Chatting Up Chattanooga

I spent a day and a half in Chattanooga on business and found the city to be very manageable. Manageability is not necessarily my first choice in travel. But for the limited time I was there it was very handy. I managed to do and see a lot.

After landing at the adorably named CHA airport, I saw signs informing me that Chattanooga has the fastest internet connection speeds in the world. And is the home to the International Towing and Recovery Museum. These things confirmed my reason for my visit.  I checked into the highly serviceable Chattanooga Marriott Downtown. La Concierge directed me to Warehouse Row for shopping and Main Street for the arts district.

I had barely left the hotel when I saw a sign for the Skin and Brow Room. I brake for estheticians.  Here I found a soothing environment, of good scents. No one was at the desk because our proprietor Karen can’t be two places at once and was in the back doing a facial. I got one too. It was divine. No chatter, pure relaxation, transformation of skin into velvet and mind into mush. 

Chattanooga Shoe Shoe

One of my favorite features of travel is the ability to shop thoughtfully without worrying about getting your kids into college or getting the dry cleaning picked up. Devoid of such demands, I can concentrate. And there I found Embellish Shoes to enable me. A luxurious designer shoe store where you can install yourself on a throne-like velvet chair, and have two smart Southern ladies wait on you hand and foot. Literally.  

The little Southern city appears to be on pace with the "full millennial" trend. Bike lanes and bike shares abound.  At the Juice Bar and Kitchen they will pulverize a pineapple and throw in a little ginger; there is kale, there are artists, and independently owned shops, and public art.

The next day I ran north to discover yet another "revived riverfront renaissance" district.  And as a runner was glad not to have to stop dead at the riverbanks, instead encountering the Walnut Street Bridge, the world's longest pedestrian bridge. Midway across the majestic and grand river I got the Tennessee tingle, a variation of runners' high.

Yes, Chattanooga has the ubiquitous southern charm, friendliness and an accent that bespeaks NIGHS-ness.  When I had to cancel an appointment though, I did note extended vowels on the “Yooooo’re welcome.”

And there is no rush there. In fact, while waiting for service in a restaurant I thought for a moment I was in Europe.  Where the idea is not so much rushing to get your food and get out as it is lingering at the table together. But I was alone. And I had to do a lot of windmilling with my arms to get the check. 

Chattanooga Cheap Cheap

I was hard pressed to spend money there.  My facial was $85 instead of the $185 I could have easily plunked down at Elizabeth Arden.  At Embellish I realized that they were essentially giving the shoes away.  That I could buy a pair of Thierry Rabotin pumps priced at $430 for $130; and Audley's for $180.  In Washington DC these shoes are marked and sold at full price. But as my friend from Arkansas told me “they don’t know that there.”  I had room service and could only get the total over $20 by adding a dessert. At breakfast the hotel only wanted to charge me $4.00 for granola with fresh fruit and a carafe of coffee. 

Chattanooga is small and quiet and cute. Go see the choo-choo. Snap up some bargains.  And see more of the state whose very name is a cry for attention, Tennessee.