Tennessee Aquarium

There is nothing better than a rainy day to visit the Tennessee Aquarium.  The aquarium in Chattanooga, TN includes two buildings, River Journey and Ocean Journey.  We love both but our favorite building is the Ocean Journey. This area includes the penguins, butterflies and sharks!

The touch tank includes rays and sometimes sharks.

My daughter had to work up her nerve.

My favorite area is the butterfly garden.

The penguins will play with you.

After the butterfly garden, the viewing windows around the ocean tank is a favorite area. It includes sharks, a variety of fish, rays and two sea turtles. One of which is a rescued turtle. It’s back flippers were damaged in what they think was a boating accident. They have dive shows daily where you can ask experts about the inhabitants.

Sharks proudly show their teeth.

Two sea turtles live here.

Interactive computers are fun for the kids.

Shark food!

Before you exit, the path takes you through the underwater cavern. There are several windows and bubbles to sit in and view the fish from a different perspective.

Moon jellies.

Love that you can just sit and watch.

This bubble makes you feel like a fish!

We enjoyed our rainy day visit. Don’t miss the water play areas outside at the aquarium plaza. A great place to cool off rain or shine!

Cool off in the fountains outside.

Rainy day at Tennessee Aquarium.

I Want to Fly…

My husband fell in love with this area when he discovered hang gliding many years ago.  He learned how to fly at Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding.  I just love to watch and keep my feet on the ground.

Ready

Taking off

Soaring

My husband doesn’t fly anymore, but the kids and I will come watch the others fly.  The launch area is the perfect place to watch the sunset over Lookout and Sand Mountains.  And it didn’t disappoint this evening!

about to set

view north toward Chattanooga

last one down

Spring Break at the Beach

Orange Beach, AL is a beautiful white sand beach on the Gulf Coast located between Gulf Shores, AL and Perdido Key and Pensacola, FL about 6 1/2 hours from Chattanooga, TN.  My kids were on Spring Break a couple weeks ago so we jumped at the chance for some beach time.  This was our first visit to Orange Beach/ Gulf Shores area.  We normally spend time at Panama City Beach, FL with extended family in the summer.  I was very happy with Orange Beach.  I loved the family atmosphere and it was much quieter and less crowded than PCB.

The beach area is also more “hardpacked” so it’s easier to walk long distances.  We had a good time looking for shells.

Playing in the tide pools.

Gotta get our toes in the sand.

Love this beach!

We only had 3-4 days to spend here so I opted to stay at a hotel instead of a condo or house.  The Hampton Inn and Suites Orange Beach is fairly new and clean and right on the beach.  They also had a heated indoor/outdoor pool which was a must with the cooler weather and they offered free breakfast every morning.

We took advantage of our location and did some sight-seeing around the area.  We spent a day exploring the USS Alabama Battleship in Mobile, AL and on the way home, made a stop at Alligator Alley.  I’m planning on posting these trips later, so keep checking!

sunrise Orange Beach, AL

sunset Orange Beach, AL

For now I’ll leave you with a sunrise and sunset from beautiful Orange Beach, AL.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color

Joining the weekly photo challenge this week and my favorite color would have to be the color of sunset or sunrise.

sunrise Orange Beach, AL

cloudy sunrise Orange Beach, AL

sunset Orange Beach, AL (instagram)

No two sunrises or sunsets are the same.  Each one is amazing in a different way.

These were taken during our Spring Break to Orange Beach, AL.  This was our first visit to this part of the Gulf Coast and we loved it. We will be back!

Check out the Daily Post for more inspiration.

Spring Fever!

The weather this weekend was fabulous so we decided to take a road trip to see the daffodils at Gibbs Gardens in Ballground, GA about a 2 hour drive south of Chattanooga, TN.

I have been wanting to see the gardens since reading an article about them in Southern Living.  Jim Gibbs and family started planting daffodil bulbs in 1987 and over the years the blossoms have grown to more than 16 million!

About to walk up daffodil hill.

At the top of daffodil hill.

The walk up “daffodil hill” was well worth it although a bit strenuous.  My kids were “done” by the time we reached the top.  We then walked to the Manor House where there is also a great view of the mountains.

Manor House

No more walking!

There are several easy paths to stroll that take you through different gardens, over bridges, and ponds. There are benches and chairs scattered along the paths and in quiet areas for resting.  My kids enjoyed sitting by the frog pond to rest.  There were lots of frogs croaking away and apparently “mating”. Ha!

The frog pond was a favorite.

Overall I loved the gardens and would come back in other seasons to see more.  Next time though, I will leave the kids at home.  This place is a photographers paradise!

Camelias are still in bloom.

Beautiful paths to walk.

S wanting to see the frogs.

Phoneography Challenge: My Neighborhood

This morning I had planned on taking my “big girl” camera out for some scenic shots of my neighborhood. I took one picture and my battery died! So thankful for my iPhone. Your best camera is the one you have with you and I was still able to capture some beautiful scenery. Check out The Daily Post for the challenge.

These were taken this morning on a quiet scenic road in Northwest Georgia just outside Chattanooga, TN with my iPhone 4s and edited with Snapseed.

Remembering Destin

Destin Sunrise

We were fortunate to be able to spend our Thanksgiving break last year in Destin, Florida.  One whole week at the Gulf and the weather could not have been more perfect!  Not hot, not too cold and no humidity.  I could live here.

S and I had to check out the beach early the morning after we arrived. What a beautiful sunrise we had. Enjoy.

On our way to the beach!

About to test the water with the toes.

Gazing at the Gulf.

I could sit here all day.