Cowboys, Chicken and Country Music ~ Day 7

[ariel2006]

Cowboys, Chicken and Country Music
Day 7 ~ Rock City and Atlanta

We were up just after 7am so Nick, Sophie and I could have one last go in the hot tub. It was our first time of going in our hot tub and our first time going in it in the day. It was a gorgeous morning, bright blue sky, no clouds, shining sun and a beautiful view over the gorgeous mountains, it was so lovely we couldn’t drag ourselves out again for ages.



We spent a while in there and then got showered and dressed. We finished packing and then loaded the car which was quite a job with all our extra bags and luggage. Nick cooked us all some pancakes and coffee for breakfast which we ate on the balcony admiring the view for one last time. We took some final pictures and Mum got todays gift, a pair of dangly earrings which again she loved.



Some final cabin photo's




Then about 10am we left the cabin, very begrudgingly. We didn’t need to check out, we just phoned the office which was handy so we were soon on the road down the mountain. We drove stopping to get a few pictures of the views over the mountains.





This was the sign on the lead up to our cabin, it made us laugh every day


We then drove out of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg and on the way to Chattanooga. The journey wasn’t that bad, I slept for a bit and then we watched Step Up and we got there before the end.
We had planned to stop over in Chattanooga to break up the journey back to Atlanta and also as we wanted to visit Rock City in Lookout Mountain. We had to go up a really long, tall road up Lookout mountain, the views were great but it was so high.



When we got to Rock City it was very pretty, all built in nice stone and very picturesque. There was a really pretty stone Starbucks with a big fireplace and flowers outside so we got some drinks and sat out there for a while. It was so hot today, the hottest it had been yet.





We then went and got our tickets and entered the first bit which had some shops and Big Rock Grill. It was about 1.30pm so we got some lunch from Big Rock Grill which was a counter service place. Sophie and I got chilli cheese fries, Dad got fries, Nick got cheese fries and onion rings and Mum had a jacket potato and chilli. It was only fast food but very nice.



We then got some water and headed into the trail. Rock City is a trail on Lookout Mountain with various points to stop along the way with things to see. It was all very pretty, all lovely stone and when we entered there was a little waterfall.

[ariel2006]

We went along the trail which was pretty straight forward and took a couple of hours.









The Swing-a-long Bridge was good but it scared Mum, the view was cool though.









We got to Lovers Leap which was the best bit and you can see across 7 states, Alabama, Georgia (which Rock City is in), Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The view was absolutely amazing but we probably couldn’t see all the states as it was quite hazy in the distance.

The view over to Lovers Leap






The view from Lovers Leap

[ariel2006]

And 7 Flags Court










We stayed there a while taking in the view and taking pictures and then looked at the flags in Seven States Flag Court. Each state you can see from there has a flag on a pole with the US flag and at the bottom of the pole is some information about the state capitol, flower, animal and other state facts, it was really cool.
Whilst we were there Sophie went on the climbing wall and got another free go for getting to the top. She really enjoyed it and loved the views from the top.





There was a cafe and a few other areas at the top and it was all really pretty with flowers everywhere.

[ariel2006]

We then walked on through Fat Mans Squeeze which was really narrow, through the beautiful rainbow tunnel and up to an observation deck which had great views of the waterfall and lovers leap.











And we saw this little guy on the way




The last part was Mother goose village and Fairyland Caverns, an underground tunnel. It started with gnomes, little diamonds in the walls and sparkly lights everywhere and then there were gnomes in various scenes. Finally there were scenes from various fairytales, first in little gaps through the rocks, lit up illuminescently and then a whole room with a big castle in the middle and various scenes from fairytales. It was very nice and very cute.

[ariel2006]

After we finished the trail we went in the shop and got some souvenirs, got some much needed frozen lemonades from Starbucks and then drove on to Atlanta. It took about 2 1/2hrs, we watched Step Up then started Step Up 2 but got there before the end. We got to Atlanta about 7pm, and checked in pretty quickly. The lobby was very nice with a nice lounge area with leather sofas and a fireplace and an area with computers and a big TV, a nice bar and restaurant and lovely pool area with sun loungers and sofas around an outside fire.









We went to our rooms, Mum's was on the 2nd floor and had a great view over the pool, ours was on the Starwood Preferred Floor so we had a few extra amenities and turndown service and a view over some of the Atlanta skyline.

[ariel2006]

We got all our stuff in from the car, Sophie had a 10 minute swim as she was desperate to get in the pool and then we went to Perimeter Mall which was about 5 minutes away. We went to the Cheesecake Factory which was a surprise for them, they loved it, especially Mum. We sat outside as it was very busy, it was pretty with all little lights in the trees and candles on the tables. Me and Mum got pomegranite margaritas which were huge and so good and Nick a Tropical Typhoon. Nick and I had Thai Lettuce Wraps to start and Dad had clam chowder, all of which was very good. For mains Mum had the Factory Combination with steak diane and shrimp scampi, Dad had the chicken costaletta, Sophie had childrens Bolognese and Nick and I had the beef short ribs. It was all so good but I couldn’t even eat half of my main so took it to go.

The thai lettuce wraps


Beef short ribs (sooooo good)


Factory combination with shrimp and steak


Chicken costaletta








After a very nice dinner all round we went back to our rooms. I gave Mum her 2nd gift of the day (I had forgotten to give her one a few days ago), this gift was a lovely little fluffy bear with card about Mum’s, he was so cute and she thought he was the cutest bear she had ever seen.





It was then time for bed .

[ali-s]

Some great views there- love the 'fat man squeeze', wonder if anyone has ever got stuck ?

[Guest]

Fantastic photos Sammie.

[Strommie]

Really interesting day. I love the photos from the Fairyland Caverns

[TrueBlue]

another great day and yet more fantastic pictures. Totally loving this trip Sammie