Toothwhale

Chattanooga, Day 2

Harper struggled to sleep in the hotel room on Friday night, but on Saturday, she and the rest of us ran on adrenaline through a full second day of vacation. We started the day by taking the River Journey at the Tennessee Aquarium.

The Midas Cichlid is from the rivers of Central America.

Harper and Jake snuggle into a cove to watch fish swim overhead.

Before we took the Ocean Journey, we broke for a trip to see the Chattanooga Choo Choo and to have some lunch. We rode the free Downtown Electric Shuttle from the aquarium to the Choo Choo. The shuttle ride itself was fun for the kids, and Jake and I appreciated that the buses are zero emission, electric powered.

Here's the Chattanooga Choo Choo:

Here's Henry after he fell in a pond up to his neck at the Choo Choo gardens:

He was understandably startled and upset at first, but after we laughed, he did, too. He rode the electric shuttle dripping wet back to the hotel for a rinse off and some dry clothes.

Keeping with an environmentally green theme -- it's part of the Green Restaurant Association -- we ate lunch at 212 Market Restaurant. Everything we had there was fresh and delicious. After lunch, we were ready for the Ocean Journey.

Aquarium visitors can pet stingrays in an open tank.

Besides sea life, there's a butterfly habitat.

After the aquarium, we headed back to the North Shore area. The kids played in the Coolidge Park Fountain, and we had a quick dinner at Good Dog. Henry and Harper fell asleep in minutes that night.

Chattanooga, Day 1

Our late summer family vacation in Chattanooga was three days of big fun.

On Friday, we played at the Creative Discovery Museum, saw Under the Sea 3D at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater, ate dinner on the patio at Northshore Grille, and walked in nearby Coolidge Park.

Henry becomes the boy in the bubble outside the Creative Discovery Museum.

A large and elaborate waterplay area is the first stop inside the children's museum.

The dinosaur exhibit includes a T. rex skeleton replica and a huge area that gives junior paleontologists the tools to uncover fossils.

Henry and Harper enjoyed the temporary Curious George exhibit, but the highlight of our time at the Creative Discovery Museum was an "Amazing Animals" presentation. The museum staffer who gave the informative talk got everyone's attention with live animals. She held a Madagascar hissing cockroach, a tarantula, a toad named Kermit, and a fancy Bantam rooster named Blackjack. She asked for child volunteers to help make her points (Henry was onstage in butterfly and shark costumes), and all the kids got to pet Rupert the corn snake and Oreo the black and white rabbit.

 

The Walnut Street Bridge connects downtown Chattanooga to the North Shore area. North Shore includes Coolidge Park, shops, and restaurants. Jake and I had eaten at the Northshore Grille during our first trip to Chattanooga, and remembered it correctly as a good place.

Slow cooker barbecue chicken sandwiches with coleslaw

The recipe for slow cooker barbecue chicken is a popular one. I apologize if you've seen it a handful of times elsewhere. On the off chance that it isn't already in your repertoire, please do try it. It could hardly be easier, and it's oh-so-tasty. In these sandwiches, topped with homemade coleslaw, there's a delicious marriage of flavors. Slow cooker barbecue chicken sandwiches with coleslaw is one of Jake's favorite dinners. If I mention Crock-Pot, he says, "What about that chicken?"

Slow cooker barbecue chicken

Ingredients:

3 or 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (can be frozen)

2 cups of ketchup (can be less)

4 Tbsp. light brown sugar

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. vinegar

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients except the chicken in slow cooker.

Add the chicken, coating each piece in sauce.

Cook on high for 4 hours.

Shred chicken with two forks and stir in sauce to coat.

Serve on buns.

Optional:Top chicken with coleslaw.

Coleslaw

Ingredients:

1/4 cup your favorite ranch dressing

1/4 cup light or regular mayonnaise

1 Tbsp. vinegar

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. celery seed

1/4 tsp. salt

2 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage

1 1/2 cups shredded red cabbage

2/3 cup shredded carrots (food processor works well for this)

Directions:

Stir together first five ingredients in a bowl.

Combine vegetables in a large bowl.

Pour dressing mixture over vegetables and toss lightly.

Bragging on him

I'm bragging on my husband, Jake, today in a post at Wedded Bliss, a division of Blissfully Domestic. My post is Brag On Him -- Week 6 in the "Brag On Him" series.

Late summer family vacation

We're driving two hours east to Chattanooga tomorrow for a late summer family vacation. We're meeting Jake's stepmom there and staying until Monday. While we still can, we're taking advantage of the luxury of being able to travel when other families already have gone back to school.

Jake and I have been to Chattanooga twice in the six years we've lived in Tennessee, and the kids have been once. The first trip was a "babymoon" when I was pregnant with Henry. The second trip was in early January of this year. We took Henry and Harper to the Tennessee Aquarium and the Creative Discovery Museum to celebrate Henry's fourth birthday.

This trip, we want to see all of the big attractions. We're hoping to:

1. Take the River Journey and Ocean Journey at the Tennessee Aquarium. Henry is ready to see sharks, and Harper is ready to wave to the friendly "sea divers" who get into the tanks to feed and clean.

2. Explore the Creative Discovery Museum, which is featuring a Curious George exhibit through September 29, 2009.

3. Ride the carousel at Coolidge Park.

4. Watch a movie at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater.

5. See Rock City.

6. Catch a Chattanooga Lookouts minor league baseball game at AT&T Field.