Getaway

Our goal and bucket list for the summer is to do a lot of local stuff, but we also had a few getaways in mind to GET AWAY! It is so good for your family to take a break and change the scenery. Our kids are almost 7 and 5 so traveling is so much easier than when they were younger! It would have taken so much effort to pull off just a weekend trip when they were very small, but now we just all pile in and go! I still keep our trips simple though and avoid "over planning". When you over plan a vacation, it takes the relaxation out of it. The great thing about raising your family is that you set the tone for what vacation is. We have always set the pace of the trip to be chill since they were little so they enjoy being at a different place with our family and sight seeing!

We had a great time in Chattanooga! It takes barely over an hour to get there and there is so much to do..... over the years we have driven up for weekend stays to do Lookout Mtn, Rock City, Ruby Falls, ride the Tennesee Valley Railway, see fireworks on the river over the 4th, antiquing, hiking, and leaf drives in the fall. There is a great aquarium, tons of stuff to do downtown, and an extremely family friendly area. Its easy enough to just make a day trip, but if you call the hotel they constantly have specials going on.

This was our Choo Choo trip. The hotel has an awesome deal for a family pack at $189 that includes your hotel room at the old famous Chattanooga choo choo, a train ride on the railway, conductors hats for the kids, museum tickets for the model trains, and a $25 voucher to eat at the hotel. The hotel also had a great pool! Either way, with it being a little over an hour away.... we made the absolute most of our weekend and we made some really fun memories as a family! One of my favorite things is at night, there are gas torches all over the hotel grounds and through the gardens.... we spent so much time back there! Everything about the hotel was fun, including the coy pond with huge fish and frogs :)

David at his favorite pool with the waterfall

Mackenzie and the fish

Downtown with the fountains and waterfall on the stairs

We love trying new coffee shops on our trips and this was was great! It is called Stone Cup downtown.

Hanging out on the Tennessee River

We ate pizza inside a train car one night

Right after we boarded the train! Kids and their conductors hats!!

The gardens at the back of the hotel

We had so much fun on this trip and can't wait to come back and keep exploring Chattanooga! See you soon Tennessee!