This is what Brighton calls Chattanooga. He came up with it on his own and I think it is fitting. We have just returned from out visit to Chattanooga TN. We stayed in the historic Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel and Gardens.
When I was growing up, we went to Chattanooga a few times as it was only a 2 hour drive from Atlanta. Each time, we would visit the Choo Choo Hotel to visit their shops, gardens, restaurants and of course see the trains. I always wanted to actually stay there. Now I can say that I have.
I planned this trip mainly for Brighton who like most 2 year old boys, has a love for trains. If you have a little boy, this is the place to take him!
I wanted this to be a time when we could celebrate our family, something just for us and Brighton, as we prepare to be a family of 4. I would have liked to have done it closer to my due date but thought I may be to pregnant to enjoy anything like this in August or September. I am so sad that it is over as we had a wonderful time, but I am sure that we will be back to visit once we have another little train lover among us!
Although no trains are still running here, the last one ran it's last run in 1970, the whole place is a tribute to that great train era. The lobby is the old train station (from the early 1900's) and on the grounds are many of the train cars that used to run back in the day. They are there to play on or look at. Some have even been converted to hotel rooms and restaurants.
There is a trolly that runs through the gardens. There are also shops and restaurants. We had a reservation the 1st night at The Station House. It was in the former luggage room of the station. The servers are "singing servers" and entertain on stage in between trips to the table. We had a great meal here and Brighton was very entertained! We actually ended up eating dinner here our 2nd night as well. Hey, it is not often that you find a decent restaurant where your child can be loud and entertained through an entire meal!
Our room conveniently walked out to one of the 3 pools on the property. We spent both of our late afternoons winding down there, before it was time for us to get ready for dinner.
On Saturday morning we went to the Tennessee Valley Railroad so that we could actually ride a train.
This was the perfect ride for Brighton's attention span, as the whole ride was only about 45 minutes. There was a break where we got off and saw the train being turned around on an old turntable.
This was a fun excursion, but only took up part of our morning. With so much to do in Chattanooga, it was hard to decide what to pick from. With Brighton needing a nap in order to make it to dinner that night, we knew that realistically we should only pick one more activity. We chose to go to Rock City.
If you grew up in the south, like me, you have probably seen at least 1 or 2 of these painted barns while driving through the countryside. It is how Rock City used to advertise before farmland was bought and replaced with modern day billboards!
The 3 of us enjoyed walking atop of Lookout Mountain through the neat rock formations and gardens. Luckily it was a much nicer climate on top of the mountain and inside of the rock tunnels and caves.
At one point, you can actually see 7 different states.
I think that this was the perfect excursion choice for us. We got to see a lot and got some good exercise as well! I forgot to mention that we had perfect weather both Friday and Saturday, while we were there.
The incline railray, Ruby Falls and TN aquarium will all have to wait until next time. We woke up on Sunday to a rainy day. This made it much easier to leave, although it did not mean anything to Brighton as he cried about wanting to "stay here!".
We had reached the caboose of our trip, but promise to return in a few years to see what has changed, or what has hopefully stayed the same!
He has also tried his hand at painting and gardening. He painted this flower pot while at Lacey's house last week, and then Poppi showed him how to plant a flower in it.
As for me, I am taking on a new project as well. I can remember when I was pregnant with Brighton, all the fun that I had designing his nursery and the bedding for his crib. I spent hours online and on weekends searching fabric stores for the perfect blends. It all finally came together and was exactly what I had envisioned. I remember thinking that I can always use it again if I am ever lucky enough to have a second child. So, of course now that time is here. My guest room is still sitting just as it was after we moved in. A guest room. I was planning on moving Brighton's baby crib and changing table, etc... to that room closer to the due date. I guess I thought Brighton would magically outgrow his stuff over night or something. The truth is that though he is interested in starting potty training, he is still not "there" yet, so we use his changing table. He is going to bed in his crib beautifully every night. It has never once occurred to him to climb out or ask for another bed. He loves his bed. He loves his stuff. I love him still sleeping in his crib, knowing he is not going to get out of bed in the night, I love his stuff. In HIS room. So what to do? I started to fret. Then my mom reminded me that she has a crib just sitting in her garage, unused. She redid it a few years ago for a family friend to use. It is distressed white with a mossaic of nautical china on the sides. She said I could use it. A huge relief washed over me! It was the solution!! So now, Brighton's room can stay as it is, and we can use the converter kit to transform his bed into different stages as he grows.It also means that I have to get BUSY. While a nautical theme is timeless and classic, it has been done, and done and done again. I have to stay in the perimeters of the motif on the bed so I am trying to put a modern spin on it. Of course I am so late in the game on this. I am not even going to try and have it all done by my September due date. I am now leaning towards a coastal theme. Not quite "surfer dude" but not all sailboats and light houses either. Of course I have started my fabric and bedding searches. I even ordered some stuff, only to cancel it shortly after. I am now waiting on fabric samples to be mailed and once I receive them I hope to have a more clear head about this and will be able to make a decision. I hope that this theme can be something that will be cute now and can also grow with baby Flowe #2 into his toddler years. I will keep you posted when it all comes together. Not any time soon though!
