Woohoo! Bonus tourism!

Well, five minutes away from St. Louis, I realized that meant the Gateway Arch! Well, of course we had to stop...especially since we had never been to Missouri or Illinois.

We only had about half an hour in the city, but it was fun. Parking was a bit tricky, but I'm glad we did it. The arch is so cool! It's big, and it's pretty. Really, really big.

It's practically impossible to get a good, complete photo of it, but I still took several interesting photos. Then I bought a postcard, so I would have a "perfect" photo for the scrapbook. But in some ways, I like my photos better! For instance, I took one that makes it look like the symbol for Starfleet. Perfect geek shot. :)

But then we had to get back on the road. Illinois, then Kentucky, then Tennessee, then HOME.

Did I mention we arranged everything so we can have dinner in Chattanooga, at Luipi's Pizza? (It's only one of the best pizza places ever!) It will be our shortest visit in Chattanooga in history!

New art goodies

While in Chattanooga, I visited a small stamp & scrap convention. I am so glad I went! I found the most amazing, beautiful product: metallic powder gouache! It can be mixed in with other water-soluble media, especially watercolors, to add a bit of shimmer and sparkle. But it is most amazing when used straight: mixed with water, it creates a lush, creamy metallic paint! (It looks like liquid metal when wet.)

I purchased mine from Cherry Pie Art Stamps. The owner, Marina, is very nice. I'm going to ask if I can post a photo or two of her work with it. Until then, here's the link to a card from her gallery that uses it. (It's the gold border, and the gold speckling.)

I can't wait to play with it myself! Eventually, I'll create something I'm proud of, and then I will upload some scans.

Cherry Pie also has beautiful, mostly Old World-European rubber stamps. Unfortunately, I spent all my money on the paint, some Twinkling H2Os, and a couple of tools, so the stamps will have to wait.

Xandria

Keeping cool in Chattanooga

I really will be done with Chattanooga soon, I promise. But there's a few things that are just too fun to leave out.

You can't help but notice that Chattanooga is hot and humid–especially this summer. But the city has a great way for you to keep cool: fountains!

Aquarium plaza itself is full of fun water features, including the "Aquarium Plaza Stream." The plaza is nicely designed, with plenty of seating, some shaded areas, and a fountain that looks like it has burst through the pavement. The stream areas are very accessible, and great for those who wish to preserve a bit of dignity (or their clothes) while getting their feet wet.

From the plaza, take the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge across the river to the riverfront, unless you're afraid of heights. It's the longest pedestrian bridge in the world, and gives a great view of the Tennessee River. Be warned–it is high! (If you look at the linked photo, it's the one on the right.) But it's the easiest way to reach my other favorite place…


…Which would be Coolidge Park, which is a great way to cool off if you don't mind throwing your dignity to the winds. With a wide expanse of gorgeous green grass surrounded by trees, it's also a great place for a picnic (or nap). Its main feature is a beautifully restored carousel–which is located in a nice, cool, enclosed pavillion, by the way. My favorite part, though, was the fountain. It's the type that has recently become popular, with the jets recessed to create a wide open flat area you can walk through. But this fountain has a little something extra: eight carousel animal sculptures that shoot water! They are perfect for climbing, too, which just adds to the fun.

What to eat in Chattanooga...

As promised (notice how I pretend people will read this), here's more on Chattanooga. This time, it's food.

If you like pizza, you have to visit Lupi's. This is probably the best pizza I have ever had. It's just two blocks down Broad Street from Aquarium Plaza, on the left. (The front is painted purple; you'll know it when you see it.) You'll pass a Mellow Mushroom almost immediately–don't stop! Lupi's is way better, and I'm not the only one who thinks so! All the food is of the highest quality, and the crust is as close to perfect as it can possibly get. Their selection of toppings is also impressive.



Obviously Broad and Market Street are heavily travelled by tourists (though Lupi's is quite popular with locals; most tourists seem to choose Mellow Mushroom). A quick trip across the river, however, allows you to escape some of the bustle. The Riverfront district is more residential; it's slower, a little more eclectic, with more "mom and pop" businesses. Several good restaurants face Coolidge Park, which is directly across the river from Aquarium Plaza.

We chose Mudpie Restaurant & Coffeehouse, a family business and a referral from a local. It was definitely the right choice! The menu was much broader than that of the typical coffehouse, with vegetarian options. (My brother is a "veggiesaurus", so I always check.) Again, excellent quality. The burritos are great, and very reasonably priced since they come with a side. My husband had a most unusual grilled cheese sandwich: wheat bread with cheddar, mozzarella, and feta. Very yummy! The coffee was great, too: we had a mocha, made with Ghiradelli dark chocolate (yum) and a single shot of espresso, topped with whipped cream. (You could get it with a double or triple shot, but we aren't that brave!) It was perfect, and huge!

The "Monkey Hips and Rice" is supposed to be popular, but unfortunately none of us ordered it. (I was really hoping someone would, if just for the name!) If anyone tries it, post your opinion! (Note: contains no actual monkey…)

Later I'll talk about other fun stuff in Chattanooga.

I love the Tennessee Aquarium!

Well,I just came back from a great visit to the Tennessee Aquarium. If you're in the Southeast and have never been, you really should go! The admission is quite reasonable—only $17.95 for an adult—and it's well worth the time and money. (I'll definitely go again, even though we'll soon have our own aquarium in Atlanta.)

Your aquarium ticket covers admission to TWO buildings: River Journey, which traces the Tennessee River from its origins in the mountains all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, and Ocean Journey, which has fewer exhibits but two big sharks as the main attraction.

If you can, be in River Journey around 1 pm. That's when they feed the fish in the Gulf of Mexico exhibit (the really, really, big, multi-story tank in the center of the aquarium). That includes the enormous sea turtle, the rays, and the small sharks. It's fun to watch!

My favorite permanent exhibit is the river otters. Unfortunately, one of the two original otters died about four months ago; the remaining otter was sleeping when we visited. Hopefully they will add more otters soon!

One surprise: the seahorse exhibit! When I was there two years ago, the exhibit was due to end soon, but apparently they changed their mind. I took tons of photos of the seahorses and seadragons. The seadragons are proof that dragons DO exist–they're just a bit smaller than we thought, and don't breathe fire!

I'll post my opinions on the rest of Chattanooga later.

Going on a treasure hunt...

My husband gave me a Garmin iQue last year as a combination graduation (Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art, btw) and birthday gift. I've always loved scavenger hunts, so I was really eager to try geocaching. Well, somehow, I have never gotten around to actually trying it! I can't believe it, considering how much I love parks and day hikes.

I'm going up to Chattanooga to visit the aquarium next weekend, and it just seems like a perfect opportunity to do some caching. But my whole family (mom, sister, brother, husband) is going with me, so I better know what I'm doing.

This weekend, I'm going! I went online at lunch and found out there are dozens of them in my area of suburban Atlanta! In fact, I was able to figure out the general location of three in my area strictly from the description. How can it get any easier?

I hope to get several done this weekend, at least those three. I can't wait!

By the way, if you're interested in geocaching, scavenger hunts, or rubber stamps, check out Letterboxing North America! Letterboxing combines all of these in a really fun, unique way. The cache contains a rubber stamp and notebook; you bring your own stamp, a notebook, and an ink pad. You stamp the logbook, add the date, and then stamp your book with the stamp in the cache.

Most of these hunts don't use GPS, but I have seen letterbox entries at geocaching, too. Now I have a motivation to hurry up and carve the "personal" stamp I've been meaning to create for a year!