Pardon Me Boy… Is That the Chattanooga Choo Choo?

Yes, yes! Well, we’re not going to the Chattanooga Choo Choo, but our troop is headed to Chattanooga, TN this weekend for our annual end of year trip. And I am pumped. We’re visiting Rock City, Ruby Falls, Lookout Mountain, and the Tennessee Aquarium.  Now those places may not sound all that exciting to you, but it is to me.

I grew up in North Georgia (Athens, to be exact), and EVERYBODY went at some point to Rock City/Ruby Falls/Lookout Mountain. I never got to go, because none of the groups I was in ever went, because well, EVERYBODY went there! Except me. I grew up dreaming about seeing all seven states at the top of Lookout Mtn on a clear day.  And what REALLY is at Rock City? And what are all those barns about?

What barns? Back in the 1930s, Rock City started an advertising campaign and gave barn owners in the Tennessee and North Georgia area free passes and various merchandise to paint SEE ROCK CITY in big white letters on the top of their barns. The picture of a red barn with a black roof and SEE ROCK CITY in white is a Southern landmark. I remember seeing them growing up on our way to visit my grandmother in Calhoun, GA.  You can read more about the Rock City barns on their website.

What is Rock City? I honestly don’t know. My Georgia friends tell me not to expect too much. But hopefully it’s cool to our girls and to the eight-year old inside of me. And – I’m getting a SEE ROCK CITY birdhouse – if they aren’t sold out. I’ll be majorly bummed if they are.

Chattanooga has been a destination for our troop for a while now, and I mentioned those three places when we initially talked about it. I leaped for joy and shouted, “I CAN’T WAIT TO GET A BIRDHOUSE!!!” when Co-Pilot Beth (also known as Cruise Director Julie) said we were going to Rock City/Ruby Falls/Lookout Mtn. The other two leaders and the Cruise Director looked at me like I was crazy. Well, that’s nothing new – but they looked at me as probably being EVEN MORE crazy after I yelled out.

I gotta go pack. I’ll write more about our trip with some tips afterwards. ONWARD TO ROCK CITY!!