Chattanooga

Ruby Falls in Chattanooga was a must see. So off we went and found our way there. It’s a pretty easy, and best of all, it was open!!!! A rather high price to pay for admission, but then I think everything is too high a price. As seniors we paid $13.95 each plus tax. It’s a ride on an elevator down 260 feet and then a walk along the trail for about a half mile to the falls. There are a few places along the way to look at but most of the trail was created to be tall enough to walk in. Originally the cave was only about 18 to 24 inches high in most areas. They opened it up and dropped an elevator shaft down to it so that people could go in to see. It was named after the wife of the man who discovered it. Her name was Ruby. Once near the falls, the tour guide stops the group and explains that we will be given six minutes at the falls to take our pictures and move around the falls base and the five foot deep pool at the bottom.

When the lights go out on the falls we are to turn and begin making our half-mile trip out. The lights along the tunnel remain on so its not like everything goes dark, but when the lights go out on the falls you cannot see any part of them. My wife and I found the walk to be nearly our limit and were huffing and puffing by the time we got back to the elevator. I got some pictures and hope I can put a few up.

The Chattanooga Choo Choo and Model Railroad museum was next and it took us a while to locate them. The building is now a hotel, and although there is one sign on the roof, it didn’t really point or suggest we had found the right place. We found the museum and model train exhibit and gladly paid the small $3 admission. This is one of the biggest model railroad displays in the U.

S. and they paid lots of attention to detail. I must have taken 50 or sixty shots.

Finally on to the edge of Chattanooga for the night. Again, at a Best Western, and this one has a restaurant attached. We get a discount for showing our room key and ate our dinner there. Good food and way too much of it for us. One lady next to us decided to order a piece of cake for desert. It was a five layer cake, which means it was served laying down on a full sized plate. The piece must have been at least three inches wide at the back and each layer was about 1 ½ inches, so in all that meant 7 ½ inches plus frosting! It was huge!! She took most of it home. J We didn’t even try one. We had had an ice cream cone earlier at Ruby Falls.