By: Brittney Baily

June! Can you believe we’re halfway through 2021?! We recently went on our first family vacation since 2017 to Chattanooga, Tennessee!! If you are looking for a great family road trip in 800 miles give or take from Michiana, let me give you an incredible invitation to visit one of the coolest places that brags that it is “America at Its Best!”

This trip included my family of 6, my grandparents, and my mom. A kind listener suggested we venture down South, and I’m so grateful for his recommendation!

My Grandpa recently turned 86 and I told him for his birthday we were going on a road trip!! I wanted this to be as lax and enjoyable as possible with 4 kids in the van for 8+ hours, but we also wanted to experience as much as we could, creating incredible memories!

We decided to stop halfway in Louisville and stay the night. Our hotel was fabulous and it was near the Big Four Bridge, which is beautiful as it lights up the night!

We also made a must stop at DINOSAUR WORLD! I think I was even more jazzed than the kids to see larger-than-life dinosaurs!

Located in Cave City, Kentucky, this was a great place to get energy out and where else can you take a picture with a wooly mammoth?!

We rented an incredible cabin through AirBnb in Bryant, Alabama called Paradise Pointe, and while were above the clouds, it did truly feel like a slice of Heaven! Speaking of slices, we stopped at the City Café Diner downtown Chattanooga and they are locally famous for their HUGE slices of cakes. It’s a 50’s diner setting, and Grandpa really enjoyed his chocolate milkshake.

Exploring Chattanooga was a blast as they welcome visitors to tour Lookout Mountain and Rock City. You’ve probably seen the staple red birdhouse that says “See Rock City”, and YES! DO! It was amazing! We really didn’t know what to expect, but as soon as we entered this magical forest of rocks, paths, caves, and a waterfall, it felt like a fairytale.

From Lookout Mountain, you can see seven states in one view. It was so lush and vibrant, it brought tears to my eyes!! 

Ruby Falls is in the same mountain, and while it was a little pricey, it was mind boggling to know there was an Empire State Building worth of rock above us!! Ruby Falls was named for a woman named Ruby and we thought it was too cute that OUR Ruby slept most of the way through the cave. Nigel is 3, but he LOVED exploring and couldn’t believe we were in front of a massive waterfall!! To see the wonder in their eyes, through our explorations was my favorite part.

 

If you were to ask Liam his favorite part, I would suspect he’d answer all the truckers who accepted his invitation to *honk* with his arm out the window. All in all, we had a marvelous trip, and incredible memories with our little family.

Laughing with my Grandpa around the campfire, being above the clouds in our mountain cabin, and seeing my kids explore their hearts out, made it memorable and so much fun!

If you are looking for a few days away, or have gone on your summer vacation already, let me know and I’d love to share in the memories!

Have any other trip recommendations for families? Email me at brittney@b100.com

Take the trip.  Make the memories!

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