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Saturday May 24, 2008
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We headed early Saturday morning up to the Chattanooga area. We had plans to spend the night at the Captains Quarter's Bed and Breakfast. We had never done the Chattanooga area so we decided to take advantage of the long weekend and spend time there before heading to our cabin in north Georgia on Sunday night. When we arrived in Chattanooga we headed straight to Rock City. We weren't sure what it was all about there, but decided to have a look. Located atop Lookout Mountain, just 6 miles from downtown Chattanooga, Rock City is a true marvel of nature featuring massive ancient rock formations, gardens with over 400 native plant species, and breathtaking "See 7 States" panoramic views. We walked along the Enchanted Trail along the woodland path. We thought it would be more touristy than it was, and we quite enjoyed several hours there. From there we decided to try the Incline Railway which travels one mile up Lookout Mountain at a 72.7% grade. It was a long line, but we passes our time waiting in line by watching a magician perform. Once on top, we walked around and visited the Chattanooga National Park visitor center. The trip down the mountain seemed scarier than the way up, but finally we made it back to our car. We had gotten a pass to visit a third location, Ruby Falls when we bought our tickets at Rock City, so we headed over there next. We were very disappointed with Ruby Falls. It was very touristy and crowded and if you have visited any other cave before (as we have) it wasn't very impressive. It was about a two hour tour of the cave and journey to the water fall and we were all glad when we came back to the surface.
We had had a full day and we headed south out of Tennessee into Georgia towards the B&B. We stopped to have a delicious Italian meal at Tony's Restaurant in Fort Oglethorpe, which is where the Captain's Quarters is located. We had the nicest waitress named Misty.
The Captain's Quarters Bed and Breakfast Inn was built circa 1902. Originally a duplex, it housed two captains and their families. After the fort closed in 1946 all the buildings on the post were sold at public auction, and over the years were put to various uses. The Captain's Quarters was restored and converted to a Bed and Breakfast Inn in 1988. This historic building borders the Chickamauga Battlefield. The Battle of Chickamauga was a key battle during the civil war. The proprietors of the B&B, Jim and Julie, were so sweet and welcoming and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening there. They have traveled extensively throughout their lives and it was so interesting to hear all of their exotic stories. Julie is writing a book about Fort Oglethorpe and since I helped her a bit with the formatting her document file while I was there, she graciously sent me a copy.
After a busy, exhausting day we were tired and we sunk into the cozy rooms at the B&B for a wonderful night sleep. The next morning Julie prepared a fabulous breakfast of waffles with a syrup that was heavenly. We also enjoyed muffins, bacon, and fresh juice. Yummy! We bid Jim and Julie farewell and headed over to the Chickamauga National Park for a look around.
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