Vandergriff Park

We have some really nice parks in Chattanooga. This one is called Vandergriff Park and was named after a late commissioner. There's lots of things to do at the park not just for kids but for adults too. There's a covered picnic area and a track. The track--that's where I'm standing to take the picture--goes all around the park. There's two play areas. One is for younger children and one for kids who are a bit older. That makes it safer especially for the younger ones.

Big Mama's

This is another barbecue place in Chattanooga. Most of these places are small take-out ones. A few have picnic tables to sit and eat outside.

Beauty and the Beast Costume Shop

This window is of the Beauty and the Beast Costume Shop. They usually have it decorated according to the season but July/August doesn't have much associated with it costume wise so I guess they went with what looks like Egyptian costumes. Sorry the picture isn't the best quality but it's difficult getting s good picture through the window.

I'm going to be away on vacation until Friday August 4th and while I'm gone Kathrine of Copenhagen Daily Photo has graciously agreed to post my pictures. Thank you, Kathrine! Be sure to visit Copenhagen and say hi!

I couldn't resist snapping a picture of the car in front of me on my way to work this morning when I saw his license plate. I often wonder what motivates people to get the vanity plates that they do. I guess he's happy and proud and doesn't mind everyone else knowing it!

Kangaroos in Chattanooga!

Yes, there's Kangaroos in Chattanooga but they're not the animal kind. They're gas station and convenience stores. They used to be called Golden Gallon then the chain was sold and they were all repainted and renamed Kangaroo. No only can you buy gas and get your car washed, you can buy milk, soda, beer and even Subway sandwiches.

Up a tree

Can you spot the guy way up in the tree? When I came home today workers were removing trees in front of a neighbors house. After the terrible storm the other day, I guess they were taking them down before Mother Nature brought them down. If those trees fell during a storm, I imagine they could do major damage to their house.

Farm Stand

Here's a farm stand that sells fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants. We have quite a few of these little stands scattered around the city in addition to a large weekly farmer's market in downtown Chattanooga.

More Civil War re-enactors

According to President Abraham Lincoln, taking Chattanooga was as important to the Union troops as taking Richmond. Railway lines in Chattanooga linked major distribution points in the Confederacy. You can read more about the Battle of Chattanooga here.

Storm damage

We had some pretty large thunderstorms move through last evening and left a lot of damage behind. This is just a small sample of the wind damage. Our electricity went out from around 9PM until after 1AM and today when I took my son to work at noon, I saw electric lineman trucks everywhere so I guess we weren't the only ones who lost power.

Pardon me, boys, but this is the real Chattanooga Choo Choo!

Marie over at Alexandria Daily Photo needs to come here if she wants to see the real Choo Choo. It is parked behind the hotel of the same name in downtown Chattanooga. Their slogan is "It's a train. It's a song. It's a hotel." The train is above; the song and hotel information is here. There's also some really interesting vintage photos here.

Be sure to visit Marie and tell her you're not fooled!

North Chickamauga Creek

Here's a picture of the North Chickamauga Creek. It's pretty low right now but in the spring during heavy rains it comes up to the road and floods at times. It's a long and windy creek with lots of different areas. To learn more go to the North Chickamauga Creek Conservancy site.

One way to beat the heat

A while back I had a shot of a colorful Hawaiian Ice truck. Here's a much less colorful operation. This guy sells sno cones from the back of his truck. He keeps crushed ice in a cooler and scoops it into a styrofoam cup and puts some syrup over it. He keeps it all in the back of his pick up and usually sells them for $1. When school is in session he waits in the parking lot and sells them to the students and parents.

No good deed goes unpunished

On my way to work I saw this guy heading into the road so I stopped. After taking a picture (after all I am a DP blogger!) I went to help him cross the road. I have done it before. Ususally the turtle will hide in its shell, I pick it up bring it across the road, set it down and eventually it comes out and goes about its business. As usual this guy went into his shell but as soon as I went to pick him up he popped out and began the most awful hissing and trying to bite my fingers. Not to mention that his feet had claws and they were flaying about trying to get me. I quickly set him back and walked away. Obviously he didn't appreciate the help. I guess he made it across because I didn't see him squished on the road on my way home.

He could have been a tortoise. I don't really know. I just know he was very independent!

Ye Old Mill

I pass by this place when I take my son to school. I was usually in a hurry or on the way home there would be traffic and no place to stop. Today, I was lucky and no cars so I stopped and took a picture. The place is right next to the road--you can see the beginning of the guard rail that goes across the bridge. The building is on the North Chickamauga Creek. Right now the creek is practically dry because we have not had much rain but in the spring when we get heavy rains the creek usually floods at least every couple of years. I'll get a picture of the creek and post it soon.

Battles for Chattanooga

I took this picture at the Battles for Chattanooga Civil War Museum on top of Lookout Mountain. It's a great three dimensional museum. You can find out more about it here.

Graffiti Sunday

Some of the DP bloggers feature graffiti on Sundays. I never participated because I could never find any except on freight trains that passed by but it wasn't easy to photograph the train as it sped by. I did find some once near the mall and happily photographed it. But when I got home and looked at the shot I realized what the graffiti said was not fit to print. Then I came out of work the other day and right across the street was some graffiti! I never thought I'd e happy to see graffiti. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there isn't any in Chattanooga--there just isn't any in any of the places I go...usually.

A blue light special

I find this billboard very strange. The TBI (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation) appears to be having a sale on background checks and to ge the word out they're putting up billboards around the city (and I assume other places around the state). Is this something that really needs to be publicized?

About the picture itself, I didn't notice when I took the picture that I also got the top of the dry cleaners building in the shot and when I first looked at the picture I was wondering where the watermark came from! LOL! As for the weird sky color, I can't really explain it but it was that color. It was approximately 9:00 PM and I was going to pick up my son from work and the sky was that very strange color. It felt like I was in an episode of the Twilight Zone. I thought we might be getting some bad storms heading our way but we didn't. My son said the sky looked like that the time there was a big sand storm in the Middle East and we saw some of the effects all the way here in the U.S. Well, that's enough explanation for one picture!

A herd of...furniture?!

I drive by an antique auction place everyday on my way to work and recently I noticed all this wrapped furniture behind the fence. It reminds me of a herd of cattle or something grazing in the grass the way it's all scattered about. I finally stopped this morning and took a picture.

Tennessee Aquarium

I took this picture in front of the Tennessee Aquarium. They have a lot of fun outdoor areas around the building. They also recently opened a giant expansion to the aquarium, adding a saltwater one so they have both fresh and saltwater ones now.

True building blocks

I took this picture in front of a local day care center. Instead of traditional columns in front of the covered portico they have these building blocks. I thought they were pretty interesting.

The Chattanoogan

The Chattanoogan is an upscale resort and conference center located in downtown Chattanooga. I haven't been inside but if I do, I'll be sure to take pictures and post them. I think the building is interesting with all the curves.

More Civil War pics

Here are some Civil War re-enactors shooting off one of the large cannons at National Military Park on Lookout Mountain. I had planned on getting the picture as they were shooting off the thing but, even though I knew it would make a very loud bang, I jumped and only got a picture of the ground. Fortunately, the smoke hung in the air a bit and I was able to get this shot. Not the one I wanted but better than nothing.

Chicken for breakfast

I got this picture while I was driving my son to work so I couldn't get a better picture but I'm pretty sure he was supposed to be a chicken. As you can see from his sign, he was advertising breakfast now being served.

Stargazers

My neighbor calls these flowers stargazer lillies. I don't know if that's the true name for them but they are very beautiful flowers. Very fragrant too. She gave me a large bouquet of them last year and no matter which room I put them in, you could smell them all over the house! The do not smell bad but they can be overpowering so after several days of complaints from my family, I put them out on the porch.

Thursday night we were able to see the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station as they passed by Chattanooga in their orbit around the earth. If it's not cloudy they say we will be able to see it again tonight. Unfortunately, it's not something I can take a picture but at least the name stargazer lilly is appropriate.

Moccasin Bend

I took this picture at Point Park atop Lookout Mountain. You can see the Tennessee River and the bend in the river which is called Moccasin Bend. There's a state Mental Health facility located there and an ancient Native American burial ground. There's lots of fighting over use of the land. Developers want to build on it and Native Americans want the sacred land to stay the way it is. More information about the land is here.

Sorry the picture isn't clearer but it was very hot and hazy. You can see some of downtown Chattanooga through the haze.

One stop shopping!

I thought this was amusing. You're supposed to put money in the parking meter but, failing that, you can just go ahead and pay the fine! The yellow box attached to the meter is the box where you're supposed to put the money for the fine!

Neighborhood fireworks

More fireworks. The ones I posted yesterday were from a professional display but these are just some we had in our neighborhood last night. We had a lot that burst high in the air but those were harder to photograph because they were pretty but didn't last long enough to get a picture. These created a shower of sparks on the ground and were much easier to photograph. Several of the neighbors on our street got together and had a cookout then did fireworks to celebrate the 4th.

Happy 4th of July!

What's July 4th without fireworks?

Taking a break

My husband and I played tourists in Chattanooga on Sunday and drove up Lookout Mountain to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. I felt sorry for the Civil War re-enactors because it was extremely hot and the wool uniforms looked hot and very picky. This one had the right idea!

I took a lot of great pictures which I'll be showcasing here a few at a time. Maybe I'll post a Civil War related picture once a week or so.

Sonic Drive In

Do you remember the old-fashioned drive-ins from the 1960's? Sonic Drive-ins are still going strong around Chattanooga.

July 1 Theme Day Supermarkets

This is the produce department at one of our local supermarkets called Food Lion. To visit other supermarkets around the world just click on a number below and you will be whisked away to exotic places!

1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 -11 -12 -13 -14 -15 -16 -17 -18 -19 -20 -21 -22 -23 -24 -25 -