There and Back Again: Chattanooga!

It was a long, fun weekend with family, travel and most of all, volleyball!

Ally in the center

Granddaughter Allison has been playing ball for UT Chattanooga and this is her last season. This weekend her team was honoring miltary veterans, and since we have so many vets and currently serving military in our family, our daughter-in-law Jennifer decided to have as many as possible to come to Chattanooga for the event and for the start of the conference play-offs.

We had a blast. We got there in time for the first match of the series, and it was a cliffhanger event. Chat was down by 2 games, and if they lost the 3rd game, that was it. In women's volleyball, there are 5 games per match so three wins (or losses) determines the winner. But the Mocs as they are called came back to win the next three games. Whew!

More and more family arrived throughout the weekend until in the end there were 15 of us sharing a large Airbnb house: two of my sons, two daughters-in-law, five grandchildren--two with their partners, my sister Theresa and her husband, Larry and me. We came from all directions: two flew in from Los Angeles, one drove up from his vacation in South Carolina, several came from Northern Virginia, one drove in from National Guard duty in northern West Virginia, and then there were some of us from various other places in West Virginia.

I slept hard that night, so unusual for me when traveling, and woke early to get ready for the next day. Breakfast was a real feast of eggs, bacon, biscuits, gravy, fruit and toast.

Then we were off to do a little exploring in Chattanooga. It's a beautiful, vibrant city, full of good retaurants, arts and crafts and things to do. The Tennessee River runs through the center of town and provides all kinds of recreation opportunities. We visited Coolidge Park by the riverside where the World Canine Disc Championship was going on. Fun to watch!

There were other dogs there too:

And then: an antique carousel! I love these things! I've visited two others, one in Mansfield, Ohio and the other in St. Augustine, Florida. Chattanooga's website offers this description of the carousel:

"This 1894 Dentzel carousel is a central feature in Coolidge Park. The antique carousel was restored by local master wood carver Bud Ellis and a devoted team of craftspeople and volunteers at his studio "Horsing Around" located near Chattanooga. The carousel provides a delightful old-fashioned experience with 52 whimsical hand carved animals, a calliope band organ, and ornate gold leaf benches."

Of course I had to ride, and a few other family members joined me. I mean, for $1.00, why not?

I didn't realize that when I took photos of the mirrors, I was photographing myself!

There was a pretty cool fountain too, but apparently it was already turned off for the season.

Grandson Jared and bro-in-law Jay horsing around with the lion fountain--there was a circle of various concrete animals.

Another feature I only got to see a little bit of (our time was limited) is a fantastic arched walking bridge that crosses the river. The bridge was full of people enjoying the river breezes.

The walking bridge

Along the riverbank on the opposite side I saw a large riverboat--next time, that's on my list to visit.

We were off to a tailgate party with the team parents then, lots of good food and conversation, and then it was game time. The Mocs were playing Furman this day, and easily won three games in a row, so chalked up another victory in the series.

Granddaughter Ally autographing a poster for Poppa Larry

We had discussed going out exploring again after the game, but with temps in the 90's we opted to go back to the bnb--a good decision as we then had plenty of time for visiting and catching up. We were off to bed late, after finally getting everyone in one place for a photo. The only one missing is a girlfriend, who took the photo.

It was a fine weekend, and I am so glad we were able to go. I was also glad to get home to much cooler temperatures and a nice fire in the fireplace.

I am proud of Allison, who worked hard for years to get her scholarship to  UTC, and I am happy that so many of our large family got to see her play.


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.