That girl is crazy... and I love her for it...
*sigh* It was a long time coming, and well worth it.
Angel and I just got back from a brief vacation this weekend. Three days and two nights in Chattanooga, TN. Why Chattanooga? Well, the decision was based on the following list:
- Relative cheapness, since my disposable income is not quite as disposable these days, and she only works part-time
- Nearby, somewhere we could go by car and still have time to do stuff that day
- A few tourist attractions but not too many, as we wanted to go somewhere fun but not leave thinking, "I wish we had time to do that," afterward.
- Somewhere we both would enjoy immensely
After all was said and done, we picked Chattanooga. And it was a lot of fun.
I took Wednesday and Thursday off from work (Friday was an off day), even though we wouldn't be leaving until early afternoon on Wednesday. It was gonna be a busy, busy day for us.
The main reason for this was because we had to go see the newest member of the family first thing in the morning. Angel's (not-by-blood) sister had a baby a few weeks ago, and we went round to the neonatal center at Huntsville Hospital to see the little munchkin. I R TEH UNCLEZOR!!! She was adorable. And tiny! Being three months premature will do that to you. But, she's doing rather well. But, you wanna know the best part? SHE SQUEAKS!!! *commence happy wolf-puppy bouncing* It was worth it even getting up early in the morning to go to the hospital to see her. Needless to say, between going to the baby shower and walking through the neonatal center, Angel's maternal instinct was on overdrive the rest of the week. She squealed every time anyone under four years of age came within forty feet of her.
So, around noon-time, we grabbed teh lunch and sped eastward. The drive to Chattanooga is so easy. You take 565/72 all the way east until you hit I-24, and that takes you to the city on the river. And you get to drive through some of the most beautiful country in the South, no less. Even though it was still technically winter and it was mostly sticks all around, it was still gorgeous.
Our hotel was really good for a two-star. Big, comfy bed and free breakfast. We checked in and realized there was a Cracker Barrel right next door. *NOMNOMNOM*
The next day we got up and headed into town. Our main stop for the day was going to be the aquarium. I haven't been in several, several years. Angel was a hoot, she was making fish-faces at the fish, and baring her teeth at the sharks. This girl is nuts, I tell you. She even got to pet the sturgeons and sting rays. We went to an IMAX 3D movie, which was really, really weird. Both of us were ducking every time a fish swam at us. We also went on both the river and ocean tours, which was a lot of fun. Being during the week in March, there were hardly any people there. It was nice not to be surrounded by other tourists.
I hate to say it, but my time as a desk jockey has taken its toll. I've gotten lazy. After walking around for a few hours, I was EXHAUSTED. We walked down to the riverside, and sat down for a while. Angel was still bouncy and ready to go, but her beau was just not up to the challenge. I napped for about a half-hour there at the river's edge before we got up and walked to Museum Row.
That evening, we had dinner at this great Japanese place on Market Street. We actually walked around for about a half-hour before we decided to eat there. Chattanooga is a fairly small city as cities go (I'd equate it to Huntsville in many ways), so you could cross the whole thing on foot in about an hour. Anyways, food was great. We had miso, udon, shrimp and vegetable tempura, and a Pikachu roll (eel, avacado, topped with mango). *NOMNOMNOM*
The following morning we checked out of the hotel. It felt like it was far too soon. The day was cloudy, foggy, and raining a bit, though that cleared up by mid-day when we left. We took the complimentary breakfast for all it was worth that morning.
Destination, Lookout Mountain. We had two stops to make that afternoon: Rock City, where Angel had never been; and Ruby Falls, where I had never been. Rock City was great despite - or perhaps, DUE to - the weather. Still being wet and cool, there was hardly anyone in the park at all. So, it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. We walked around, taking our own sweet time. The view from the summit wasn't as great, as it was all foggy. Still, nothing could beat standing on Lover's Leap with Angel. After that, we drove down the other side of the mountain to Ruby Falls. I had never been, so imagine my surprise when I look up to see a CASTLE looming over me. Having never been, I did not know the nature of the cave. I thought the cave entrance was somewhere on the side of the mountain. WRONG! We boarded an express elevator and descended 260 feet INTO the mountain. The walk from the entrance to the falls is only a half-mile, but I was enjoying it every step of the way. As caves go, Ruby Falls is relatively "clean", as no living thing had been inside prior to is accidental discovery a century ago. I was stunned by the sight of it. Angel got a kick out of seing me stare up at a 145-foot-tall, underground waterfall with my mouth open in astonishment.
Oh, and here's a bit of fun after the cave diving. We rode the elevator back to the top of the castle. There's a viewing deck up there, and a lot of the fog had cleared so that we could look out and about. As I said, it had been raining for much of the morning. Also, there was apparently still some sediment on the bottom of my shoe from the cave. I stepped in a small puddle that had formed on one of the concrete steps, slipped, and fell about half a flight of stairs on my ass. Today, there is a massive, black bruise on my right hip. (OUCH!!!)
*sigh* After that, we hopped back in the car and headed home. It got dark really quick, mostly due to the cloud cover that had been overhead all day long. I was very, very sleepy. Yes, I know, I'm lazy.
For our first vacation together, this one was a lot of fun. We had a blast and wouldn't mind doing it again sometime.
And that sunset on Thursday afternoon... it would've been the perfect time...
ADDENDUM: Okay, I forgot about this when originally posting, but I realized it needed to be added before Angel sees it is missing.
Going back to the afternoon at the aquarium, one of the things I didn't get to do the first time I came was the "Ocean Walk" tour, mainly because that building wasn't finished at that time. (I came in middle school, shortly after the aquarium had been built.) This made it a treat for both of us. Angel absolutely squealed when we rounded the corner and she saw... *DUN DUN DUUUUUUUNNNNNNN*... PENGUINS!!!
"PENGIES!!!" She screamed as she seemed to teleport from my side to have her nose pressed to the glass of the penguin habitat. I sighed, smiled, and went to join her. The penguins were rather lethargic, most seemed to be sleeping. It must have been something about the time of year we went, since a LOT of stuff just seemed to be asleep or tired or something like that.
I pulled out my camera to take a picture. Angel was positively beaming. I got the penguins in frame. One of them appeared to start stretching and I thought it would be the perfect time to take the shot. I snapped it and pulled the camera away from my eye to set it for the next shot. To my left, Angel is laughing her ass off. I ask her what is so funny, and she says, "Please tell me you got that." I ask, "Got what?" We go back to look at the last picture, and all that I could say is, "Oh, my sweet, holy Lord."
As if cued by the snap of the camera lens (which blocked off my vision, btw), the penguin I thought to be "stretching" had just taken a massive shit just in time to have its picture taken.
It was disgusting, gross, and funny as all hell. If you wanna see the picture, wait a while. I'm expecting Angel to put it up on her own LJ.
Angel and I just got back from a brief vacation this weekend. Three days and two nights in Chattanooga, TN. Why Chattanooga? Well, the decision was based on the following list:
- Relative cheapness, since my disposable income is not quite as disposable these days, and she only works part-time
- Nearby, somewhere we could go by car and still have time to do stuff that day
- A few tourist attractions but not too many, as we wanted to go somewhere fun but not leave thinking, "I wish we had time to do that," afterward.
- Somewhere we both would enjoy immensely
After all was said and done, we picked Chattanooga. And it was a lot of fun.
I took Wednesday and Thursday off from work (Friday was an off day), even though we wouldn't be leaving until early afternoon on Wednesday. It was gonna be a busy, busy day for us.
The main reason for this was because we had to go see the newest member of the family first thing in the morning. Angel's (not-by-blood) sister had a baby a few weeks ago, and we went round to the neonatal center at Huntsville Hospital to see the little munchkin. I R TEH UNCLEZOR!!! She was adorable. And tiny! Being three months premature will do that to you. But, she's doing rather well. But, you wanna know the best part? SHE SQUEAKS!!! *commence happy wolf-puppy bouncing* It was worth it even getting up early in the morning to go to the hospital to see her. Needless to say, between going to the baby shower and walking through the neonatal center, Angel's maternal instinct was on overdrive the rest of the week. She squealed every time anyone under four years of age came within forty feet of her.
So, around noon-time, we grabbed teh lunch and sped eastward. The drive to Chattanooga is so easy. You take 565/72 all the way east until you hit I-24, and that takes you to the city on the river. And you get to drive through some of the most beautiful country in the South, no less. Even though it was still technically winter and it was mostly sticks all around, it was still gorgeous.
Our hotel was really good for a two-star. Big, comfy bed and free breakfast. We checked in and realized there was a Cracker Barrel right next door. *NOMNOMNOM*
The next day we got up and headed into town. Our main stop for the day was going to be the aquarium. I haven't been in several, several years. Angel was a hoot, she was making fish-faces at the fish, and baring her teeth at the sharks. This girl is nuts, I tell you. She even got to pet the sturgeons and sting rays. We went to an IMAX 3D movie, which was really, really weird. Both of us were ducking every time a fish swam at us. We also went on both the river and ocean tours, which was a lot of fun. Being during the week in March, there were hardly any people there. It was nice not to be surrounded by other tourists.
I hate to say it, but my time as a desk jockey has taken its toll. I've gotten lazy. After walking around for a few hours, I was EXHAUSTED. We walked down to the riverside, and sat down for a while. Angel was still bouncy and ready to go, but her beau was just not up to the challenge. I napped for about a half-hour there at the river's edge before we got up and walked to Museum Row.
That evening, we had dinner at this great Japanese place on Market Street. We actually walked around for about a half-hour before we decided to eat there. Chattanooga is a fairly small city as cities go (I'd equate it to Huntsville in many ways), so you could cross the whole thing on foot in about an hour. Anyways, food was great. We had miso, udon, shrimp and vegetable tempura, and a Pikachu roll (eel, avacado, topped with mango). *NOMNOMNOM*
The following morning we checked out of the hotel. It felt like it was far too soon. The day was cloudy, foggy, and raining a bit, though that cleared up by mid-day when we left. We took the complimentary breakfast for all it was worth that morning.
Destination, Lookout Mountain. We had two stops to make that afternoon: Rock City, where Angel had never been; and Ruby Falls, where I had never been. Rock City was great despite - or perhaps, DUE to - the weather. Still being wet and cool, there was hardly anyone in the park at all. So, it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. We walked around, taking our own sweet time. The view from the summit wasn't as great, as it was all foggy. Still, nothing could beat standing on Lover's Leap with Angel. After that, we drove down the other side of the mountain to Ruby Falls. I had never been, so imagine my surprise when I look up to see a CASTLE looming over me. Having never been, I did not know the nature of the cave. I thought the cave entrance was somewhere on the side of the mountain. WRONG! We boarded an express elevator and descended 260 feet INTO the mountain. The walk from the entrance to the falls is only a half-mile, but I was enjoying it every step of the way. As caves go, Ruby Falls is relatively "clean", as no living thing had been inside prior to is accidental discovery a century ago. I was stunned by the sight of it. Angel got a kick out of seing me stare up at a 145-foot-tall, underground waterfall with my mouth open in astonishment.
Oh, and here's a bit of fun after the cave diving. We rode the elevator back to the top of the castle. There's a viewing deck up there, and a lot of the fog had cleared so that we could look out and about. As I said, it had been raining for much of the morning. Also, there was apparently still some sediment on the bottom of my shoe from the cave. I stepped in a small puddle that had formed on one of the concrete steps, slipped, and fell about half a flight of stairs on my ass. Today, there is a massive, black bruise on my right hip. (OUCH!!!)
*sigh* After that, we hopped back in the car and headed home. It got dark really quick, mostly due to the cloud cover that had been overhead all day long. I was very, very sleepy. Yes, I know, I'm lazy.
For our first vacation together, this one was a lot of fun. We had a blast and wouldn't mind doing it again sometime.
And that sunset on Thursday afternoon... it would've been the perfect time...
ADDENDUM: Okay, I forgot about this when originally posting, but I realized it needed to be added before Angel sees it is missing.
Going back to the afternoon at the aquarium, one of the things I didn't get to do the first time I came was the "Ocean Walk" tour, mainly because that building wasn't finished at that time. (I came in middle school, shortly after the aquarium had been built.) This made it a treat for both of us. Angel absolutely squealed when we rounded the corner and she saw... *DUN DUN DUUUUUUUNNNNNNN*... PENGUINS!!!
"PENGIES!!!" She screamed as she seemed to teleport from my side to have her nose pressed to the glass of the penguin habitat. I sighed, smiled, and went to join her. The penguins were rather lethargic, most seemed to be sleeping. It must have been something about the time of year we went, since a LOT of stuff just seemed to be asleep or tired or something like that.
I pulled out my camera to take a picture. Angel was positively beaming. I got the penguins in frame. One of them appeared to start stretching and I thought it would be the perfect time to take the shot. I snapped it and pulled the camera away from my eye to set it for the next shot. To my left, Angel is laughing her ass off. I ask her what is so funny, and she says, "Please tell me you got that." I ask, "Got what?" We go back to look at the last picture, and all that I could say is, "Oh, my sweet, holy Lord."
As if cued by the snap of the camera lens (which blocked off my vision, btw), the penguin I thought to be "stretching" had just taken a massive shit just in time to have its picture taken.
It was disgusting, gross, and funny as all hell. If you wanna see the picture, wait a while. I'm expecting Angel to put it up on her own LJ.