Friday, July 22, 2011 – mile 465, Chattanooga, TN

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Thursday found us relaxing at “The Beach.” During the afternoon, the skies clouded up and we experienced a few light showers that really cooled things down. After a high temperature of 98 degrees yesterday, we welcomed the respite. Shortly after 7 pm, we were enjoying our dinner out on the bow as the nightly riverboat cruise came by. The Tennessee Aquarium has a large power cat they use for the River Gorge tour which originates from the dock in downtown Chattanooga, comes past our beach and then turns around and heads back upriver. It is about a two-hour tour.

We spent Friday morning at the anchorage and then decided to check out Chattanooga. It was only about a fifteen-mile trip, so we waited until 11:30 am to pull up the anchor and make our way up the river. Our tour included more lovely scenery and great views of Signal Mountain and Lookout Mountain.

Just before 3 pm, we tied up to the floating dock below the Aquarium. We found out that the dock was managed by Marine Max so there would be a fee to stay overnight but we were more than ready for some air conditioning and gladly plugged in.

A short walk to the Visitors Center helped us to orient ourselves and learn about some of the tours and attractions available. We took the free shuttle across the river, walked around a bit and strolled back across the river on the pedestrian bridge. After cooling down on the boat for a few minutes, we decided to walk back uptown and find a nice restaurant where we could enjoy a couple of drinks and a nice dinner. The Easy Bistro Bar and Grill was just the ticket. We shared the lamb entrée on the outside patio and watched the people pass by.