Forward To a New Year

The glass bridge illuminated at night. I thought this a fitting photo as we travel from 2011 to 2012. Happy New Year to you all!

Sun Dial

This child's shadow (when it is sunny) shows what time it is. The months are marked on the ground around the circle, so it should be accurate throughout the year. We visited on a cloudy day, so I couldn't tell.

Musical Instrument

This is an unusual musical instrument. The bulbs are like those found on the bike horn I had as a child. They each make different notes when squeezed.

Green Roof

Some of the roof on top of the Creative Discovery Museum is green space and caters to the bees that call it home. There is a hive attached to one window where children can look inside and see the bees working.

Spiral Staircase

This is the view inside the tower on the Creative Discovery Museum.

All the Children

This colorful ball is made from children's handprints and hangs in the Creative Discovery Museum. I am traveling this week and scheduling some posts of a recent trip to the museum while I am gone. Hopefully it works or it will be a few days before I put anything new up here.

Happy Christmas 2011

But the angel said to them, " Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2:10-11

Jack's Alley

Jack's Alley, and all of downtown, was unusually deserted on Friday night. Judging by the traffic, I think everyone was out at the mall.

Happy Hanukkah

I never know whether to spell it Hanukkah or Chanukah. The placard on this menorah downtown goes with the latter.

Christmas Market

The convention center hosted a Christmas Market over several weekends. Local artisans set up booths to sell everything from candles, to stained glass, to local honey. This photo shows the length of the front corridor.

Intermission

We went to hear the Chattanooga Symphony and Orchestra along with the Metropolitan Bells perform a special holiday concert last night.

Alice in Wonderland

Another window display at EPB.

A Child's Christmas

Christmas is so much better when you can experience it through the eyes of a child. I miss having "little ones" around this time of year.

Peter Pan

The windows of the EPB (Electric Power Board) are decorated for Christmas each year. Peter Pan was my favorite.

Glass Bridge

This glass bridge crosses over Riverview Drive, connecting the Hunter Museum to Walnut Street. The weak winter sun doesn't do it justice.

Blue Water

The water in this creek has a milky, blue appearance. I looked on the internet to see what could cause this and it seems to come from sediments suspended in the water. That would make sense with all the runoff from our recent rains.

High Water

Even with dams to control flooding, the Tennessee River is high right now. Yesterday the TVA announced that due to the extra water we will have a 3.1% decrease in our electricity rates in January! Compare to this picture of the same fishing pier I took in October.

Exposed

When I first saw this statue, it struck me that she was so out-of-place, set against the dull gray building with barred windows in the background. Last week I was back in the same location, without a camera, and saw that someone has painted the outlines of several ladies along the side of the building. Now she isn't so lonely.

Steps

I love these steps that are also a handicap ramp. They are interesting to look at, as well as being completely functional.

The Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge

links downtown to the North Shore over the Tennessee River.

Weather Watcher

This colorful guy sits below the Hunter Museum and was created by artist Jim Collins.

Night Lights

This is the view of the city from Missionary Ridge. At the top of the "light line" and toward the right you can see the diagonal lines of the aquarium.

Dome Building

The buildings downtown have been outlined in lights for Christmas.

Bike Share

The city is installing Bike Share stations downtown. There will be 300 bikes available to rent by the hour or you can get a year membership.

More Yummy Treats

Another place to go for a sweet snack is The Ice Cream Show on Walnut Street. You pick the flavor of ice cream and what you want mixed in and they make it for you. My favorite is chocolate with espresso and almonds in a waffle cone!

The Hot Chocolatier

They have all kinds of chocolate goodies here. You can watch them make the chocolate through a huge "window wall". Located on Main Street.

Are You Looking At Me?

This deer was not shy about having a picture taken.

Solitary Walk

Enjoying the wonderful fall weather at the Enterprise South Nature Preserve.

Colorful Train

behind the Choo Choo Hotel. You can climb inside and look around.

Mistletoe

Now that the trees have dropped their leaves, you can see the mistletoe that is usually hidden.

December Theme Day: Action

Rowers during the Head of the Hooch held in Chattanooga in November 2011.
City Daily Photo has a theme day each month. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Fountain

in the courtyard behind the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel.

The Rains Came

and flooded out several area streets. East Brainerd Road was still passable.
*My daughter took this photo while I was driving.

I...

I find all these banners interesting. Not sure of the story behind it. A bit of inspiration on an otherwise bleak building. Click on the image to enlarge to read all the messages more easily.

Sunset

over Nickajack Lake.

Christmas Carriage

The holiday season has officially begun. A carriage ride is a nice break from all the holiday shopping.

Happy Thanksgiving

I have seen some wild turkeys around lately, but never when I had a camera. So instead here is a peaceful stream to enjoy for Thanksgiving.

White Bridge

in Heritage Park.

Choo Choo Time

is Eastern Standard Time. A few miles away is Central Time. The state of Tennessee is split between the two time zones.

Playful

This colorful mosaic is on a column at the Battle Academy, which is a K-5 magnet school.

Chattanooga Happens Downtown

There are variations of these signs up all around the downtown area. Locals who love downtown were invited to be photographed for the project this summer. I am not sure why the faces are blanked out. Maybe the message they are conveying is:  "You'll lose yourself downtown".

A Little Green

While most of the trees are now bare, the grass has faded to brown, and the landscape is fairly bland, there are some patches of color if you look for them. I'm sure that in the next week I'll start to see more and more colors as people put out their Christmas lights.

A Dream

It is good to have a dream. This mural is located along Martin Luther King Boulevard downtown.

Before They Fell

The leaves around the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) were gorgeous. Then the wind and rain came yesterday and wiped the trees bare.

A Determined Tree

I came across this building being overtaken by a tree.

To Park or Not to Park

This is the Volunteer Garage on Georgia Street. You can volunteer to park here or go somewhere else. Actually, Tennessee is the "Volunteer State" and I'm sure the garage name refers to this, not to your parking preferences. I think it is an interesting old building.

Train Art

I've been on a train jag lately. Here is the view across the street from the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel. Interesting, but it looks like the building needs to be fixed up or torn down. I'm not sure what the story is behind it.

Choo Choo

The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel is located in the old Terminal Station. You can book a room in an actual train car, if you want. I read up on the history and found that it was designed by Don Barber of New York. He had won a contest sponsored by the Beaux Arts Institute in Paris to design the best plan for a railway station for a large city. The terminal, completed in 1909, represents his winning entry, with some changes to the interior.

Incline Railway

This is one of the big tourist draws in town. It is the steepest passenger railway incline in the world.

Umbrella Rock

Years ago people would pose on this rock feature to get their photograph made. Here is an example of a group photo I found. Now there is not a marker and you can only come as close as this fence.