Hunter and I really, really, really needed to get away for a few days- just the two of us- so we did..... We went to Chattanooga, a place that's such a short stinkin' drive, but such a fun city. We loved our trip! I've been to Chattanooga so many times (even lived there for a year) and visited with Hunter before, but for the first time, we really did a lot of research on the city. We realized what a historic city it is and that pretty much every place in it is on the National Register of Historic places.

and so begins our adventure :)

So if you don't visit at least one of the following places: Ruby Falls/Rock City/Incline Railway while you're in Chattanooga........ then I'm not really sure why you visited Chattanooga.

Ruby Falls is old (duuuhhh) and really cool. It opened in the 20's after a man discovered the waterfall while digging an elevator shaft to open the cave to the public.

The waterfall is 2,000 or so feet under ground. Pretty cool!

When you're done with the tour, you wind up on top of the building with a really cool view of the city!

When I was 18, I went to UTC and worked at a little BBQ place called Bone's Smokehouse. I chose to work there because it was waaaayyy off the beaten path and I knew I would never run into classmates there. Just so happens that the food.... is...... AMAZING. Me and Hunter always go there when we're in town.

The fried pickles are probably the best I've ever had.

This is a cool view of Lookout Mountain we had from our hotel room....

RC Cola and Moonpies are a big part of Chattanooga's history.

So eat some while you're there...... it's nostalgic.

We always visit Urban Rocks when we go to Chatt. This is us ready to do the hardest boulder problems we've encountered. Urban Rocks means business....

Here's our hotel! It was sooo pretty aaannnnddd historic (duuuhhh). It was built in the 20's and all the original decor is still there. I loved the vibe inside- you really felt like you were part of a high class society right smack in the middle of a black and white film.

We also freaked a little when we read that the hotel was haunted... before it was built in the 20's, a hotel stood in the same exact spot during the 1800's. It was used as a military hospital during the civil war and later burned to the ground in a fire. The hotel was rebuilt and for whatever reason, room 311 is infamous for being haunted. Apparently murders/suicides/lots of strange things have taken place in that room and people book room 311 years in advance, but can rarely make it through the night before checking out.

When we first got to the hotel, we were surprised at how original everything was kept. Hunter kept saying "I feel like we're in Tower of Terror!!!" Here's the old phone booths. Legend has it....... they're haunted.

The main lobby

The old news and cigar stand. Legend has it....... it's haunted.

The entrance to the famous Silver ballroom.... which I hear...... is haunted.

I love the old piece above the elevators..... which apparently..... are haunted.

Even the cool old mailbox is still hanging on the wall.....which we were told..... is haunted.

I just made all that up. But our hotel really is known for being haunted-- which freaked me out--- even though I don't believe in ghosts at all......

Sad to check out of our hotel, but ready for more adventures.... like taking a river tour on the Southern Belle!

Then we went to the zoo, and to our surprise, Wednesdays will cost you a big fat dollar to see the animals! We were pretty excited....

This is the silhouette of a bird that was making me laugh...

I love it when they let peacocks roam the zoo

My most favorite exhibit was the prairie dogs. If I could, I would have one as a pet because they were unbelievably cute. But they're probably dangerous and make horrible pets so instead I just named all of them to make believe they were my pets for 30 minutes.... which was a bad decision because it just made me become attached to them and want to spend all my time at the zoo staring at them.... which did not make Hunter very happy......

This is Martha. She's enjoying a delicious leaf.

This is Wilfred. He just got done digging a hole...

This is Mr. Tuttle who is also enjoying a leaf.

This is Franny.

Mr. Tuttle and Franny are married.

He doesn't get a name because the zoo keeper told me if I pet him, he would bite me.

Despite the fact that this little guy looks timid and scared that I'm going to shoot him, he is called a Dracula deer and has sharp, pointy teeth..... I'm not even making that up.

I loved this guy

Then we headed to Northshore and had some amazing hotdogs and ice cream.

The hotdog place had really cute decor!

Hunter was so convinced that the man behind me was one of the Lost boys from the movie Hook. But he was too afraid to ask him..... anways, look at that tub of ice cream!

All in all, our mini get away was awesome! We gained 50 pounds, took in a lot of history, saw some really cute animals for $1 and did really fun activities. I love adventures like that with my best friend :)