Today, after a VERY slow start, we went to downtown Chattanooga.  I didn’t know what to expect from this place.  Various travel sites that I had visited mentioned very few highlights to see.  We didn’t need to see the inside of the #1 attraction, the aquarium, but we could walk around the exterior (on one side was a “trail of tears” memorial walkway).  The #2 site was an iron bridge and the #3 site was a national cemetery.  Another top site was the Hunter Museum and the nearby “art district.”  Fortunately, all the but the cemetery were in easy walking distance, so we decided to do a little walking, and then we would drive to the cemetery.

What the travel sites failed to mention was how clean the downtown area was and how stunning the architecture was.  This place was beautiful!

The Hunter Museum of art has the largest collection of American art in the South.  The paintings run from 1750 – 2010.  Though there were few “major” pieces of art, the collection as a whole was quite stunning.  We all had a good time.  The current installation about slaves crossing the Tennessee River was especially nice.  Just outside the Hunter Museum was a glass walkway/bridge that led to the iron bridge.  Beyond the iron bridge was the trail of tears monument which led to the riverfront park.  From the river park was a walking/biking trail that led back to the museum and the art district.  I was really a nice walk.  There were sculptures along the way.  Rather than hitting the art district (due to time constraints), we decided to drive to the cemetery and call it a day.  The cemetery was a nice experience – all those grave markers lined-up like a military parade.  In the evening, we met up with more relatives at one of the better steakhouses I have been to.