I had my 24 week checkup last week. I gained 5 pounds in one month, which was a little high, but not terrible. I'm still at 14 pounds for the pregnancy according to the doctor's office. It's really more like 18, but I like their numbers better ;-) My blood pressure was 120/70, so I was really happy with that. I had been getting a tad nervous that it might be a little high. I have these headaches occasionally that just won't go away and it makes me nervous. I think I found the solution though, which is Extra Strength Tylenol instead of the Regular strength that Tony
originally got me. He thought since I was pregnant that I should take the lower dose/strength stuff. UH, not if it does Absolutely nothing! My next visit will be the glucose test which I'm not looking forward to. I don't like sugary sticky drinks. blech. Hopefully it won't be too bad AND hopefully I'll pass it and not have to do the bigger one!
I have been feeling the baby moving a lot more these days. Tony felt him move once last night, but in general is still not being patient enough to Really feel him. He doesn't leave his hand there long enough. He moves a lot in the evenings and first thing in the morning.
I've been staying pretty busy lately. This past weekend Tony had the guys over two nights in a row. I spent my time watching TV and starting a cross stitched Pooh baby blanket.
One of Tony's friends is coming in from out of state tomorrow with his wife and 5 year old. They are staying til next Tuesday. We are supposed to go with them and Tony's BF and his two daughters to the Georgia Aquarium and possibly the Atlanta Zoo. I am looking forward to it. We haven't been to the new aquarium yet and it should be fun to see it through
the kids' eyes.
Two weeks from now my cousin is coming in from Texas to stay for part of a week for our family reunion. She is an artist and has volunteered to paint some Pooh themed things on the walls in our baby room! I'm excited about that! I can't wait to see what she comes up with.
Gonna be busy, but I'll try to check in periodically with an update.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
More from the baby files
Thanks, Linda! I really enjoy writing about our travels because it is fun to relive it plus it will help me remember in the future. I'll keep Mythos in mind for whenever we do make it to Universal. Did I say already that Tony swears that we won't take our children to Disney/ Universal until the youngest is at least 4 years old. I think I can convince him to go before then though ;-)
So, lately I've just been plugging along. I was really busy this past week and I think I over did it a little bit. Monday I went to water aerobics for the first time in months. I really enjoyed it and am going to try to start going again. I did ok and didn't feel like I overexerted myself, but I was definitely ready for bed that night. Tuesday and Wednesday I worked 10 hours each which meant going in earlier than I'm used to and staying late. Thursday I drove 4+hours round trip to see one of my foster kids and ended up not getting to see her (which means I have to make that drive again before the end of the month!). Then Thursday night we had our first natural childbirth class. (more on that later) By the end of Thursday night I had a killer headache. I went to bed and it continued throughout the night. I slept some, but not a lot. When I woke up I still had the headache. I ended up staying home and finding some extra strength extended release tylenol that finally knocked the headache out. I figure that was my body telling me that enough is enough. I didn't get enough sleep this week and I ate really badly on Thursday. I think my body just refused to keep up that pace. Today we slept late and then cleaned house for a bit. Other than that I've been taking it easy. I feel fine today which is good.
So, natural childbirth class. We signed up with Belynda Enzor because our midwife, Jeri, recommended her. She teaches out of her home which is about 45 minutes from us. She only teaches for our midwife now and apparently there aren't that many couples wanting to go the natural route these days. There is only one other couple in our class. They are at 36 weeks already! I was shocked. I can't imagine being that close to my due date and just starting classes. Then during class the lady said that Jeri is considering inducing her soon because she's retaining too much water. Belynda recommended that she eat more protein. We'll see if they make it to the end of our 4 week class. Basically, we are learning the Bradley method, but Belynda doesn't keep her certification current so she is just teaching "natural childbirth". I felt like I learned a few things in the first class and most of all Tony seemed to really pick up a few things. I was watching some of the birth story shows on tv today and he was making little comments about not going to the hospital too soon etc. I was proud to see that he's getting something out of the classes. Before we went he was like "can't we just look this stuff up on the internet?" He was only half serious, but I think he sees the value now. Anyway, I really like the instructor so far and am looking forward to the rest of the classes. I have also bought the book "Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way" and am reading it. I've already started "The Birth Book" by Dr. and Mrs. Sears. It is pretty good and actually pretty interesting. I put it down a few weeks ago though and just haven't had a chance to pick it up again.
Things seem to be going fine with the baby. I feel him kicking and moving around several times a day. I especially feel him when I'm relaxing in the recliner in the evening. I also notice him going to town on weekend mornings when I sit and drink coffee while reading. I guess the coffee wakes him up and he gets to rolling around good in there. I don't drink a lot of coffee usually less than a full cup, but it I enjoy the coffee and the kick-fest. Tony still hasn't felt him moving yet. I think partly the kicks aren't hard enough yet and partly he's not patient enough. We have plenty of time for him to feel it though.
Mother's Day weekend was pretty relaxed for me. Tony had the guys over on Saturday so I mostly just chilled - reading and watching tv. Sunday we hung out at my grandma's for awhile. Neither of my sister's were here for Mother's Day so I gave my mom the gift we got her. We bought her a simple to use digital camera w/ a memory card. My sister gave me two necklaces for Mother's Day before she left for her trip (she went to D.C. w/ her boyfriend).
We haven't started our registries yet and I feel like I want to get started on that soon. I know some of the things I need, but I'm not really sure what I want. I would love to get "green" versions of things like cribs and mattresses, but I'm not sure if the cost is worth it. I also am planning to cloth diaper and I know that those are Expensive. I would love to get some of my diapers as gifts at showers, but I don't feel that most people will go through the effort of ordering them online and I don't know of any local stores that sell them. I did see some of the prefold diapers at Walmart the other day, but I was thinking more of getting the All in one kind that look kind of like disposables. Anyway, I guess I'll just hope that most of the other good stuff is "showered" and then my big expense can be the diapers.
I go back to see Jeri on Thursday. I will be 24 weeks. On the one hand, I can't believe we are over half way and then on the other hand I can't believe I still have so far to go! I'm excited and ready! I know we have a lot of preparations to do between now and then though. I just hope to continue to be healthy and without complications throughout.
Til next time,
Amber
So, lately I've just been plugging along. I was really busy this past week and I think I over did it a little bit. Monday I went to water aerobics for the first time in months. I really enjoyed it and am going to try to start going again. I did ok and didn't feel like I overexerted myself, but I was definitely ready for bed that night. Tuesday and Wednesday I worked 10 hours each which meant going in earlier than I'm used to and staying late. Thursday I drove 4+hours round trip to see one of my foster kids and ended up not getting to see her (which means I have to make that drive again before the end of the month!). Then Thursday night we had our first natural childbirth class. (more on that later) By the end of Thursday night I had a killer headache. I went to bed and it continued throughout the night. I slept some, but not a lot. When I woke up I still had the headache. I ended up staying home and finding some extra strength extended release tylenol that finally knocked the headache out. I figure that was my body telling me that enough is enough. I didn't get enough sleep this week and I ate really badly on Thursday. I think my body just refused to keep up that pace. Today we slept late and then cleaned house for a bit. Other than that I've been taking it easy. I feel fine today which is good.
So, natural childbirth class. We signed up with Belynda Enzor because our midwife, Jeri, recommended her. She teaches out of her home which is about 45 minutes from us. She only teaches for our midwife now and apparently there aren't that many couples wanting to go the natural route these days. There is only one other couple in our class. They are at 36 weeks already! I was shocked. I can't imagine being that close to my due date and just starting classes. Then during class the lady said that Jeri is considering inducing her soon because she's retaining too much water. Belynda recommended that she eat more protein. We'll see if they make it to the end of our 4 week class. Basically, we are learning the Bradley method, but Belynda doesn't keep her certification current so she is just teaching "natural childbirth". I felt like I learned a few things in the first class and most of all Tony seemed to really pick up a few things. I was watching some of the birth story shows on tv today and he was making little comments about not going to the hospital too soon etc. I was proud to see that he's getting something out of the classes. Before we went he was like "can't we just look this stuff up on the internet?" He was only half serious, but I think he sees the value now. Anyway, I really like the instructor so far and am looking forward to the rest of the classes. I have also bought the book "Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way" and am reading it. I've already started "The Birth Book" by Dr. and Mrs. Sears. It is pretty good and actually pretty interesting. I put it down a few weeks ago though and just haven't had a chance to pick it up again.
Things seem to be going fine with the baby. I feel him kicking and moving around several times a day. I especially feel him when I'm relaxing in the recliner in the evening. I also notice him going to town on weekend mornings when I sit and drink coffee while reading. I guess the coffee wakes him up and he gets to rolling around good in there. I don't drink a lot of coffee usually less than a full cup, but it I enjoy the coffee and the kick-fest. Tony still hasn't felt him moving yet. I think partly the kicks aren't hard enough yet and partly he's not patient enough. We have plenty of time for him to feel it though.
Mother's Day weekend was pretty relaxed for me. Tony had the guys over on Saturday so I mostly just chilled - reading and watching tv. Sunday we hung out at my grandma's for awhile. Neither of my sister's were here for Mother's Day so I gave my mom the gift we got her. We bought her a simple to use digital camera w/ a memory card. My sister gave me two necklaces for Mother's Day before she left for her trip (she went to D.C. w/ her boyfriend).
We haven't started our registries yet and I feel like I want to get started on that soon. I know some of the things I need, but I'm not really sure what I want. I would love to get "green" versions of things like cribs and mattresses, but I'm not sure if the cost is worth it. I also am planning to cloth diaper and I know that those are Expensive. I would love to get some of my diapers as gifts at showers, but I don't feel that most people will go through the effort of ordering them online and I don't know of any local stores that sell them. I did see some of the prefold diapers at Walmart the other day, but I was thinking more of getting the All in one kind that look kind of like disposables. Anyway, I guess I'll just hope that most of the other good stuff is "showered" and then my big expense can be the diapers.
I go back to see Jeri on Thursday. I will be 24 weeks. On the one hand, I can't believe we are over half way and then on the other hand I can't believe I still have so far to go! I'm excited and ready! I know we have a lot of preparations to do between now and then though. I just hope to continue to be healthy and without complications throughout.
Til next time,
Amber
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Chattanooga trip report
Well, we've been back from Chattanooga for a few days now, but I just haven't gotten around to writing. We had a very nice time and the weather was gorgeous while we were there.
We were both really impressed with Chattanooga and I kept saying "I can't wait to bring the kids back here". We stayed at the Marriott Convention Center which was really nice. The staff was really great and very friendly. We got a special deal that was for 2 nights, breakfast buffet for 2 for 2 days, free valet parking, plus our tickets to the aquarium, Imax, Rock City, Ruby Falls, and the Incline Railway. That was all that we had committed ourselves to do anyway because we were not sure how much I would be able to handle. We didn't want to overdo it either, just enjoy ourselves and relax some. We wanted to stay 3 nights so I added a night at their weekend rate which wasn't bad AND I got an Amazon.com gift certificate for staying on the weekend. :-)
So we started Saturday (which I already wrote about a tad) by getting to Chattanooga, checking in and heading for the aquarium. When we got to the hotel we found out that there is a free electric shuttle that runs through downtown to the top attractions. Basically it makes a loop from the aquarium to the Choo Choo. Our hotel was a little off the loop, but the bus made a stop right outside the door. It was Really nice! We were able to ride it to the aquarium and to all the restaurants that are in that area. Most of the ones we had picked out were right in about a 3 block radius of the Aquarium. It also made it nice and convienent to go back to the hotel for a rest. The busses ran about every 5 minutes and we could be back at the hotel in about 10 minutes which is Awesome for a bus service! There was a nice mix of locals and tourists using it also which was neat.
We went to the Aquarium and Imax on Saturday. It has been probably 13 or so years since I had been, so needless to say they've made some changes. I am 99% sure the "ocean journey" building was not there the last time I went. We really enjoyed it and I really like the way it is laid out. I was discussing with Tony that the family annual pass is only $100 which is a pretty good deal. It would be right at $60 for 2 adults and a child for one visit, so if you could make it twice in a year it would be a great deal. I think it is something that children would enjoy more than once. I could definitely see going to Chattanooga twice in one year if the kids enjoyed it. There are a lot of family oriented activites there. Anyway, the Imax was pretty cool too. That was my first Imax experience. I was a little nervous because sometimes the 3d glasses give me a headache. They seemed to be ok though. I sort of had a bit of a headache going into the movie already though.
By the end of the afternoon I had developed a pretty bad headache. I took some Tylenol, but it didn't really help (it never does). We ate at 212 Market Restaurant for lunch. It is a certified Green restaurant. It was very nice and good. I had mushroom and spinach ravioli that was very good. Tony had the turkey, lettuce, and green tomato sandwich with onion rings. He said his was very good also. It was a very filling meal. For dinner we went to Big River Grille & Brew Works. There is also an outpost of this place at Disney's Boardwalk hotel. They brew their own beer which was exciting to Tony. I was starving when we got there so we ordered an appetizer of the jalepeno cheese dip. I ate too much of that and wasn't able to truely enjoy my dinner, which was a shame because it was Awesome! I ordered the Shrimp & Grits. It was so good that Tony was jealous and was a Huge portion. Tony got the beer flight so that he could taste all the different beers. He got about 2 ounces of 8 different beers. He said that the one he liked the most is the one that he was going to pick originally - a Vienna Lager. He ordered the Blue Crab Stuffed Chicken. He said that it was pretty good. I had a bite, but I was really too focused on my Shrimp and Grits to care. ;-) We really enjoyed our dinner here and would return in the future.
Sunday:
We decided to sleep in a little since we didn't have a breakfast deadline. We got up and made it down to the Blue Plate Restaurant around 11:30am. They have a patio that allows you to look out at the river. It isn't really on the river because there is a big grassy area and a road between them and the river, but the Valet guy said that it is as close to on the river dining as you will get. Tony had picked this restaurant and really wanted to eat there for Saturdays dinner. I wanted to eat there too, but we decided that they had more of a breakfast/lunch menu than dinner. So we thoroughly enjoyed breakfast here. I had the white omelet made with egg whites, mushrooms, peppers, and spinach, with cheese grits. It was really good. Tony had the Blue Plate Omelet made with Avacado, blue cheese, and corn salsa w/ a side of hashbrowns. He said the omelet was good, but the blue cheese was stronger than he would have liked. He used to not be a blue cheese fan at all, but lately has discovered that he likes some of the milder blue cheese. I think he was assuming it would be mild and it turned out not to be. But he ate all of it, so it must not have been Too strong.
After breakfast we went back to the hotel to pick up our car - boo! so that we could drive less than a mile to the Chattanooga Market. I was tempted to walk, but we weren't sure if we would be up for that much walking - there, around the market, and back. The Chattanooga Market happens every Sunday during the summer from 11am to 4pm. This happened to be opening weekend which was great timing on our part. I found info online and wasn't really sure what exactly to expect, but they said it had lots of vendors and there would be live music all afternoon. I was expecting it to be outside in the sun, but it was in an open air pavillion which turned out to be Awesome. The pavillion kept the sun off, but the sides were open which let in the cool breezes. It was warm but not hot under there and since I forgot our sunscreen it was really nice to be shielded. There were quite a nice variety of vendors - artists, jewelry, farmstands w/ produce and eggs, baked goods, yard art, food and beer. There was a nice area in the back with tables and chairs in front of the stage so that you could eat and/or listen to the bands. We walked through all of the vendors and then sat down to watch the music. We caught the tail end of one band, Tin Cup Gypsy, that I really enjoyed. Then we were able to listen to the whole set of the next guy, Jimmy Davis. We both really liked this guy. At the end of his set Tony went over to chat with him and bought his album. During the set he talked about how he travels around playing small venues like this and that he camps out everywhere he goes. Tony was all smitten with this idea - like "hey, I could be a traveling musician and camp out everywhere" Uh, yeah, and pay your bills with what? Anyway, we had a good time there and stayed until like 3:30pm.
We went back to the hotel to drop off the car and jump on the shuttle. We also knew that the shuttle would take you across the river to the "Northshore district" and so that was our plan. We had picked out a couple of restaurants over there and were going to eat and shop. Well, we didn't realize that the Northshore shuttle doesn't run on Sundays. While we were on the shuttle a local was explaining this to another couple and told them that they could walk over to the Northshore and that it was not too far. She told them about a walking bridge that one of my coworkers had told me to check out. Tony and I debated whether we wanted to walk or not. We had planned this to be a nice relaxing day and had managed to take it easy so far. But, we decided to go for the walk anyway. Well, I had us go down a hill that we had to go back up to get to the walking bridge, so that started us out a little worn out. Tony kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to walk over there. I had offered to go back and take the car, but he didn't want to deal with the car. I said that I was fine with walking but that we would have to take it easy. Well, that walking bridge was nice and long and the sun was awefully bright! By the end of the bridge we were contemplating taking a cab back to the hotel when we were done eating. Tony was really hot and tired and it showed when we got to the restaurant. He was just a little grumpy. We ate at Mudpie which has a big variety of food to choose from. We decided to focus on the Cuban food and just share a small selection of things. We got a cuba burger (chorizo on a bun w/ potato sticks), tamale, papa relleno (potato ball stuffed w/ meat), and plantains. It was all pretty good. I didn't eat any of the tamale that was mostly Tony's. I wasn't as pleased with my cuba burger as I had hoped. It was ok, but the sausage patty was really small compared to the bun and it didn't have as much flavor as I expected. I've had chorizo before and it is usually pretty strong. Anyway, we had a bunch of water with our meal and relaxed in the A/C for awhile. After that we were refreshed enough that we decided we could shop a couple of shops and then tackle the walk back to the Aquarium. So we hit a couple of the little kitchy shops. I made Tony sit with me for about 5 minutes at the start of the bridge before heading across it. It was shady there and I knew that we wouldn't be shaded on the bridge at all. There is a nice big park at the foot of the bridge on the Northshore side. There were a lot of people out enjoying it while we were there. They also have a big fountain play area for the kids were the ground is flat and the water shoots up in the air. There were a ton of kids running around in the water and screeching with delight! If I hadn't had so far to walk back I was tempted to go join them in the fountains! On the way back across the bridge, the sun went behind a cloud a bit and there was a nice breeze which made it very nice. The walk back was a lot easier I think mostly because we didn't climb a big pile of stairs right before getting on the bridge - that was how we got back up the hill I made us go down before. Anyway, we were pretty tired after our Northshore excursion, so we went back to the hotel to chill for awhile.
The shuttle stops running pretty early on Sunday and we had a late lunch. So we decided that we would have to take the car to whereever we wanted to go for dinner. We waited until about 8:30 to head out and chose to eat at the Hair of the Dog Pub for dinner. The sun was going down and the temperature was really nice so we chose to sit outside on the patio. It was really nice out there with a little bit of a breeze going. We ordered the Chipstravaganza Overloaded, which was fries covered in white gravy and Beer Cheese soup. OMG it was So good! We munched on that and Tony had a couple of beers. We then decided that we really didn't both need to get a meal, so we shared the Jalepeno Corn Dog platter, which came with more fries. We dumped the fries in what was left of the cheese sauce and ate them that way. The meal came with 2 corn dogs so we each had a corn dog. I was so full when we finished. We lingered and just enjoyed the evening air and atmosphere. It was nice. I also liked the fact that they serve until 2:30am every night, so even though it was Sunday we didn't have to worry about them not being open or trying to close on us.
Monday:
We had to get moving a little bit earlier on Monday because we had free breakfast buffet and it ended at 11am. We got down there about 10:30 and were the only ones in the restaurant - imagine that. (we really didn't see many other guests during our entire stay) Anyway, they had biscuits, gravy, grits, eggs, sausage, bacon, french toast, and oatmeal all prepared and in the warming trays. They also had cereal and pastries to choose from. I had biscuit and gravy, grits, eggs, sausage, and a piece of french toast. I also got a cream cheese danish, but only ate a few bites of it. To drink I had a coffee, water, and milk. I drink a lot w/ my breakfast ;-) Breakfast was good and filling, which proved to be a very good thing.
We had decided to do Lookout Mountain today, so we got in the car and headed out. I figured that even though the weather was a nice 80ish we still would want to get the outdoor walking over with early. So we went to Rock City Gardens first. I've been there several times before, but, again, it's been a long time. I had forgotten how nice it really is, and probably appreciate it more now that I'm older. The rocks shade a lot of the trail so the temperature was really nice and cool for most of the walk. Tony took a ton of pictures and we really enjoyed just taking our time wandering through the rock formations. At one point we got behind a family w/ two little boys. They had just gotten ice creams and the littlest one (probably about 3 or 4) was trying to go down the stairs with the ice cream in his hand. The dad asked to hold his hand and the boy was like 'no I can do it' then he couldn't reach the rail. So he eventually let his dad hold his hand. We were standing there letting them pass and just cracking up at this kid. The dad said this is your chance to pass us. Tony said, oh we have a son on the way so we're just seeing what we've got to look forward to. Which made us all chuckle. I'm sure the dad said something encouraging about it being fun, but I don't recall. Anyway, we piddled so much going through Fat Man's Pass that they got way ahead of us and we didn't see them again (until we were on the same tour at Ruby Falls). I also enjoyed the Fairyland Gardens part with all the little black-lit figures of nursery tales. It is really cute.
After we left Rock City we headed over to the Incline Railway. We were getting sort of ready to eat, but didn't see anywhere to eat. We ended up following signs to the top station of the Incline Railway. I think it might have been better to start a the bottom, but we went ahead and did it from the top since we were there. It is really creepy sitting in that slanted railway car and seeing such a dramatic drop below you. Before it starts moving it seems as if it's going to just plunge down the mountain like a rollercoaster ride. Tony asked if it was going to be fast. I said I really didn't think so. It was nice and slow though. The views were neat. At the bottom we got off and saw a restaurant across the street. We figured we'd go there and eat, but they were closed. There were no other shopping or eating options so we got back on the next train to go back up. It was pretty cool going back up the mountain too. It was actually a little disconcerting and I was a teeny bit disoriented when we got to the top for a minute or so. It is neat and I would take the kids to do it once, but it is not really something that I see us doing over and over.
Next stop Ruby Falls. We went straight over there and they had a snack bar, but Tony and I agreed that we didn't want just any old junk food when there were so many good restaurants back in town. So we held out for lunch afterward. We had to wait a few minutes for a tour to start. They told us the tours last about an hour, but I swear it was at least an hour and twenty minutes! It was really neat. I don't think I'd been to Ruby Falls since Middle School, so I really didn't remember much of what we would see. It was nice and cool down there and the cave formations are really neat to see. The actual falls are pretty cool also. This is one I would do again. They also have a Haunted Caverns tour around Halloween that I bet is really cool!
By the time we were done and headed back to the hotel it was about 3:30pm. We decided to eat at Bluewater Grille which is a sister restaurant to Big River Grille. We got there during Happy Hour so we got a $5 appetizer of Tavern Shrimp. Tony got discounted beer too which is always a plus. We decided since this was a late lunch that we would share the Lobster Mac N Cheese. It was delicious! We said we were splitting it so they split it for us so that we each had our own bowl. That was really nice. It came with this bread covered in some sort of cheesy creamy spread that was warm. The bread itself was So good and rich. Then we decided to splurge on dessert. I'd been wanting dessert at every meal, but we never had room for it. They had mini desserts, so we each got one. I got the chocolate peanut butter pie and Tony got the key lime pie. They came in shot glasses with a little spoon that was perfect for them. I really enjoyed mine and we both agreed that it was the perfect amount of dessert.
After lunch we went back to the room and just lounged the rest of the afternoon away. It was so nice to just chill. We were not hungry until pretty late, but decided that we better find something to eat or we would be starving at midnight. We ended up driving over to the Northshore area to eat at a Tapas bar called Tera Nostra. We got there about 9:30 and they officially closed at 10pm, but that was fine. We knew we didn't need a lot of food, so we just made our selections up front. We got sweet potato logs, empenadas, pheasant ravioli, and spinach phyllo. It was also a wine bar. Tony and I both decided to have a glass of wine (I figure one here or there isn't going to hurt anything). The girl encouraged us to buy the whole bottle and said that we can take it with us if we don't finish it. So, we did and I had a tad more than one glass, but Tony drank the rest of it. We sat on the patio here too, which was a well decorated little alleyway between two buildings. It was very nice and we enjoyed this meal. We didn't feel too bad either because there was another table that was still there when we left.
Tuesday:
Tuesday was check out day. We went down and had our breakfast. Basically we had the exact same breakfast that we had the day before, but still enjoyed it. Then we checked out. I had to actually do a real checkout because the bill they printed was wrong. The front desk clerk was really nice though and fixed everything with no problems. Then sadly we headed out of town and home again. We got home about 2:30pm and settled back into the house. On the way home we talked a lot about baby names.... but I'll tell more about that in my next post ;-)
So that is a pretty good recap of our Babymoon, our last hurrah before our lives change forever. I enjoyed it and can't wait for our new way of travel to begin now!
Later!
Amber
We were both really impressed with Chattanooga and I kept saying "I can't wait to bring the kids back here". We stayed at the Marriott Convention Center which was really nice. The staff was really great and very friendly. We got a special deal that was for 2 nights, breakfast buffet for 2 for 2 days, free valet parking, plus our tickets to the aquarium, Imax, Rock City, Ruby Falls, and the Incline Railway. That was all that we had committed ourselves to do anyway because we were not sure how much I would be able to handle. We didn't want to overdo it either, just enjoy ourselves and relax some. We wanted to stay 3 nights so I added a night at their weekend rate which wasn't bad AND I got an Amazon.com gift certificate for staying on the weekend. :-)
So we started Saturday (which I already wrote about a tad) by getting to Chattanooga, checking in and heading for the aquarium. When we got to the hotel we found out that there is a free electric shuttle that runs through downtown to the top attractions. Basically it makes a loop from the aquarium to the Choo Choo. Our hotel was a little off the loop, but the bus made a stop right outside the door. It was Really nice! We were able to ride it to the aquarium and to all the restaurants that are in that area. Most of the ones we had picked out were right in about a 3 block radius of the Aquarium. It also made it nice and convienent to go back to the hotel for a rest. The busses ran about every 5 minutes and we could be back at the hotel in about 10 minutes which is Awesome for a bus service! There was a nice mix of locals and tourists using it also which was neat.
We went to the Aquarium and Imax on Saturday. It has been probably 13 or so years since I had been, so needless to say they've made some changes. I am 99% sure the "ocean journey" building was not there the last time I went. We really enjoyed it and I really like the way it is laid out. I was discussing with Tony that the family annual pass is only $100 which is a pretty good deal. It would be right at $60 for 2 adults and a child for one visit, so if you could make it twice in a year it would be a great deal. I think it is something that children would enjoy more than once. I could definitely see going to Chattanooga twice in one year if the kids enjoyed it. There are a lot of family oriented activites there. Anyway, the Imax was pretty cool too. That was my first Imax experience. I was a little nervous because sometimes the 3d glasses give me a headache. They seemed to be ok though. I sort of had a bit of a headache going into the movie already though.
By the end of the afternoon I had developed a pretty bad headache. I took some Tylenol, but it didn't really help (it never does). We ate at 212 Market Restaurant for lunch. It is a certified Green restaurant. It was very nice and good. I had mushroom and spinach ravioli that was very good. Tony had the turkey, lettuce, and green tomato sandwich with onion rings. He said his was very good also. It was a very filling meal. For dinner we went to Big River Grille & Brew Works. There is also an outpost of this place at Disney's Boardwalk hotel. They brew their own beer which was exciting to Tony. I was starving when we got there so we ordered an appetizer of the jalepeno cheese dip. I ate too much of that and wasn't able to truely enjoy my dinner, which was a shame because it was Awesome! I ordered the Shrimp & Grits. It was so good that Tony was jealous and was a Huge portion. Tony got the beer flight so that he could taste all the different beers. He got about 2 ounces of 8 different beers. He said that the one he liked the most is the one that he was going to pick originally - a Vienna Lager. He ordered the Blue Crab Stuffed Chicken. He said that it was pretty good. I had a bite, but I was really too focused on my Shrimp and Grits to care. ;-) We really enjoyed our dinner here and would return in the future.
Sunday:
We decided to sleep in a little since we didn't have a breakfast deadline. We got up and made it down to the Blue Plate Restaurant around 11:30am. They have a patio that allows you to look out at the river. It isn't really on the river because there is a big grassy area and a road between them and the river, but the Valet guy said that it is as close to on the river dining as you will get. Tony had picked this restaurant and really wanted to eat there for Saturdays dinner. I wanted to eat there too, but we decided that they had more of a breakfast/lunch menu than dinner. So we thoroughly enjoyed breakfast here. I had the white omelet made with egg whites, mushrooms, peppers, and spinach, with cheese grits. It was really good. Tony had the Blue Plate Omelet made with Avacado, blue cheese, and corn salsa w/ a side of hashbrowns. He said the omelet was good, but the blue cheese was stronger than he would have liked. He used to not be a blue cheese fan at all, but lately has discovered that he likes some of the milder blue cheese. I think he was assuming it would be mild and it turned out not to be. But he ate all of it, so it must not have been Too strong.
After breakfast we went back to the hotel to pick up our car - boo! so that we could drive less than a mile to the Chattanooga Market. I was tempted to walk, but we weren't sure if we would be up for that much walking - there, around the market, and back. The Chattanooga Market happens every Sunday during the summer from 11am to 4pm. This happened to be opening weekend which was great timing on our part. I found info online and wasn't really sure what exactly to expect, but they said it had lots of vendors and there would be live music all afternoon. I was expecting it to be outside in the sun, but it was in an open air pavillion which turned out to be Awesome. The pavillion kept the sun off, but the sides were open which let in the cool breezes. It was warm but not hot under there and since I forgot our sunscreen it was really nice to be shielded. There were quite a nice variety of vendors - artists, jewelry, farmstands w/ produce and eggs, baked goods, yard art, food and beer. There was a nice area in the back with tables and chairs in front of the stage so that you could eat and/or listen to the bands. We walked through all of the vendors and then sat down to watch the music. We caught the tail end of one band, Tin Cup Gypsy, that I really enjoyed. Then we were able to listen to the whole set of the next guy, Jimmy Davis. We both really liked this guy. At the end of his set Tony went over to chat with him and bought his album. During the set he talked about how he travels around playing small venues like this and that he camps out everywhere he goes. Tony was all smitten with this idea - like "hey, I could be a traveling musician and camp out everywhere" Uh, yeah, and pay your bills with what? Anyway, we had a good time there and stayed until like 3:30pm.
We went back to the hotel to drop off the car and jump on the shuttle. We also knew that the shuttle would take you across the river to the "Northshore district" and so that was our plan. We had picked out a couple of restaurants over there and were going to eat and shop. Well, we didn't realize that the Northshore shuttle doesn't run on Sundays. While we were on the shuttle a local was explaining this to another couple and told them that they could walk over to the Northshore and that it was not too far. She told them about a walking bridge that one of my coworkers had told me to check out. Tony and I debated whether we wanted to walk or not. We had planned this to be a nice relaxing day and had managed to take it easy so far. But, we decided to go for the walk anyway. Well, I had us go down a hill that we had to go back up to get to the walking bridge, so that started us out a little worn out. Tony kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to walk over there. I had offered to go back and take the car, but he didn't want to deal with the car. I said that I was fine with walking but that we would have to take it easy. Well, that walking bridge was nice and long and the sun was awefully bright! By the end of the bridge we were contemplating taking a cab back to the hotel when we were done eating. Tony was really hot and tired and it showed when we got to the restaurant. He was just a little grumpy. We ate at Mudpie which has a big variety of food to choose from. We decided to focus on the Cuban food and just share a small selection of things. We got a cuba burger (chorizo on a bun w/ potato sticks), tamale, papa relleno (potato ball stuffed w/ meat), and plantains. It was all pretty good. I didn't eat any of the tamale that was mostly Tony's. I wasn't as pleased with my cuba burger as I had hoped. It was ok, but the sausage patty was really small compared to the bun and it didn't have as much flavor as I expected. I've had chorizo before and it is usually pretty strong. Anyway, we had a bunch of water with our meal and relaxed in the A/C for awhile. After that we were refreshed enough that we decided we could shop a couple of shops and then tackle the walk back to the Aquarium. So we hit a couple of the little kitchy shops. I made Tony sit with me for about 5 minutes at the start of the bridge before heading across it. It was shady there and I knew that we wouldn't be shaded on the bridge at all. There is a nice big park at the foot of the bridge on the Northshore side. There were a lot of people out enjoying it while we were there. They also have a big fountain play area for the kids were the ground is flat and the water shoots up in the air. There were a ton of kids running around in the water and screeching with delight! If I hadn't had so far to walk back I was tempted to go join them in the fountains! On the way back across the bridge, the sun went behind a cloud a bit and there was a nice breeze which made it very nice. The walk back was a lot easier I think mostly because we didn't climb a big pile of stairs right before getting on the bridge - that was how we got back up the hill I made us go down before. Anyway, we were pretty tired after our Northshore excursion, so we went back to the hotel to chill for awhile.
The shuttle stops running pretty early on Sunday and we had a late lunch. So we decided that we would have to take the car to whereever we wanted to go for dinner. We waited until about 8:30 to head out and chose to eat at the Hair of the Dog Pub for dinner. The sun was going down and the temperature was really nice so we chose to sit outside on the patio. It was really nice out there with a little bit of a breeze going. We ordered the Chipstravaganza Overloaded, which was fries covered in white gravy and Beer Cheese soup. OMG it was So good! We munched on that and Tony had a couple of beers. We then decided that we really didn't both need to get a meal, so we shared the Jalepeno Corn Dog platter, which came with more fries. We dumped the fries in what was left of the cheese sauce and ate them that way. The meal came with 2 corn dogs so we each had a corn dog. I was so full when we finished. We lingered and just enjoyed the evening air and atmosphere. It was nice. I also liked the fact that they serve until 2:30am every night, so even though it was Sunday we didn't have to worry about them not being open or trying to close on us.
Monday:
We had to get moving a little bit earlier on Monday because we had free breakfast buffet and it ended at 11am. We got down there about 10:30 and were the only ones in the restaurant - imagine that. (we really didn't see many other guests during our entire stay) Anyway, they had biscuits, gravy, grits, eggs, sausage, bacon, french toast, and oatmeal all prepared and in the warming trays. They also had cereal and pastries to choose from. I had biscuit and gravy, grits, eggs, sausage, and a piece of french toast. I also got a cream cheese danish, but only ate a few bites of it. To drink I had a coffee, water, and milk. I drink a lot w/ my breakfast ;-) Breakfast was good and filling, which proved to be a very good thing.
We had decided to do Lookout Mountain today, so we got in the car and headed out. I figured that even though the weather was a nice 80ish we still would want to get the outdoor walking over with early. So we went to Rock City Gardens first. I've been there several times before, but, again, it's been a long time. I had forgotten how nice it really is, and probably appreciate it more now that I'm older. The rocks shade a lot of the trail so the temperature was really nice and cool for most of the walk. Tony took a ton of pictures and we really enjoyed just taking our time wandering through the rock formations. At one point we got behind a family w/ two little boys. They had just gotten ice creams and the littlest one (probably about 3 or 4) was trying to go down the stairs with the ice cream in his hand. The dad asked to hold his hand and the boy was like 'no I can do it' then he couldn't reach the rail. So he eventually let his dad hold his hand. We were standing there letting them pass and just cracking up at this kid. The dad said this is your chance to pass us. Tony said, oh we have a son on the way so we're just seeing what we've got to look forward to. Which made us all chuckle. I'm sure the dad said something encouraging about it being fun, but I don't recall. Anyway, we piddled so much going through Fat Man's Pass that they got way ahead of us and we didn't see them again (until we were on the same tour at Ruby Falls). I also enjoyed the Fairyland Gardens part with all the little black-lit figures of nursery tales. It is really cute.
After we left Rock City we headed over to the Incline Railway. We were getting sort of ready to eat, but didn't see anywhere to eat. We ended up following signs to the top station of the Incline Railway. I think it might have been better to start a the bottom, but we went ahead and did it from the top since we were there. It is really creepy sitting in that slanted railway car and seeing such a dramatic drop below you. Before it starts moving it seems as if it's going to just plunge down the mountain like a rollercoaster ride. Tony asked if it was going to be fast. I said I really didn't think so. It was nice and slow though. The views were neat. At the bottom we got off and saw a restaurant across the street. We figured we'd go there and eat, but they were closed. There were no other shopping or eating options so we got back on the next train to go back up. It was pretty cool going back up the mountain too. It was actually a little disconcerting and I was a teeny bit disoriented when we got to the top for a minute or so. It is neat and I would take the kids to do it once, but it is not really something that I see us doing over and over.
Next stop Ruby Falls. We went straight over there and they had a snack bar, but Tony and I agreed that we didn't want just any old junk food when there were so many good restaurants back in town. So we held out for lunch afterward. We had to wait a few minutes for a tour to start. They told us the tours last about an hour, but I swear it was at least an hour and twenty minutes! It was really neat. I don't think I'd been to Ruby Falls since Middle School, so I really didn't remember much of what we would see. It was nice and cool down there and the cave formations are really neat to see. The actual falls are pretty cool also. This is one I would do again. They also have a Haunted Caverns tour around Halloween that I bet is really cool!
By the time we were done and headed back to the hotel it was about 3:30pm. We decided to eat at Bluewater Grille which is a sister restaurant to Big River Grille. We got there during Happy Hour so we got a $5 appetizer of Tavern Shrimp. Tony got discounted beer too which is always a plus. We decided since this was a late lunch that we would share the Lobster Mac N Cheese. It was delicious! We said we were splitting it so they split it for us so that we each had our own bowl. That was really nice. It came with this bread covered in some sort of cheesy creamy spread that was warm. The bread itself was So good and rich. Then we decided to splurge on dessert. I'd been wanting dessert at every meal, but we never had room for it. They had mini desserts, so we each got one. I got the chocolate peanut butter pie and Tony got the key lime pie. They came in shot glasses with a little spoon that was perfect for them. I really enjoyed mine and we both agreed that it was the perfect amount of dessert.
After lunch we went back to the room and just lounged the rest of the afternoon away. It was so nice to just chill. We were not hungry until pretty late, but decided that we better find something to eat or we would be starving at midnight. We ended up driving over to the Northshore area to eat at a Tapas bar called Tera Nostra. We got there about 9:30 and they officially closed at 10pm, but that was fine. We knew we didn't need a lot of food, so we just made our selections up front. We got sweet potato logs, empenadas, pheasant ravioli, and spinach phyllo. It was also a wine bar. Tony and I both decided to have a glass of wine (I figure one here or there isn't going to hurt anything). The girl encouraged us to buy the whole bottle and said that we can take it with us if we don't finish it. So, we did and I had a tad more than one glass, but Tony drank the rest of it. We sat on the patio here too, which was a well decorated little alleyway between two buildings. It was very nice and we enjoyed this meal. We didn't feel too bad either because there was another table that was still there when we left.
Tuesday:
Tuesday was check out day. We went down and had our breakfast. Basically we had the exact same breakfast that we had the day before, but still enjoyed it. Then we checked out. I had to actually do a real checkout because the bill they printed was wrong. The front desk clerk was really nice though and fixed everything with no problems. Then sadly we headed out of town and home again. We got home about 2:30pm and settled back into the house. On the way home we talked a lot about baby names.... but I'll tell more about that in my next post ;-)
So that is a pretty good recap of our Babymoon, our last hurrah before our lives change forever. I enjoyed it and can't wait for our new way of travel to begin now!
Later!
Amber
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