Seeing the Scenic City – Page 10 – Exploring Chattanooga, Tennessee and surrounding areas

Coronavirus and life update

So much has happened in the two weeks, and yet nothing has happened at all since I have last written. When speaking about the Coronavirus, I’ll bet that you understand what I mean.

Derek and I are both adjusting to working from home. He works upstairs in the office, while I have made a spot for myself at the dining table. We joke that this is the most use the table has gotten since we bought it about eight years ago.

I started training for my new job. It is hard to learn everything from home through video chats, but everyone has been kind and gracious. I have been assigned a mentor, and we check in with each other daily.

I am trying to keep as much of a routine as possible. Even though I am not commuting in the morning, I still get up at the same time in the morning as if I would be commuting. I take that extra time and have my first cup of tea and browse social media. I try to get up once an hour for two minutes and walk about 150 steps around the apartment, so I am not sedentary. When the weather allows, I take my lunch break out on the balcony, so I can get fresh air and sun.

It may sound silly, but I find that I am missing a daily commute to the office. Having that drive time makes for a good transition. Home is home, and work is work. It’s odd to close my work laptop at 4:45 p.m. and then be on the couch at 4:45:25.

I have been taking a lot of walks around our apartment complex, and two weekends in a row we went to the Walnut Street Bridge, and got to-go drinks from Rembrandt’s Coffee House.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, and while there were a lot of people also out, we managed to keep our distance from everyone because it is a wide bridge. Now we are not so sure that we should have done that.

A photographer with the local newspaper took a photo of everyone walking on the bridge, the same weekend we were there. The photo was published on the newspaper’s website and social media sites. A lot of people were angry, telling others to stay home in the comment section. The issue we both had with this was that the photographer used a tight shot, making everyone appear closer together.

There is a lot of gray area here. We are human beings, and we want to go outside. But now everyone is going outside, more so than usual. This makes it harder to stay safe. And some people have different definitions of safe.

As of this post, there are 1,140,327 confirmed cases in the world, and 278,568 of those are in the United States. There are 3,068 cases in Tennessee and 68 cases in Hamilton County. Eight of those have died.

Most recently, both the mayor of Chattanooga and the governor of Tennessee have executed a Stay at Home Order. We are not allowed to go anywhere except for to get groceries or to seek medical attention.

There is more gray area here and a lot of confusion. Exercise is considered an essential activity, but if we’re not allowed to drive, then can we really go to some of these parks? Some of the city parks have closed, such as Coolidge Park and the Walnut Street Bridge, but others are remaining open. I have seen some media reports that we are allowed to exercise in our neighborhood. I am choosing to think that if we have to drive to get to a place to exercise, then it’s not allowed. It’s better to err on the side of caution.

My parents visit, which was supposed to be in two weeks, is effectively cancelled. We were also planning to go to the Smoky Mountains for a week in May, and I’m assuming that is cancelled too. I received an email last week from the hotel that I had booked, and they had cancelled my reservation for me.

I have this illogical fear that the whole spring and summer is going to go by and we won’t have explored and checked off any of my “Chattanooga to-do” list, and therefore we’re not going to do any of these things ever. Something bad will happen like all of these places will close down for good, or we will have to leave Chattanooga for whatever reason, leaving us with no time. I am trying to reason with myself that this will not happen, and a lot of things can still be done in the fall, if things are back to normal then.

A new job

All of my pre-employment checks have come back clear so now I can say that my new job is officially official today.

Next Tuesday I start as managing editor at a marketing agency that specializes in health care clients. I see a lot of coronavirus articles in my future…

I have been wanting to leave the traditional newsroom for YEARS, but couldn’t break through until now. I am thrilled! After almost 10 years of working for newspapers, I am burnt out, and my mental health has seen better days.

No more breaking news! No more election articles! No more reporting on car accidents and fires! No more evening council meetings!

After being a “jack of all trades, master of none,” it will be good to focus on just a few specific things, and hone my skills.

The job offers generous compensation, plus great benefits and office culture too. What is also beneficial is that the office is only 8 miles away, whereas I was commuting 28 miles to Georgia for my previous job.

Accepting this job is going to be life changing for us. For most of our marriage we have been barely keeping our heads above water, finance wise. Moving around a lot, having a ton of student loan debt, and losing my job (twice now) will do that. It will be a relief to be able to catch up and then some.

I am a frugal person by nature, but it will be nice to not have to tighten our budget so much anymore, because now we can enjoy more of what Chattanooga, and the surrounding areas have to offer.

Because of the Coronavirus, employees are working from home right now. All of my training will be virtual which should be interesting. I am so excited to get started!

Hunkering down to prevent the spread of Coronavirus

I haven’t written anything for the month of March yet, and there’s a good reason for that. Much of the United States, and the world, is in the middle of practicing “social distancing” in order to further prevent the spread of Coronavirus, a respiratory illness.

I have been at home for a week and a half, and that has not been on purpose. Last Monday was my last day of work for the newspaper I worked for. The paper had to shut down due to lack of financial stability. However, I do have a new job lined up and I will start next Monday (more about that in a later post.)

Derek has also been home for a week and a half as well. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was on spring break last week, and then the university decided to cancel this week’s classes. Derek and his colleagues have been using this time to figure out how to best structure their classes in an online format. Classes will resume online next week, and will continue that way until the end of the spring semester.

I am glad that our circumstances lined up this way, and that we are doing our part to try to keep ourselves and others healthy. In the past two weeks we have only gone out for the essentials.

My Aunt Susie was supposed to come for a long visit this weekend, but we have decided to cancel that trip. We are both disappointed, but we know it is for the best. My parents are supposed to visit next month, and we do not know if that will have to be postponed as well.

All of the major attractions in Chattanooga are closed down for about a week to a two week period, and a lot of restaurants and bars are either closed down, or are only offering delivery and to-go services.

As of this post, there are 79 Coronavirus cases in Tennessee, and three in Hamilton County.

The first confirmed case was a priest of a prominent downtown Chattanooga church. Before he knew he was affected, he attended conferences, officiated a wedding and a funeral, and shook hands with everyone at his church services. It really makes you think about how many people you come in contact with on a daily basis, and how great that number can differ based on your profession.

There have been a lot of jokes on the internet that this self quarantine period is the kind of thing that introverts live for, and I am an introvert, but I have been going stir crazy. Last week was worse, not knowing if I had a job or not. I enjoy getting out of the house and doing activities. I would have been checking out a different hiking trail every day, but the weather has not been ideal; raining just about every day. I am sure a lot of us in the Tennessee Valley area would perk up if we saw the sun.

I have been walking around our apartment complex to get my step count up, but after doing that so many days in a row that becomes boring too. Today I took out my macro lens and photographed little bits of nature. It helped break up the day a bit. I am posting the photos below.

Tomorrow calls for warm weather and cloudy skies, but no rain. We will go outside, and probably head to Coolidge Park and walk the pedestrian bridge. It will be good to get some fresh air and exercise, and a change of scenery.

I don’t know how long the outside world will be shuttered in. No one does. Derek and I can easily do our part, but what about all of Chattanooga’s small businesses? I fear they may have to reopen soon, whether the amount of Coronavirus cases have slowed or not.

Tennessee Aquarium

Last weekend Derek and I went to the Tennessee Aquarium. We went much sooner than anticipated, because February was designated “College Days.” Anyone who was a student or a faculty member got half off for everyone in the paying party. Why wait when we can get in for half off now?

According to multiple sources online, the Tennessee Aquarium is one of the top rated attractions in Tennessee. People who have visited Chattanooga themselves, or those who are living here, have also recommended it to us.

The Aquarium is large, with two separate buildings. One building is River Journey and the other is Ocean Journey. Your ticket allows you to go back and forth between the buildings all day.

We started out with River Journey. It started out strong with otters and alligators, but I’m sorry to admit that I was soon bored. It was fish, and more fish, and more fish. There were some really large fish to ooh and ahhh at, but they all kind of looked the same to me. This is just my opinion of course, with no offense to the aquarium!

Ocean Journey was excellent however, with more of a variety of animals to look at. There were penguins, stingrays, starfish, sharks, seahorses, tons of bright colorful fish, and even a small butterfly garden! There was also a question and answer session with a diver inside one of the tanks. There were some other animal shows but our walk through did not time up with any of these.

I am glad that the Aquarium extended this offer to college faculty, so that we were able to go in the winter. It was nice to spend a day inside doing something different and fun, on a cold winter day.

Saturday Snow

We woke up on Saturday morning to a surprise winter wonderland.

We got about three inches of snow, when only about half an inch was predicted.

It was the perfect kind of snow (for me at least). It was on a weekend, so we didn’t have to drive anywhere in it, and by the time it stopped snowing, it immediately started to melt! Most of it was gone by the end of the day.

As much as I don’t like lingering snows, I do like to photograph it when it is freshly falling. We have a lot of trees near our apartment, which made for some nice wooded scene photos. My favorite is when the snow clings to all of the tree branches.

While it has flurried quite a bit here this winter, I think this is the one and only true snowfall we might get. Weeks ago, a local meteorologist said that Chattanooga’s average date that starts the downhill of winter is Jan. 21! After that, it gets warmer and we get closer to spring.

When we first moved here, we were told that this is usually how snow goes. It happens, but it doesn’t last long. Last year, Chattanooga did not get any snow.

We haven’t been getting out much for the past few weeks, and when that happens I’m always itching to go out and photograph something new, so I was happy for the opportunity.

The Hot Chocolatier

What’s better on a cold morning with snow flurries than cups of hot chocolate?

We visited The Hot Chocolatier for the first time this week. It’s right across the street from the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel, and perhaps for that very reason, it’s why we did not know this place was there. I’m always so enamored with the Choo Choo, that I have not paid attention to my surroundings. (Sorry!)

Last week I saw a picture on Instagram of a girl drinking a hot chocolate from there, and the post said that it was vanilla lavender hot chocolate. My interest was piqued.

The Hot Chocolatier has all of your chocolate and dessert needs. They had a lot of pastries to choose from. In addition to our hot chocolate, Derek got peanut butter fudge and I got a pistachio macaron. There is also a ton of chocolate candies to purchase.

Derek got Mexican hot chocolate with cinnamon, and had espresso added in. I got what I had came for: the vanilla lavender hot chocolate. The hot chocolate menu looked amazing, and there were lots of flavors that we would like to come back for, such as salted caramel, s’mores and hazelnut.

The best part was the very large marshmallow in each of our cups.

There is a lot of space for seating, and there are windows looking into the kitchen so you can see the chocolate being made.

When we lived in Houston, we frequented a place called the Chocolate Bar. It is the same type of concept. We both agree that we like The Hot Chocolatier better though. We can’t wait to come back!

Moon Pies

Did you know that Moon Pies originated, and are still made in Chattanooga today?

Being from the northeast, I had never heard of a Moon Pie before moving to Chattanooga.

According to Moonpie.com, “It all began in 1917 when a KY coal miner asked our traveling salesman for a snack “as big as the moon.” Earl Mitchell reported back and the bakery obliged with a tasty treat aptly named MoonPie. It was filling, fit in the lunch pail and the coal miners loved it. The rest, as they say, is history.”

A Moon Pie consists of two graham crackers with a marshmallow filling and is covered in a flavored coating.

The flavors are chocolate (the original) vanilla, strawberry, salted caramel and banana.

There is a Moon Pie General Store in Chattanooga, where you can buy Moon Pie anything: clothing, mugs, magnets, bumper stickers, Moon Pie ice cream, and of course the Moon Pies themselves.

When Derek and I were at the General Store this weekend, they were selling a new limited edition coconut flavor.

The Moon Pies come in different sizes. Regular (which is about the size of your palm), mini, and double decker.

I do not have much of a sweet tooth, so the minis are perfect for me. When we first moved to Chattanooga, I tried the chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavors. I prefer the chocolate.

When we first moved to Chattanooga, I remember noticing the Moon Pies in all of the grocery stores, and thinking about how different that was.

Have you ever had a Moon Pie? Which one is your favorite?

The best place to stay dry on a rainy day in Chattanooga

This weekend we paid a visit to a fun and quirky alleyway in Chattanooga.

It’s officially called Atlas Alley, but most people have been referring to it as Umbrella Alley. I wanted to know if there was a particular artist that put the installation together, but I could not find any information.

Atlas/Umbrella Alley is in West Village, which is two blocks of shops and restaurants in downtown Chattanooga. If you’re looking for more specific directions, it is directly across from Antibes, a clothing store.

On this particular Saturday outing, we wanted to check out a new sandwich shop, Anastasia’s Old World Delicatessen, and we had planned to find the alley afterwards. With no idea of where it was located, it was ironic that both spots were in West Village. I could actually see the umbrellas from my seat in Anastasia’s. I highly recommend combining a visit to the umbrellas with lunch here.

There are rows and rows of brightly colored umbrellas with lights underneath simulating rain. It is a great stop for a quick photo op.

Derek and I both have backgrounds in art, so we love checking out local artwork where ever we are.

It is unclear as to how long the installation will stay, so make sure to check it out soon!

Our favorite coffee shops in Chattanooga

Derek and I love coffee shops. Going out for a drink and a light meal/snack is our favorite thing to do on the weekends. Our first date was actually at a coffee shop in our college town, so I guess that’s where the whole habit started.

Chattanooga, and the Chattanooga area, has many different coffee shops to choose from. I am highlighting our favorite five: Frothy Monkey, Milk & Honey, The Meeting House, Rembrandt’s Coffee House and Mayfly Coffee.

Full disclosure: I don’t even like coffee! So if you’re looking for coffee recommendations, I am sorry, but I cannot help you here. My husband on the other hand though loves coffee, and loves trying out the different flavors. I always order a chai latte at coffee shops.

The Frothy Monkey is my favorite overall. It is inside the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel. I love trains and history, so it’s a treat to be able to go there, walk around the hotel grounds a bit, and then get a drink at the Frothy Monkey. The location is gorgeous, with two levels of seating, and large exposed ceilings.

They have the most expansive menu too. However, I will admit they are a bit on the pricier side. We’ve ordered it all though, sandwiches, salads, and pastries. Most recently we ordered a huge cinnamon roll to share. It was delicious.

Milk & Honey was the first coffee shop we went to when we first moved to Chattanooga. I think their chai latte is the best out of all of these coffee shops. I’ll drink a super sweet chai but it’s not my favorite. (I’m looking at you Starbucks…) I prefer my chai to have spices in it, like cinnamon.

We have also ordered many different things off the menu there too. Derek likes the “Hot Mess” open sandwich, and I recommend their oatmeal, and their grilled cheese and tomato soup.

The downside to Milk & Honey is that it’s small, so there’s not much inside seating. There is plenty of outdoor seating, but it’s not really helpful when we’re in the middle of winter.

The Meeting House is in Red Bank, Tenn., a few miles north from downtown. This is the coffee shop that is closest to where we live. The Meeting House, like the name implies, is used for many community events. The coffee shop business side is closed on Sundays, and the building space is a church. Some people have warned us about this closure when we asked for coffee shop recommendations, but this doesn’t bother us, because I work on Sundays, so our weekend is Friday and Saturday.

Their menu is small, but the most reasonably priced out of this bunch. You can get a large bowl of grits for cheap there. Grits are one of my favorite breakfast foods, so I was sold from the start. You can also get an oatmeal bowl with cranberries and almonds in it. Yum!

Rembrandt’s Coffee House is in Bluff View Art District, and our go-to when we want to spend an afternoon out and about. We park in the free two-hour parking spots, get something to eat/drink at Rembrandt’s and then walk across the Walnut Street pedestrian bridge, which is just a few blocks over.

Rembrandt’s, like Milk & Honey, does not have much seating inside. This coffee shop is the most packed out of them all, at least from our experience. However, when it’s warmer out, their outdoor patio is my favorite.

They have an pretty good sized menu, and have an expansive pastry selection. I really enjoy their biscotti. I also like to order the Italian Flag sandwich, which is mozzarella, tomato and pesto.

The last but not least on this list is Mayfly Coffee, which is in Signal Mountain. We usually couple a visit to Mayfly with some other things in Signal Mountain, like a visit to Fairmount Orchard’s store or the Cookie Lady for some delicious tasting cookies.

A visit to Mayfly Coffee feels special. After living in Houston for three years, “going up the mountain” for the afternoon is like a mini adventure.

I like the ambiance of this coffee shop a lot. It is in a rustic looking building. The decorations inside are eclectic and adventurous. There is one wall that is covered with a mountain print that I’d love to have in my house! There is a nice outdoor seating area too.

So far to eat there, I’ve had a delicious breakfast bagel sandwich, and some cookies too. They have soups on their menu in the winter time that I’m planning on trying out next.

Of course there are so many more coffee shops than just these few I have listed here. Others that we have been to, but only once, include Mean Mug and Stone Cup Cafe. Do you like coffee shops? What are your favorites in your area, or in Chattanooga?

Reflecting on the past decade, new year

So much has happened in the last 10 years, and in just 2019 as well. I’m sure everyone has claimed that, but Derek and I have gone through so many changes.

From 2010-2019 we went from being engaged to married, we bought our first house (and then subsequently had to give that house up when we felt we had no choice but to leave Pennsylvania), we started new jobs and careers and then got laid off from jobs.

We added two bachelors degrees in graphic design to our education, and then moved cross country to Houston, Texas, for Derek to get a masters degree in fine arts.

We enjoyed life in Houston for three years while he was in school, and I had a job that I loved. We had hoped to stay in Houston for a few more years, but when the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga offers a job to teach graphic design, well, you pack up again for another (at least smaller) cross country move.

Derek moved out here first, on August 1, and I joined him on Sept. 12. We were apart for about five weeks, with a one week visit to Chattanooga in the middle of that time period.

It was rough to be separated from Derek for that long, but the time ended up going by fast, and now we’re better off for it.

I always enjoy starting over, for the sense of adventure, but with it also comes feelings of depression and hopelessness. Derek got to move to a new place, and have a plan in place for himself, whether it was starting school as a student or a teacher, but I had to worry for two months about finding a job.

We’re finally over those hurdles, and I’m happy that we’re starting the new year and decade with a little bit more of a permanent plan in place, or at least a longer term plan.

Chattanooga feels more like home to me than any other place I’ve lived in, and we won’t be ready to leave any time soon.

It would be great if we could stay here permanently, but because Derek ultimately wants a tenure track position, there will possibly be another move in our future. The nice thing though is that it won’t be in the near future.

Derek and I seem to do things in twos or threes: We lived in our first apartment in Pennsylvania for two years. We owned our house in Pennsylvania for three years. We went to school for the second degree for two years. Derek went to school for three years for the masters program. We were in Houston for three years. We were in our first apartment in Houston for two years.

It will be a relief to break free from that cycle for a while. No more moving, no more schooling. No more new jobs. I am quite happy with my current job, so I hope this rings true for me as well as Derek.

It’s comforting to know that, with any luck and barring any unforeseen circumstances, a good part of this decade will be the same, with no changes.

So far the first month of 2020 has been quiet for us, and I expect most of the winter to be quiet as well, but we’re enjoying our time together, and enjoying getting back on track.

For this year, I’m looking forward to spring coming, and with warmer weather comes more exploring. We have already seen so much of the Chattanooga area and I’m excited for all the things we still plan to do.