Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Downtown Chattanooga, What a Wonderful Easter Sunday

Copyright 2014, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

(This post is a bit graphics heavy, of course, most of my posts are.)

We spent Easter Sunday afternoon wandering around a bit in the downtown area of Chattanooga.  It was a great day, low key, and full of surprises.

We parked very near the Walnut Street Bridge.  We took our time walking from the south side to the north side, crossing the Tennessee River.  The bridge was well used, we saw walkers, baby strollers and families, bikers, people walking dogs.  All enjoying the beautiful weather, each other and the bridge.


From the bridge you can see the Hunter Museum of American Art.


Turning and looking north west, there is the Market Street Bridge and the Delta Queen.  The Delta Queen, we understood, was undergoing rehab and was not open.


Turning and looking pretty much due west.  The Market Street Bridge and beyond.  The building with the glass roof peaks is the Tennessee Aquarium, a fresh water aquarium.  We did not visit, so, it is on the bucket list for a return visit to Chattanooga.


As we come close to the northern side of the bridge we look down and see the most delightful park, and that blue roof.  This is Coolidge Park, with a interactive water fountain and the 1894 Dentzel carousel.  I shared the carousel with you at the end of April.


Man, always finds great places to have lunch, he spied this one from the bridge.  He was right, it was fab, and the beer was pretty good too!


After lunch we wandered down to Coolidge Park where I had the opportunity to get close and personal with some beautiful pink dogwoods.




Here is the Walnut Bridge from Coolidge Park.  Did I tell you it is reported to be the world’s largest pedestrian bridge?  I have no idea if that is tallest, longest or maybe widest??  Sure is pretty, no matter how "largest" is defined.


We wandered around, talked to some family back home on the cell, people watched, enjoyed the park.  Soon it was time to cross the Tennessee River again.  By the time we reached the southern side of the bridge, Man was looking for ice cream.  First I saw this sculpture by Louise Peterson of Guffey, Colorado, it is called "High Four", it is a bronze.


The ice cream was over priced and just marginally delish, our treat devoured, it was time to cross over to the Hunter Museum. This walking bridge goes over several lanes of traffic.  There is a sign nearby that says:  "Careful, Glass Bridge, Slippery When Wet".  Goodness.

OKKK, let's go.


Oh, MY!  Yes, it is glass.  Yes, you can see right through it. There was a portion in the middle that you could not see through.  Carol walked on that part.  The rest was just a bit too creepy for me.


We did not go into the museum, it was late in the afternoon, we were tired and decided to just stay outside and enjoy the art in the fresh air.

This is called "Free Money", a bronze by Tom Otterness.  The figures represent every day working people dancing on a sack of money.  Tom uses humor to comment on social issues.


This is "Pregnant Whale", by Alexander Calder, it is painted steel plate.  The signage indicated it had been freshly repainted, rehabbed if you will.

This is part (the pitcher is missing in this photograph) of "Full Count" by John Dreyfuss, a bronze casting with brown patina.


Man and I had a delightful afternoon in Chattanooga, people watching, food, a bit of beer, carousel, walking bridge, art work, and so much more.  And, to think, Man and I had never stopped in Chattanooga before, and now, we are asking ourselves, why not??  Given the opportunity, we will gladly stop again.  We still have a bucket list!



*Man was holding the camera for me, while I took a few photos of Coolige park on the iPad.  Lookie what I found when I downloaded the camera photos.  I was really concentrating, eh??  Thinking I should have had on the pink bling hat, it would have matched better than the blue, just sayin - - or maybe the white hat - - must be color conscious - -



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