There may be flannel sheets on my bed, heavy coats in my hall closet, and my son may want to change the hat he is wearing three times a day, but spring break is just around the corner. Before we all know it the flip-flops will be coming out of hiding and our kids will have spring break.
Many places are already filling up reservations and have deals going on. I would love to say we will be beach bound for the break, but budget is just not there for this year. So, I thought I would share one of my favorite within-driving-distance getaways with all of you – Chattanooga Staycation. We spent part of fall break there this fall and we have been in the summer as well. We just love Chattanooga and I will tell you why now!
First of all, it is so close. We normally wake around the normal school day time, load up, and hit the road. We can be in Chattanooga by lunch. Which we always have lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger downtown (yummiest burgers and shakes around). The only part of the drive that is hard is going over the mountain. I always hate that part and my husband tells me to just close my eyes. The drive is not long enough for the kids to get to cranky and grumpy. We normally pack a few books, a coloring book or two, and an audiobook to entertain the kiddos.
Second, there are a lot of options for families. There are tons of outdoor adventures you can do from Rock City to beautiful spots to hike and explore. Due to my special needs daughter’s physical delays, we sadly have not been able to explore most of those places, but have heard from many other people that they are amazing. The Tennessee Aquarium is fun and you can spend hours exploring all the fish. Our kids love the Ocean Building a whole lot, and honestly would rather play in the fountains out front than go to the River Building. The Creative Discovery Museum is my kids’ favorite place to visit. I agree, especially if you have younger children. There are tons of hands-on exhibits for the kids to explore. It is more a playground than a museum, in the sense that you can play and touch almost everything in and out of the building. The first visit we spent only a few hours and regretted it. I say allow as much of the day as you can. We even ate at the little cafe. My kids just loved it.
Coolidge Park has an amazing carousel to ride for a small fee. It also has great places to bring a meal and spread out a blanket to enjoy. It is on the river and you can watch the rowers practice or fishing boats go by. We found a neat little instrument part that had all these drums and bells to play on our last visit. We all had fun making a joyful noise. Make sure to look for the blue ox for a fun picture and, if it is warm, bring a change of clothes – the fountains and stone animals are a great place to play and cool off. My son talks about them a year later. The Chattanooga Zoo is smaller than Nashville’s, but it does have some cool animals. We also love that it is small enough to have fun, but not so large my daughter can’t walk it before she is exhausted. The Zoo Choo train ride is also a huge hit with my train loving son. Normally can find a coupon on the tourism website for Chattanooga.
This last trip we drove a little outside downtown Chattanooga and rode a train at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. We took the forty-five minute ride and really had fun. You get to get off the train and see where they restore the trains and how they turn the engine for the return trip to the station. I think I enjoyed it as much as the kids. Not everyone has ridden a train and it is a fun little trip back in history. One of our last favorite spots to visit is High Point Climbing Gym. They are located downtown and have an amazing outdoor rock climbing wall that overlooks the downtown streets. It was a little scary for me to climb over a road, but my husband went to the top and loved it. They have opened a special kids climbing area, but we have not yet seen that. They are super nice and helpful, and it is a great workout to tire everyone out for the ride home. I then suggest crossing the street and getting amazing calzones and pizzas at Lupi’s Pizza Pies. The food is amazing!
Thirdly, I love how accessible everything is for walking. Our first visit we stayed downtown and never used our car after we went to the zoo. We used a stroller and walked the sidewalks. Even when we went to eat, they would put our stroller to the side of the hostesses stand and seat us. They are so family-friendly and that was so neat. It was fun and much less stressful to not have to load the kids into car seats to go everywhere. The second trip we stayed in Hixson right outside of downtown and then just parked in a public lot and walked downtown.
We have great memories of both of our trips to Chattanooga and plan to go back sometime soon. It is a real treasure to have so close to home. One tip to remember is to visit the tourism website before you go and get some coupons. They change what they offer, but we have gotten ticket discounts, hotel discounts, and food discounts before. Just print the ones you like and have some fun.
As I sit at my computer in flannel PJs and wrapped in a blanket, I dream of warmer days and flip-flop adventures. Till those days, I will have to spend my time planning and dreaming of a Chattanooga staycation spring break adventure.
