While we were in the Atlanta area in June of 2012 we decided to drive up to Chattanooga and meets some friends from the Nashville area. We got into the area the night before we were going to meet them and decided to stay there. We stayed at the Days Inn on Ringgold Road, and unless they have made changes since 2012, I would avoid this place. The breakfast was ok, the staff was rude, and the manager wasn’t much better. However, the biggest issue was the room. We got in late and were really tired so we just dumped our stuff on the extra bed, put a few left-overs from dinner into the refrigerator, and went to sleep (I know, bad) Anyway, halfway through the night the air conditioner stopped working (this was in the middle of June), we got up and found out that the refrigerator didn’t work unless a switch was turned on (which no one told us) thus our food was ruined, there was a bunch of ketchup on the wall behind one of the nightstands, and the shower didn’t look like it had been cleaned in months. Needless to say, I didn’t take a shower. Thank goodness we were only staying that one night. Yikes. Anyway, when we complained at the front desk they didn’t really seem to care, just offered us a better room the next night – hello we were checking out. I would definitely suggest a different location if in the area. Apparently cleanliness and customer service aren’t important to them. Anyway, we didn’t let it ruin our day. Our friends were running late so we ended up going to Ruby Falls.
It is a 145-foot high underground waterfall located within Lookout Mountain. he Falls are located at the end of the main passage of Ruby Falls Cave, in a
large vertical shaft. The stream, 1120 feet underground, is fed both by rainwater and natural springs. It collects in a pool in the cave floor and then
continues through the mountain until finally joining the Tennessee River at the base of Lookout Mountain. While Ruby Falls Cave combines with Lookout
Mountain Cave to form the Lookout Mountain Caverns, the two caves were not actually connected by any passage. Ruby Falls Cave is the upper of the two and
contains a variety of geological formations and curiosities which Lookout Mountain Cave does not have. Although Lookout Mountain Cave was closed in 1935
since it was not very popular with tourists, who were much more impressed with the upper cave. Public tours began in 1930. Electric lights were installed in
the cave, making it one of the first commercial caves to be so outfitted.[9] Motorists travelling on I-75 in the 1970s were subjected to dozens - maybe
hundreds - of billboards along their route with the words "SEE RUBY FALLS" beginning hundreds of miles north and south of the falls itself. Ruby Falls remains
a staple of Chattanooga tourism.
It is an incredible attraction and were so glad we did it. The only down side was that they only turn on the light for
you to see the Falls for 5 mins with about 30 people trying to take pictures and such. I felt it was too short of a time. However, we did have a nice time
waiting for our friends to show up.
They didn’t show up until lunch time so we met them at the Mellow Mushroom . We had never been to one of these pizza places so we were happy to try it. It was really good and was happy to find out that they were opening more restaurants, including Denver. After lunch we mostly drove around and checked out to the local area. We drove downtown and walked around the craziness that is a downtown area. We had a great time catching up and visiting with them. It had been a while since we had seen them. We stayed with them for quite a while but they had to get back home and we were driving to Atlanta, so we said goodbye and promised to keep in touch.
There are a lot of fun things to do in Chattanooga, if we had only had more time. Here are a few fun things to do in that area.
| Chattanooga Choo Choo | Chattanooga Zoo | Hunter Museum of American Art |
| Creative Discovery Museum | Point Park Battlefield | Tennessee Aquarium |