Chattanooga, TN – October 11, 2008

The fall 2008 sculling head races were taking place here today. They finished just to the right of our boat. It was fascinating to watch all the people complete in this sport. All ages were represented. There were youth up to men and women looking to be in their
30–40’s. There were also several categories, from 1 person up to 8 person skulls plus coxswain.
A head race is a time trial rowing typically held in the fall or early spring. In this form of racing, competitors race against the clock and the crew with the fastest time is deemed to be the winner. Racing usually takes place in different categories of boat class and abilities. The length of these races is usually between 3 km and 6 km. Boats are started at 10 to 15 second intervals. To minimize collisions, Boats are usually seeded so that the fastest start first.
After watching the races for awhile, we got on the free trolley and rode it to the Chattanooga Choo Choo. The Chattanooga Choo Choo is a Holiday Inn Hotel that started out in 1909 as a Railroad Terminal Station. It closed in 1970 and in 1989 was converted into a vacation complex. The old terminal is now the lobby of the hotel. In addition to regular rooms, you can also stay in converted railroad cars. This is also the site of the Model Railroad Museum.

We had lunch, then decided to see a movie. We picked Body of Lies with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. We enjoyed the movie.

Keely and Beth walked around the art district for a while and visited an art gallery. We are all impressed with how beautifully the Chattanooga waterfront has been developed. It’s the center of tourism for the city with the aquarium and all the waterfront events that are planned. Restaurants are all over and there is ample parking. There are many other attractions here, some of which we will see Sunday and Monday. Chattanooga would be a wonderful family vacation spot.

Keely enjoying her vacation.