Georgia and Tennessee

On Sunday morning we arrived at the Georgia Aquarium at 8:30am. Parking at this location was definitely easier at that time of day than it had been the previous afternoon. The aquarium opened at 8:00 and coming earlier in the day definitely meant it wasn't as crowded during the first part of our visit. The aquariums website stated that the average visit was 2 hours long. We stayed for 3 hours. During that time, we visited all of the exhibits and saw both shows. We missed the 4D movie because we showed up 1 minute late due to the fact it took us 16 minutes to exit the dolphin theatre and walk a short distance to the theatre entrance because the aquarium was much more crowded at that point. We really enjoyed the sea lion show and the dolphin show. Nadia said she might like to study marine biology in college as working with dolphins would be something she would love to do. Earlier in our vacation Nadia had purchased three souvenirs in Florida - a pair of manatee earrings and two t-shirts. Ian purchased his first souvenir at the Georgia Aquarium - a plush river otter. Because we stayed at the aquarium longer than planned and because Paul wanted to have more time at Chickamauga Battlefield, we ended up skipping Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield, which actually disappointed Nadia not because she loves battlefields but because it meant one fewer opportunity to earn a Junior Ranger Badge. 

I'm not sure exactly how many battlefields we have been to as a family, but I'm guessing we've been to around fifteen altogether. When a battlefield has a special day filled with hands- on activities, it's far more enjoyable to some of us (we have participated in events like that at Valley Forge, Antietam, and Gettysburg). Paul on the other hand loves battlefields and could spend many hours at each one even when they aren't having any special activities. On Sunday afternoon we participated in a caravan tour at Chickamauga that lasted about 2 hours. We also watched a movie at the Visitor Center. The kids each earned a Junior Ranger badge. After we left the battlefield, we had dinner at Golden Corral and then drove to a hotel in Tennessee. We watched our church's worship service online, and then Oliver, Paul, and I went to bed early that night. That hotel had a door that separated the bedroom from the living area, so Ian and Nadia were able to stay up later than the rest of us.

There were several activities I considered including in our itinerary in Chattanooga including the Tennessee Aquarium, Ruby Falls, and the incline. The reviews on Ruby Falls were very mixed. In the end we decided to skip those, but we did drive up to the top of Lookout Mountain, which is a much cheaper way to reach the top compared to buying 5 incline tickets. The battle of Chattanooga took place at the top of Lookout Mountain. Because it's in the same National Park as Chickamauga, the kids weren't able to earn a Junior Ranger badge. We spent much less time at that smaller battlefield site. Our next stop in Tennessee was Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is the most visited National Park in the USA. There were a few times out west last September that we had to purchase Junior Ranger booklets; the only time that happened on this trip was at Great Smoky Mountains. We hiked to Cataract Falls, and then we went on a longer, steeper hike to Laurel Falls. Originally, I had planned for us to spend more time at this park, but when I shortened the vacation a little, the time we spent here was reduced. As we left the park the kids were rather impressed by all of the businesses catering to tourists in Pigeon Forge - many go-kart tracks, miniature golf courses, restaurants, and other attractions. I had planned for us to have dinner at Subway, but I made a mistake somewhere along the way and didn't have a gift card. We got a pizza from Papa John's instead as I did have a gift card that covered part of the cost of our pizza. Then we toured one of Pigeon Forge's attractions - the Titanic Museum. It was well done. We each had a handheld device to listen to an audio tour, and we were each given a boarding pass that gave us a new identity for our tour. At the end of the tour, we found out what happened to the person whose identity we were given. Four of us survived. Paul was given the identity of a third-class passenger who perished. During this trip we have typically not driven much after dinner, but last night we drove about 2.5 hours after we left the Titanic. We spent the night in Virginia. Today we are planning to stop at two National Parks in Virginia as we drive home to Milo. We miss him very much!