Vacation Mode

Are we in vacation mode too much? Tim says that I am and need to change what we are doing while traveling or we will spend our money too fast. I don’t really think that I am on vacation. For me, this is our new lifestyle and we now have the opportunity to see new things daily. We started this journey to be able to explore and see our wonderful country. Hence our name, Exploring Tomorrow’s.

We had a few goals in mind when we decided that traveling in our RV was going to be our retirement lifestyle at least for a few years. The main goals are to see all of the National Parks and visit all of the lower 48 states. We said that we wanted to stay long enough in each place to “live like the locals”. In the first month of our travels, we are finding that this means different things to each of us. After arriving in a new place, Tim is content to spend his time at the campground and perhaps go out to eat a few times. For me, that isn’t enough, I want to experience the area by going out and explore our new surroundings.

If we don’t take some time to explore each area that we travel to, then why do it? We aren’t really doing expensive touristy things at each stop but we are exploring and experiencing the area. For example, this week we are near Chattanooga, TN and are staying at a KOA in Trenton, GA. We spent one day in Chattanooga and enjoyed wandering around different areas of the city. For the most part, we walked around and talked to people we met along the way. Have you ever tried that in a city - having conversations with strangers? Sometimes, you find the best places doing that. We started the day near the art museum and walked from there down the river walk. It was cold and there weren’t many other people out. As we were taking pictures of the river and the sternwheeler docked on the river, we talked to a couple from England who were doing the same thing. They suggested getting a coffee on the boat as a great way to warm up and even told us who to ask for to serve us. It was a great idea and Jennifer, the waitress, not only made us fresh coffee, she also provided a book listing 100 must do things in Chattanooga to skim while we drank our coffee.

A great place to warm up with a cup of coffee.

We were parked near a coffee shop/bakery, Rembrandt Coffee Shop, and art gallery that the book recommended so we checked those out. The pastries were quite delicious. The art gallery was interesting and we spent a little time browsing.

After our trek around the river area, we decided to find the Chattanooga Choo Choo. It is an old hotel that I believe is in the old train station and there are many train cars sitting on tracks in the back of the hotel. It appears they are remodeling some of the train cars to use a hotel rooms. A few of the cars had shops in them but most were closed at the time we were there. The gardens and hotel were being decorated for Christmas and they were building an ice skating rink, so we watched them work for a little while. Of course, we found two distilleries in the area, so we visited one before lunch and one after lunch. The bartender at the first place recommended the The Feed for lunch and it was a great suggestion.

Christmas decorations going up in the lobby

100 years after prohibition, Chattanooga has a whiskey distillery again so I had to try their whiskey’s and of course buy a bottle of their bourbon.

We spent a bit of money on food and drinks but decided not to do the art museum and the aquarium which would have cost us a good bit more. On another day, we visited the Civil war battlefields at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, which is in both Tennessee and Georgia. With Tim’s access pass, we get into national parks for free so that definitely saves us some money. We started the day at the top of Lookout Mountain and learned about the Battle Above the Clouds at Point Park. It is hard to believe that the soldiers climbed this mountain with cannons; it was quite a drive up to the top with steep drop offs to the side of the truck. Definitely a great view of Chattanooga from the top of the mountain. Then we drove over to Chickamauga in Georgia to tour that battlefield.

The view from the cannons at the Battlefield

Beautiful views from Point Park at the top of Lookout Mountain

The Wilder brigade and the 8th wisconsin battery Monuments at chickamauga battlefield

Yesterday we spent the morning at a beautiful park in Georgia, Cloudland Canyon State Park, that only had a $5 fee. So you can be a tourist and not go over budget. I highly recommend this state park to visit. It is a beautiful canyon with many hiking trails, including one that takes you down to a waterfall. That one was a bit too steep and too many steps for us to tackle yesterday so we didn’t try it. The drive into the park is another pretty drive up a mountain with steep drop offs in some parts.

Another view of the canyon from the overlook trail

We have definitely been staying in the mountains over the past few weeks which I have enjoyed. The campground sits at a higher elevation in the foothills of Lookout Mountain so it was a very nice place to relax and enjoy nature on days that we were not touring. We spent 7 nights at Lookout Mountain KOA Chattanooga West and only spent 3 days touring the area. The rest of the time, we relaxed at the campground and spent time walking around it for exercise and doing daily life chores like laundry and grocery shopping. See we aren’t in vacation mode everyday!

Getting ready for a campfire on a cooler afternoon

Walking in the woods around the campground

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Exploring Tomorrows

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