LOOK-OUT Deaton Style

Trips on a whim are the best kind of trips.  This is the first year in a while that we've had no plans for Fall Break.  We knew with Karson playing high school volleyball this year that we wouldn't get a full week off of practice, and at our first team meeting, the coach told us we'd be playing in a tournament on Saturday (Sept. 30).  I decided to take off three days and save up my vacation time for the holidays.  I can't complain about not taking an actual vacation - this year alone, I've been to Cancun, Boston and Disney World.  The kids have been to the beach twice (and Karson got to go to Disney) - we're fortunate to get to go on vacations when many don't have that opportunity.  I do love Florida beaches in the fall though, and it makes me jealous seeing all these beach pics of friends all over social media.

   On Saturday, we headed out early to Portland High School for a long day of tournament play.  Karson's freshman team took their first loss of the year against our own SWHS JV team.  Our girls won every game in pool play, squeaked out a win in our first game of bracket play (they were a little flat and tired after lunch), and went on to play in the final four.  The game went to three sets, but our JV team beat us and went on to win the tournament.  We were pretty worn out from a long day and crashed that night.

    We woke up Sunday morning ready to do something.  I'm lazy, and the older I get, the more I have to force myself to do stuff.  I knew if we didn't do something Sunday/Monday, chances are, it wouldn't happen.  One thing I've always wanted to do and never have, is spend time in Chattanooga.  We've driven through there multiple times.  In college, I got to visit the Tennessee Aquarium.  I also remember  Matt and I stopping there on our way back from Atlanta and eating at Big River Grille.  We power packed and loaded up the kids and headed to Chattanooga. The first stop was Lookout Mountain!

  We decided to go ahead and purchase the combo tickets to all the sites (Ruby Falls, Incline Railway & Rock City).  Because we had arrived a little later in the day and they are on Eastern time, it limited how many sites we could see on Sunday.  However, the passes are valid for a year which is nice.  Our adventure started at Ruby Falls.  Our adventure started 1120 feet underground and lasted around an hour as we explored the cave, observed lots of different cave formations, and ended at the magnificent 145 foot underground waterfall.

Once we made it back through the cave and up to the ground floor again, there was a cool lookout point at the top of Ruby Falls.

Our next stop was the Incline Railway which, in my opinion, isn't worth it.  I'd heard about it and always thought it would be cool to ride up the side of a mountain (right?!?).  I wouldn't waste time on this attraction - the Hillbilly Golf (Gatlinburg) tram ride up is more fun AND you get to play mini golf at the top of the mountain.  Anywho, we gathered our kids and headed for the Incline after Ruby Falls - it was another mile or two up the mountain.  AND, you had to pay to park which I thought was odd.  We did pass by some immaculate homes though - wow, what a view!

Little did we realize is that we were at the top of the incline, and the ride was going down.  Again, a little bit of a let down.  I was thinking you would ride way up the mountain to some sort of lookout point and then ride back down - nope.  We were actually at the END point and rode down into a little touristy shopping/eating district.

We hopped right back on and rode back up to the top.  We had fun, and it wasn't that costly, but certainly wasn't worth it.

 Point Park is a memorial park on top of Lookout Mountain and was super close to where we parked so we walked over.  There was a paved walking path around the park and lots of historic monuments.  The kids were running out of steam and getting hungry so we didn't spent much time there but was definitely a nice stop.

I texted some of my reliable foodie friends to see about where to go for dinner.  The choices were Bluegrass Grille, The Blue Plate, The Brewing Company and Urban Stack.  We landed at Urban Stack, and all give it two thumbs up.  It was delicious.  We weren't sure if we were going to spend the night but had packed overnight things just in case.  Matt got on Hotwire and hit the jackpot with our hotel.  It was a Country Inn and Suites which had an indoor pool, complimentary breakfast and plenty of room for our family of five (and no one had to sleep on the air mattress). Our room was large with two living areas, two queen beds and a living room pull out sofa couch.  AND, we spent $67 total - our meal at Urban Stack cost more than that.  We brought the kids suits which they immediately put on and headed down to the indoor pool.

On Monday, the first item on the agenda was Rock City.  It was, by far, my favorite attraction (no wonder it's advertised everywhere).  Be prepared for lots of walking with the most amazing views.  This was the perfect time of the year to visit.  There are lots of paths, rock formations, plants and wildflowers, a Fairytale garden - a really cool place to visit. 

I think the highlight for the boys was going across the swing bridge - multiple times.

 One of the neatest spots is where you can actually see Seven States.  Isaac was getting hungry so we got him some pizza and stayed up at the cafe looking out.

 We thought about going to the zoo, but after all the walking and sight seeing, the kids were pooped so we hopped in the car and headed back home.  It was a fun little getaway.

I was hoping to get family pictures this week and Tuesday was the day!  My friend Melissa is always so kind and accommodating to take our pictures.  I spent the morning scrambling to find coordinating outfits before giving up and heading to the mall with Karson.  We needed to run a few important errands - like taking back her make-up which was obviously reformulated and made her skin look yellow.  I wanted to go by Bath and Body and get some of those travel sized washes/lotions for $2.50.  We popped into Old Navy and Earthbound trying to find a cute dress for Karson but had no luck.  I did find a shirt for Miles though at Old Navy.  Karson and I left and went over to Kohls - again, no luck.  Our last stop was TJ Maxx, and I found a cute top for Karson on clearance for $10.  We swang into Chick Fil A and picked up some lunch and headed home to get ready.

I'm anxious to see how the pictures turn out.  I can't believe how much the kids have grown since our last family pics.  Isaac had Haunted Lantern Tour practice Tuesday night and we went over to Matt's parents house for fish fry.

PSA...come and get spooked by Isaac and the rest of the railyard workers at the Historic L&N Train Depot during the month of October.  Click here for details on Facebook!

Today was my last day off - boooooo!  It was a gorgeous day and like any good parents would do, we forced our children out of the house.  They would prefer to stay inside and rot all day long on their devices.  Matt and I took a walk early this morning, Miles and I got in a game of ping pong, and around lunchtime, we took off for Cummins Falls.  I've seen social media posts about this place and have been wanting to visit.  It's breathtaking and not too far from Bowling Green!

We got to the park around 1:45 and hiked down to the falls.  The kids and Matt are equipped with water shoes, chacos, etc., but I wasn't.  I wore my tennis shoes down and changed into flip flops (it's all I had).  I wouldn't recommend wearing flops, but they worked fine and I never fell (whew).  If I went again though, I would want water shoes or something a little more sturdy.

 It's a little bit of a walk (through the stream) to get to the falls, but the kids enjoyed it and found some crawfish along the way.  We probably packed way too much - I'm used to packing for the beach- lots of towels, snacks, drinks, etc.  for the haul upstream.  Next time, we'll go lighter.  Once we got to the falls, I found a nice large rock to perch on with our of our things.

Isaac and Matt were the brave souls who landed on the actual falls.  Isaac decided to grab a life jacket which made me fell a little bit better.  He's a little more "daring" than I prefer.

 We stayed at the park around 3 hours and trekked back to the car.  It was the perfect amount of time for a quick day trip.  The kids wanted Wendy's on the way home, and Matt and I held out for some Chuy's.  I love my family of five.  Our kids are growing up quickly, and it's easy during the day-to-day grind to remember what truly matters - Matt and the kids!  Very thankful today and for the three days I got to spend with them this week.  LOVE the month of October!