Chattanooga – Page 2 – Seeing the Scenic City

Two favorite restaurants

We have “rediscovered” two restaurants in our area.

When I say rediscovered, I mean that we ate at these places once before, before the pandemic. Then we stuck closer to home, and over the year, forgot how much we enjoyed our meals at these restaurants.

The first restaurant is Home Folks in Soddy-Daisy. Like the name implies, this is a casual setting, and the food reminds you of a good home cooked meal.

I enjoy the overall feeling of this place. The tables are covered with blue and white checkered table cloths, and there is old fashioned country-like décor.

This used to be a buffet-style restaurant. They have done away with the buffet, but they still serve all of the same great dishes. Now, you pick which food you want off the menu, and the waiter will bring all of the dishes to your table. You can eat as much or as little of all the dishes as you want.

Some of my favorites here are the pork and kraut, creamed corn, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. There is also dessert too, with choices like banana pudding and different kinds of pie. Too be honest, I am usually too full after eating here to manage any dessert!

The buffet type food is the main staple, but they also have a small menu that changes each day.

The second restaurant is 1885 Grill, in the St. Elmo neighborhood. This is a local chain, with two other locations.

The first time we ate here, I ordered on the boring side and got a chicken sandwich, but it was delicious, regardless.

This time, we came on a Saturday, and got to experience their weekend brunch. We were both very happy with our meals.

Derek got the biscuits and gravy with eggs. I have always been leery of biscuits and gravy, and he let me try a small taste. I liked it!

I got a breakfast plate with eggs, bacon, toast and grits. I love grits, and these were without a doubt the best grits I have ever had. They were nice and creamy, and flavorful too.

We went for brunch again, quite soon after our first time experiencing the brunch menu. This time I got the biscuits and gravy with eggs, with a side of grits, and he got the Belgian Waffle Bananas Foster, with a side of bacon. Another thumbs up from both of us.

There are so many other dishes on their menu I would like to try, such as the shrimp and grits (I know I will love the grits part!) and their gumbo.

Plus, when it gets warmer out, they have a nice outdoor seating area, which is right across the street from the Incline Railway.

The outdoor seating at 1885 Grill is really nice, in warmer temperatures of course.

Brunch at 1885 Grill is quickly becoming a favorite!

Stringer’s Ridge

Last weekend we hiked around Stringer’s Ridge Park, which is close to downtown. It is a ridge that overlooks the city.

This is definitely not a hike to do if you’re looking to get away from it all and by fully immersed in nature. You will hear road noise and be quite close to some houses. But, it will do in a pinch if you want to get outside and get some exercise.

There are quite a few trails, some of them shared by bicyclists. The trails offer elevation changes and twists and turns.

The highlight is the overlook on the Cherokee Trail, which has a good view of downtown and the bridges over the river.

Some of the trails we took were the Cherokee Trail, the Double J, (which is a part of the bigger Blue Loop) and the short path to Old Baldy, which is the highest point of the ridge.

However, don’t do what we did, and don’t park by the tunnel on Cherokee Blvd! That particular entryway has been marked as closed for a long time. We have seen people’s photos on social media and reviews, so we knew the park wasn’t actually closed. So we went over the closed gate. We soon came to a part of the trail that was washed out! So it’s closed for a good reason! However, some people probably did the same that we did, so there was a worn path to follow down and around. Parking is available in different sections, so I’d advise to park somewhere else and avoid that section of the trail.

We hiked about three miles total, and it’s nice to know that there’s a place nearby if we don’t feel like driving further.

Stringer's Ridge18 — An old structure we came across on the Blue Loop trail.

Stringer's Ridge22 — On top of Old Baldy. Lookout Mountain is in the background.

Naughty Cat Cafe

The cold and off and on rainy weather has been keeping us inside more than we’d like for the past couple of weeks. What could we do that was new, and inside?

We have passed Naughty Cate Cafe, at the base of Lookout Mountain, many times, and said each time that we needed to go there some day. Well that day was last Saturday.

I’m not sure how the cafe operates in a non-COVID-19 world, but right now, they ask to book one-hour time slots in advance. I think they do walk-ins, but there’s a good chance that the cafe is full, so it is probably better to just make the reservation to guarantee a spot when you want to go.

It costs $13 per person. The fee includes non-alcoholic drinks. There is a tea and coffee bar set up at the front. Alcoholic drinks and food items like cookies, brownies and cupcakes are extra.

Naughty Cat Cafe has been open for a little less than two years, and they have had over 600 adoptions! All of the cats at the cafe are adoptable, and they come from two partnering shelters.

When we went, there were 38 cats! Inside the lounge there are plenty of spaces to sit, but you may be sharing your seat with a cat! There are also plenty of toys for the cats to play with.

We definitely fell in love with a few kitties, but we are strictly a two-cat household at the moment. You are not required or expected to adopt a cat from the cafe. Some people go just to de-stress and get in some cute cat time.

There was one black kitty named Fiddlestix that we liked. She was new to the cafe, and was in the “shy” room, a small closed off area for cats to slowly get used to the cafe. Another kitty, Mitsuu, had only three legs and was SO friendly.

Naughty Cat Cafe has an Instagram page, and I am going to enjoy following it for the next few weeks, and see which ones have been adopted.

I would love to go again. In just a few weeks, most if not all of the cats could be all new ones! However, I would probably go once the pandemic is over, or at least when more people have been vaccinated. Everyone kept their masks on inside, but I personally felt like there were too many people there. I am still glad we went though. It was a different experience.

Naughty Cat Cafe37 — Fiddlestix, one of our favorites. I hope she finds a good home soon.

Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center

Yesterday we hiked the trails at Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center for the first time.

One of Derek’s classes this semester, professional practices, is partnering with the Arboretum to help them with graphic design work, such as signage. A few weeks ago, Derek went to the Arboretum and met with the president.

He wanted to go back with me, and hike some of the trails, to get a better feel for the place.

The Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center is located at the foot of Lookout Mountain near Lookout Creek.

According to a blog post on the website, reflectionriding.org, “Named after a British type of park, Reflection Riding is devoted to creating an atmosphere of contemplation and tranquility amid the natural environment of the park. The term “riding” comes from British usage, meaning ‘a path of pleasure.’”

There is a lot to do at the Arboretum and Nature Center, but sadly, most of it is closed right now, due to the pandemic.

There is a treehouse, which you can walk through, but it can also be reserved for parties, weddings, etc., as well as a Blue Heron Wetland Boardwalk. There is also a Nature Center, which offers workshops, and field trips for kids in school. The Nature Center holds a native plant sale every fall.

There is also a native wildlife exhibit, where you can see animals such as bobcats, red foxes, red wolves, bald eagles, and many different kinds of owls. These animals are unable to survive in the wild, due to being kept illegally as a pet, sustaining an injury, etc.

With a lot of these extras being closed, I was prepared to be disappointed at my first visit. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The trails are quite beautiful, and I can only imagine they will be even more beautiful as spring arrives.

We hiked about 3.5 miles on multiple different trails, which are all connected. I will say this, the trails are labeled, but the map provided on the Arboretum’s website gives no indication of how long any of the trails are. The website does say that there are about 14 miles worth of trails total.

Some of the things we saw along the way include the outdoor classrooms for kids, lots of signage with facts and stories about the area, and two restored cabins belonging to Native Americans, Chief Walkingstick and Squincy Bird.

One thing that I enjoy about the Arboretum is that most of their plants and trees are labeled. It was nice to see a beautiful pink flower in bloom, and know that it was a camellia!

Visitors to the Arboretum have to pay a fee of $15 per car. This fee helps keep the place running, as they rely on support from the community.

A membership for two adults is $60, and offers some benefits, like discounts. Derek and I talked it over, and we would like to purchase a membership in the future, when things reopen. There are also family memberships, and student memberships.

I am glad that we found this place, thanks to Derek being involved with it this year. I am looking forward to coming back and seeing it in different seasons.

Reflection Riding Arboretum1 — The edge of a horse pasture.

Reflection Riding Arboretum3 — Flowers in bloom in January!

Reflection Riding Arboretum6 — Chief Walkingstick’s cabin.

Reflection Riding Arboretum10 — A meadow, which I am sure will be beautiful in spring.

Reflection Riding Arboretum20 — Squincy Bird’s cabin.

Reflection Riding Arboretum26 — An old well, with a patch of bamboo in the background.

Reflection Riding Arboretum27 — Another path through a second meadow.

Reminiscing about 2020

With the ringing in of 2021, our first full year in Chattanooga has come to an end. The obvious thing to say is that 2020 was a ridiculous year.

On the surface, things looked pretty bad. I had three jobs this year, which is two jobs too many. I lost a job, resigned from a job, and had to go see a doctor to get on depression and anxiety medication. Mechanic bills for our car and veterinary bills piled up. Our cat passed away two weeks before Christmas, too. Add that all up and … ugh.

But if you dig a little deeper, I’d say things were good.

I’m thankful that we spent the pandemic in the Scenic City. We got outdoors more than ever this year, which was the safest thing to do.

I’m an adventurous soul. Not being able to travel in the past year has hurt me the most. But instead, we adventured around Chattanooga, seeing and doing things (mostly outdoors) that I had never expected to do.

I have a Chattanooga area bucket list, and the majority of it has remained untouched. For instance, “Seeing a Lookouts baseball game” was impossible to cross off, because the entire season was cancelled. Likewise, we still haven’t taken a train ride with the Tennessee Valley Railroad. Trains are running, but I don’t feel comfortable going quite yet.

However, I did have a list of hiking trails I wanted to tackle, and that got completed, and then some.

We have hiked more in the last six months than I have hiked in my entire life. Some of the paths and trails we have done — ranging from easy flat gravel paths to moderate mountain hikes — were located at Big Soddy Creek Gulf, Greenway Farms, Booker T. Washington State Park, Lookout Mountain, Signal Mountain, Moccasin Bend, Prentice Cooper State Forest and Cloudland Canyon State Park.

It seemed like every time we finished one trail, we found another that we wanted to hike, and that is still the case now.

Getting outside kept me sane. It felt good to get our heart rates up, stretch our legs, make it to a gorgeous overlook, and feel accomplished.

We continued to hike as it got colder out, and we found that we quite enjoy winter hikes. I do not like winter time, as I get cold easily, but exercising like this is a good way to offset how our bodies feel in lower temperatures, and keep us more active throughout these months. I hope that we will continue to hike throughout January and February.

Hikes aside, I got a lot more exercise than ever before. I was averaging about three or four walks a day around my neighborhood. In September, I participated in a virtual 5K, and got a medal and a t-shirt for it. Walks were calming, and necessary for me, while I was going through bad bouts of anxiety.

Quitting my job was a huge risk, but it all worked out in the end. I was unemployed for about five weeks. Since Derek only taught two days a week last semester, we did a lot during the week days, to avoid crowds. We visited Wildflower Tea Shop for the first time, and it was nearly empty! We also went ice skating — something we had never done together — and there were only about half a dozen other people at the rink.

I hated working from home for my old job, but now I am thankful that I got to spend all of those months with our cat while she was still healthy, and I was home with her when she did get sick. All of that time that she spent on my lap every day are precious memories now.

I started my new job in early December, and I’m the happiest I have been in a long time. I thought I had wanted to leave journalism for marketing, but I discovered that journalism is where I am meant to me. This has put a lot of things into perspective.

I am cautiously looking forward to what 2021 may bring.

R.I.P Ginny; Veterinary Care and Specialty Group

This is something that no pet owner wants to write about. Yesterday our cat Ginny passed away. She was 12 years old, and had been sick for a few months.

I wouldn’t normally write about this in this type of blog, but our team at the Veterinary Care and Specialty Group (VCSG) in Chattanooga was wonderful, and they deserve recognition. If you’re in the Chattanooga area, you can find more information about them at www.vcsgvets.com.

Our vet was Amy Holford and our nurse was Evelyn Greter. VCSG is a 24 hour emergency care office, and while we didn’t need them during overnight hours, they were available for us during weekends, and any time during the week, which was extremely helpful.

Over the months, we became familiar faces and voices to the team at VCSG, and Amy and Evelyn became familiar to us, too.

We spoke to Evelyn the most, and she was always helpful. Each time we called (about once a week) we had a list of questions and she would give us advice.

We tried many things to help Ginny out, but it was touch and go the entire time. She would seem better for a week, but then we would run into another issue.

Something that was important to us was that they tried to find cost effective options for us. We had to give Ginny steroid and B-12 injections, and they gave us websites where to order in bulk, to save the most money.

Her health declined in the last two days, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Amy and Evelyn were concerned enough for Ginny that they asked us to bring her in during their lunch break.

Ginny passed away at VCSG, in their care.

Amy kneeled down to my level — I was sitting in a chair — and looked directly in my eyes and said, “I want you to know that you did everything you possibly could.” That was important to hear.

We were given all the time we wanted and needed to say good bye to Ginny. Afterward, they gave us an impression of her pawprints set in foam, inside a keepsake case. In addition, they included some of her fur in the corner of the case. Ginny was a calico, mostly white, but with orange and black spots. She had two big black spots on her back. The cut of fur that they included was one of her spots, and it may sound silly, but I was touched that they picked that area to put inside the case.

Going forward, I hope to bring our other two cats to them, since we have established a good relationship with VCSG. We have extra cans of wet food (one of the things we tried for Ginny was a new diet) and we will donate those to them.

If you are reading this and have pets, give them extra loving today. I will be doing the same with our other two cats, Sabrina and Chessie.

Wildflower Tea Shop and Apothecary

Yesterday Derek and I went to Wildflower Tea Shop and Apothecary for the first time. We loved it! Our only regret is that we did not go sooner.

As I’ve mentioned before, I do not like coffee. I am only a tea drinker, so this place is perfect for me. They only sell tea, there is no food here. However, they do sell a small amount of apothecary related things, like oils, soap and bath bombs. Of course, there is also loose leaf tea for purchase, too.

I loved the inside of this shop. It was so cozy feeling, and everything was so photographable! I had been coveting a photo of myself on the yellow settee that I have seen in photos on social media.

We ordered a pot to share of coconut crème chai. We got raw sugar as a sweetener and oat milk. It was delicious! The cups were small, and we were able to get about four cups of tea each. There is also an option to order one smaller personal pot, or just one cup.

I’d like to try something different next time, perhaps like the Chocolate Chai, Vanilla Oolong or Chamomile Lavender, but Derek and I are creatures of habit when we find something we like so no promises!

A new Swedish bakery in town

If you’re in Chattanooga, and you want to support new, local businesses, let me suggest Fredriksson’s.

Fredriksson’s has just been started by my former co-worker, Sarah. She has always enjoyed baking, and recently decided to start her own business.

Her husband is from Sweden, and they lived in Sweden together before relocating to Chattanooga. She’s got the inside scoop on authentic, Swedish baked goods.

She’s told all of us about fika, which in Sweden is basically a coffee and cake break. Fika also is about slowing down and enjoying time with friends or family.

Fredriksson’s is taking orders online at https://fredrikssons.square.site/. She was also at the Chattanooga market for the first time last weekend. We bought six of her buns in four different flavors: cinnamon, cardamom, blueberry and saffron. We also bought almond caramel cake.

According to Sarah, the cardamom and cinnamon are the two most quintessential Swedish flavors. These were also the two I enjoyed the most. The buns were not overly sweet, which I like. As a person who does not have much of a sweet tooth, something slathered in icing can be too much.

I look forward to buying from Fredriksson’s again in the future, and enjoying fika at home with my husband.

Just another mountain to climb …

The purpose of this blog is to let our family and friends know about all of our adventures and day to day life in Chattanooga. This, of course, means that there will be some bad mixed in with the good.

If you’re a regular reader of Seeing the Scenic City, you’ll know that I’ve been struggling at my job for the past few months, as well as struggling with depression and anxiety that stemmed from the job.

I went on medication in early September. My anxiety has subsided, and when the medication worked, it allowed me to look at the work problems with clarity.

All of this leads me to say that Friday was my last day at my job. I put in three weeks’ notice in early October. With all honesty, I had wanted to quit my job since the summer months, so I am actually proud of myself for making it that much farther.

I will not go into too many details, but basically I realized that this was not the job for me. I was unhappy with the work I was doing. I was trying my best, but it became apparent that my best was not good enough.

This is probably not the smartest decision, financial wise. But it was the best decision for my health.

I have a few applications already out for some other positions, and I will keep looking for new jobs on a regular basis. In the meantime, I am looking forward to a (hopefully short) resting period.

In related news, yesterday we went on a challenging mountain hike. You can read about that here. One section of the trail lead to a beautiful overlook, where we could see the mountains on all sides, the river and a waterfall.

It was a great metaphor for what I am going through right now. Yes, things are hard, but if you put just one foot in front of the other, you will eventually get to the top of your mountain. Derek and I have made it over mountains before, and we will get over this one, too.

Hiking the Blue Blazes trail

I’m so glad that the weather has cooled down, and now we can resume hiking in full earnest! Last weekend we hiked the Blue Blazes trail, located in Moccasin Bend. This was our second hike in Moccasin Bend, the first one being the Brown’s Ferry Federal Road Trail. Read about that hike here.

To be honest, I’m not quite sure how long the trail actually is, because there is conflicting information. I saw it listed anywhere from 1.5 to 3 miles online, and the sign at the trail itself said it was 1.5 miles, but my phone recorded 2 miles worth of steps!

Either way, whether you think it is 1.5 or 3 miles, it is an easy, looped hike.

This is a woodsy trail, and the halfway point follows the river, with a path to get to the riverbank.

Another highlight of this hike is a swampy area that is covered in green algae. In that section, we found a tree that was heavy with fruit. We pulled some down and broke them open. They smelled like peaches. Don’t worry, we did not eat it! It was an interesting find though.