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Seaside, Florida

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Have you ever been to the town of Seaside? It’s located along the Florida Panhandle, near Santa Rosa Beach. I was clearing out photos on my phone to open up more iCloud storage (does anyone else have that issue?) and came across these pictures, taken this spring during our annual beach trip.

Seaside is a quaint, idyllic community that is very popular among tourists. For some reason, it is especially popular among Nashville residents–it seems like everyone we know has been. If you visit during peak vacation season, finding parking is a challenge. Someday it would be fun to stay in the town, which has a large square across the street from the beach and a number of restaurants and shops. Everything is within walking distance, and the streets are lined with beautiful shade trees. However, the cost of vacation homes in Seaside is out of our price range, so we stay in a more affordable area about 15 minutes away.

Some of the buildings look like they belong in a European village.

On the day we visited this spring, there was a baby shower happening in one of the side areas of the town square.

The town also has a quaint wedding chapel.

Many of the vacation homes have signs that share the owners’ names and where they live. If I owned a beach house, I’m not sure I would want to display that information for all to see, but I suppose it speaks to how tight-knit the community is.

Riding the Incline Railway

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The Incline Railway is a popular Chattanooga tourist destination. We rode for the first time this spring and really enjoyed the unique experience. Guests board a slanted train car at the bottom of iconic Lookout Mountain and take a 10-minute ride to the top. The track reaches a 72.7% grade, making it one of the steepest passenger railways in the world, according to the attraction’s website. 

The ride was beautiful. If you know much about Mr. Handsome and me, we always make a point of learning the history of the places we visit. We were fascinated to discover that the current track has been in operation since 1895. There had been an older track that opened in 1887 and ran until 1899. That means that when Teddy Roosevelt visited the Incline in 1905, during the middle of his presidency, he rode the very same track that we did. 

The cars on the Incline Railway have been swapped out multiple times over its long history. The current ones were installed just before the pandemic, in early 2020.  The first cars, which were wooden, were pulled by cables manufactured by the John A. Roebling’s Sons Company, the New Jersey company famous for making the Brooklyn Bridge cables.

At the top of the Incline Railway sits a station with beautiful views of Chattanooga.


Civil War Battles of Chattanooga

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For people interested in Civil War history, Chattanooga is a great place to visit because it is the location of several important battles. There is a large historical site on top of Lookout Mountain, called Point Park Battlefield, where you can look out over the town of Chattanooga and visualize how these battles took place.

Chattanooga was a strategic location during the Civil War because it was a vital railroad hub and was positioned along a river. Abraham Lincoln wanted to take Chattanooga and hold it as a base of operations for further attacks into the Confederate South. Multiple battles were fought in and around Chattanooga, including the Battle of Chickamauga, Siege of Chattanooga, Battle of Orchard Knob, Battle of Lookout Mountain, and Battle of Missionary Ridge.

Of course, entire books could be written about each of these battles, but in case you don’t have time for that, I will give a short synopsis of each.

The the Battle of Chickamauga took place in September 1863. Confederate forces defeated Union forces and pushed them into Chattanooga. The Siege of Chattanooga followed, during which the Confederates occupied the high ground surrounding the city and blocked supplies and food from reaching the Union army.

In Late October, the Union managed to use Lookout Valley as a supply line to transport food into the city. Then on November 23rd, the Union troops stormed and captured Orchard Knob, a hill east of their defense line. The Battle of Lookout Mountain took place the next day. Union forces drove the Confederates from their positions on Lookout Mountain. Because the mountain was partially covered in fog, the battle was called the “Battle Above The Clouds.”

During the Battle of Missionary Ridge on November 25th, the Union broke through the seemingly impenetrable Confederate units and broke the siege.

Chattanooga ultimately became a supply and communications base for Sherman’s March, which decimated the South and was a pivotal campaign for the Civil War Union victory.

Point Park Battlefield on Lookout Mountain provides expansive views of Chattanooga, as you can see from the pictures that I took while we were there.

We Were Tourist Trapped

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Last month, we spent three days in one of our favorite places, the Florida Panhandle. Wanting to take our kids to do something fun and unique, we decided to explore Gator Beach. We had expected to pay, but the website said it was free, which was a nice surprise. We piled into the mini van for the 30-minute drive.

When we arrived, we knew right away that it was a tourist trap. The advertisement had made it sound like it was a sizeable alligator park with a small restaurant, but in fact it was a restaurant with a small gator section. Since we had done the drive, we decided to stay and make the best of it.

One of the attractions was a small pond with a bunch of two and three-year-old alligators that were all about two feet long. There was a raised walkway around the pond with fences so the kids could see the alligators up close. There was also a tank filled with three and four-foot-long alligators. In another area, there were replicas of larger alligators and giant snakes that are found in Florida. And boy does Florida have some large wildlife! You could pay to take a picture with a poor little alligator with its mouth taped shut, but we decided to pass on that.

While we were there, a wildlife expert brought out one of those baby alligators. He shared some interesting facts and allowed everyone to pet it.

What is the corniest tourist trap that you have ever visited?

Best Restaurants in Chattanooga

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As some of you know, Mr. Handsome and I enjoy trying local restaurants when we travel. When we spent one night in Chattanooga earlier this spring, we were eager to try out some of the best-rated eateries in the area. We ate at State of Confusion and River Street Deli and had dessert from The Hot Chocolatier and Clumpies.

State of Confusion has a lively atmosphere and offers both indoor and outdoor seating. I had the plancha chicken–seared pineapple marinated chicken with cojita cheese, grilled vegetables, and yellow rice.

Mr. Handsome tried a small, wood fired steak, and Little Buddy had the kids mac n cheese. All our meals had unique flavors and were quite delicious, and our server was kind and attentive.

River Street Deli was incredible. I love a good deli, and Mr. Handsome loves meat, so it was the perfect place for both of us. This particular deli made us feel like we had been transported to the iconic Katz’s Delicatessen in New York City. It was wonderfully authentic, and I was impressed that the owner took everyone’s order himself (in his thick NYC accent). The Philly Reuben was a real show-stopper.

After seeing Daddy take a picture of his Reuben, Little Buddy wanted to snap one of his grilled cheese.

Living in Nashville, we know a lot of people who went to UTC (University of Tennessee at Chattanooga), and they all told us the same thing: you have to have ice cream from Clumpies. So we did. It’s a local business that was founded in 1999 by a gentleman with strong roots in Chattanooga, whose family began Brock Candy Company in 1906. Clumpies ice cream is homemade and definitely worth trying.

During our trip, we walked past The Hot Chocolatier, also a locally-owned establishment. Mr. Handsome took one look at their fresh truffles and just had to sample them. As expected, they were fantastic. When we first went in, Mr. Handsome was ready to grab six salted caramels (his favorite), but I insisted that we try some more unique flavors. The following day, after we had eaten them all, he said, “I’m so glad you encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone.”

Tennessee Aquarium

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Since moving to Nashville eight years ago, we have done three overnights in Chattanooga. It’s only a two-hour drive, and it’s a fun city to explore.

Our first trek was a surprise trip that Mr. Handsome planned for our first Valentine’s Day as a married couple. We stayed at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo Hotel, and although the converted Pullman railroad car was a bit drafty, we had a wonderful time.

Our second time in Chattanooga was in fall 2021 with almost-two-year-old Little Buddy. We listened to the suggestions of the many “See Rock City” advertisements along I-24 and were in awe of the natural beauty.

Our most recent trip was last month, with both kids. We rode the Incline Railway, toured a historical site, and stopped by the Tennessee Aquarium.

Located in the heart of Downtown Chattanooga, the Tennessee Aquarium is easy to access and within walking distance of a variety of restaurants. The setup makes it really simple to visit with children or large groups.

The exhibits are split up into two separate buildings–the River Journey and the Ocean Journey. You take an elevator to the top level of each and then leisurely make your way along a one-way route, which is a series of ramps and small rooms, that leads you back to the entrance. This layout makes it easy to keep track of your kids and to stay with the other members of your group.

Other aquariums we have been to consist of a number of large rooms where everyone goes their own direction, making it difficult to stick by the people you came with. When you’re in a huge area surrounded by 300 other people, moving from tank to tank, the experience is just not as enjoyable. The setup of the Tennessee Aquarium allows you to feel more relaxed and spend more time taking in the exhibits.

Do you enjoy aquariums? Which ones have you been to? In addition to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, we have also visited the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

World’s Largest Cast Iron Skillet

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From Mr. Handsome…

Well we can cross that off the list–we have officially seen the world’s largest cast iron skillet. I hope everyone can appreciate this monumental occasion. I know Little Buddy was impressed. He has decided he wants to be the biggest and strongest kid in the world, so naturally he should see the biggest skillet.

We stopped at the Lodge Museum of Cast Iron in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, to witness this triumph of human ingenuity. The skillet measures 18 feet across, weighs 14,360 pounds, and could hypothetically cook about 650 eggs at a time. With the price of eggs right now, that would be an expensive meal!

Have you visited any similar tourist traps, like the worlds largest ball of string, largest ketchup bottle, etc? The whole concept is very goofy, but let’s face it, when you’re driving down the road and see the sign, you sure want to stop just to “say you saw it.”

Grayton Beach State Park

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When we went to Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, for our end-of-summer trip, we visited Grayton Beach State Park for the first time. It was golden hour, and there was a rainstorm on the horizon, so I was able to capture some rather impressive photos on my not-so-new iPhone. We walked along a short trail and saw dunes, forests, and coastal dune lakes.

When we came upon a sign that warned of bears, I was surprised and couldn’t believe it to be true. But apparently there are black bears in the Florida Panhandle, and sightings are not uncommon. Bears live throughout the state of Florida, and the southern portion of the Panhandle is one of a few more concentrated areas of habitation. For fun, feel free to share any bear sighting stories you might have.

Mr. H Visits Niagara Falls

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A few weeks ago, Mr. Handsome had to fly to upstate New York for a continuing education class. I considered coming along with the kids, but there were no direct flights from Nashville, so we decided it would be too complicated. Instead, we had my mother-in-law stay with us. She always spoils us, so we definitely had more fun that Mr. Handsome did at his course.

It was a quick trip, and Mr. H was busy pretty much every moment, but I told him that he had to make time to visit Niagara Falls. I went to Niagara as a child, but he had never been.

So when the course was finished at 8:00pm, he set out. He called me while he was eating street food beside the falls. Apparently Niagara sets off fireworks every night at 10pm, so he was looking forward to those. And I must say that his three-year-old smart phone did a pretty good job at capturing the beauty.

I had told Mr. Handsome before he left that it’s a known fact that the Canadian side of Niagara Falls has better views, but he had decided that crossing the boarder for only a couple hours would be more of a hassle than it was worth (which was probably true). He told me afterwards that as he was looking at the falls from the American side, all he could think about was the fact that the view would be even better from across the river.

Eden Gardens State Park

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While we were enjoying our picnic lunch at Camp Helen State Park, a friendly park ranger stopped by for a chat. “Have you been to Eden Gardens State Park?” he asked. “It’s just up the road and well worth the trip. It’s the most photographed park in Florida.”

Intrigued, we decided to stop by. The clouds were almost gone, but we wanted to wait a little longer before going to the beach so the temperature could get back up to 85.

Eden Gardens was definitely worth the visit. It was gorgeous, quiet, and serene. The property features a historic home, built in the 1890s by William Henry Wesley. The Wesley family operated a saw mill and lumber company on the property until after World War I. They used Tucker Bayou, an offshoot of Choctawhatchee Bay (say that five times fast), to ship their goods.

The house was restored and gardens designed by Lois Maxon, who purchased the estate in 1963. She generously donated it to the state of Florida just a few years later.

Fun fact: The 1972 horror film “Frogs” was filmed at the estate and starred Ray Milland, Joan Van Ark, and Sam Elliot. At the time of the filming, there was concern among local residents that the exotic reptiles from South America that were used in the movie would make Eden Gardens their permanent home.