feature reflects that. Comments about the list, or mentions of your own favorite films last year, are welcome in the replies to this post. Go »The Proposal
By now, the news is out that Kelly and I are engaged. We couldn't be happier about it! Here's the full story for anyone interested. Go »
Matthew Preston | May 17, 2023
Sounds like you had an awesome time in my hometown! If I wasn't 2,000+ miles away on a business trip, I would have loved to enjoy these things with you guys.
If you ever make it back, I highly recommend Raccoon Mountain reservoir. It's a hydro pump for the local power utility and the surrounding areas are open to the public. There's a one lane road you can drive around with multiple stops for amazing views of the city. It's one of those trips you can mostly enjoy from your car, but still enjoy nature.