My Nomad Journey – Chattanooga

[Weekend December 19, 2025] While staying in Atlanta, I took an opportunity to get out of Heidi’s hair for a weekend. Road trip for me, having the house to herself for a few days for her. (She didn’t ask, I offered.) Many years ago, I worked for a company based on Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is only a few hours drive from where Heidi lives. In keeping with my nomad life, I wanted to take a road trip and explore – this time, retracing some steps I hadn’t walked since 1997! And I heard that Chattanooga had a lot going on these days. So I packed a light bag and drove up to Tennessee.

Here’s what I did:

While planning the trip, I had reached out to a former coworker who lives in the area up there. I had not talked to her in years, so we made plans to meet up for coffee on my way into town. It was such a great experience to reconnect after so many years. We caught up on each others’ lives since we last connected in the socials. We both commented on how we hadn’t changed a bit. (She really has not!) After coffee, snacks and a whole lot of gossip and news, we did big hugs and headed our separate ways. It was great to reconnect and hear about all the good work she is doing in her community. This was Saturday.

I continued on into Chattanooga. I parked downtown and set out to walking around and exploring. Downtown Chattanooga reminds me a lot of Sacramento and, actually, a lot of downtowns that have redeveloped themselves these days. There are lots of things to do and see. This is driven partly by tourism and also by the fact that there is a large residential population downtown. Having visited there several times when I worked for the company in the past, it was wild to me to realize how much of it I actually did not remember. I blame the short work trips and being in my 20s. Those were also my playboy and party days, so everything was a blur.

I walked around and grabbed a bite to eat, took photos, walked along the river and poked around in different public areas. One area that I really loved was on a bluff overlooking the river. The Hunter museum commands a prime spot overlooking the river and downtown. It is a combination of old mansion and new construction and is really impressive. I didn’t have the time to go in, but continued to walk and explore. The neighborhood around the museum is a combination of old mansions and grand houses, combined with new “gentrified” apartment blocks. There were artist galleries and other eateries. Weaving through all this are walking trails that connect the river, downtown and the neighborhoods. It was a great vibe.

Back in downtown, there were lots of people visiting for the holidays and checking out the holiday decorations, etc. I considered visiting the big aquarium there the next day, but when I looked at tickets, they were about $50/person, so that wasn’t worth the spend for me. (I’ve seen many aquariums and a few of them at the top of their class, so I’m good.) In the afternoon, I went to check into my motel. I unpacked my little bag and lay down for a quick nap.

That evening, I headed out to find something to eat. Since I’d already seen downtown, I looked at the area on the north side of the river across from downtown. This old warehouse district has been redeveloped with apartments, riverside parks, and shopping areas. (Hint: this is where the Whole Foods is, so that gives you an idea of what it’s like there.) I found a Thai restaurant and had a GREAT meal with a friendly server. We talked about my travels and his dreams of doing the same. After, I walked down to the riverside and took some pictures, then over to Whole Foods for something sweet to take back to my room.

The next day, I wanted to see some other sights before heading back to Atlanta. I priced the incline railway that takes you up the side of Lookout Mountain. That was over $40! By this point, there weren’t many things left on my list that I wanted to see, so I thought I would drive up to the top of Lookout Mountain. There is a neighborhood park at the end that looks down over downtown and the city. I figured that would be free and easy. It’s not far from the motel. The mountain is actually topped with a neighborhood that has a mix of old and interesting houses. All of them expensive, of course. After winding my way up the mountain (I LOVED that, by the way), I got to the top and worked my way through the neighborhood. Wouldn’t you know, though, that when I arrived at the park, they had it walled off and “Pay Here to Enter” posted at the entrance. It was surrounded by paid parking spots. It appears that this is a popular spot and the residents caught on to the money-making opportunity. I’m sure it helps to curb traffic as well. But I was irritated and disappointed. I had no interest in paying for parking and paying to walk into a small park for a view of downtown. Free, yes. Paid, no. So I decided to hit the road. I drove to my gym for a workout and then lunch at a chain restaurant that served mediterranean food (and is reasonably healthy). From there I got back on the road and, frankly, was ready to leave.

As I was making the drive back, I thought about what else there might be to see between the two cities. I remembered that there is a mountain north of Heidi’s house and at the southern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I had wanted to go there the prior winter and it never worked out. Since it was sorta between, I decided to take the earlier exit and wind my way to the east to visit the mountain. It would only take me slightly out of the way and I could get to Heidi’s house from a different route, afterward. I was NOT disappointed. While it was winter and everything was brown, these back roads and the mountain incline roads were peaceful and beautiful. I kept the car quiet and just enjoyed the low/no traffic and narrow roads. Once I started to climb the mountain, the views were awesome. Coming from California and the western USA, I know mountains! Mount Oglethorpe is about 3,000+ feet. It’s an impressive height for this area and, since it stands almost alone, there are great views from the top. I arrived at the tippy-top, parked and walked around on the short trails that crown the peak. Funny, there was a massive cell phone tower installation at the center of it all. Makes sense, given the location. But the quiet hum of machinery was slightly audible among the total peace and quiet that the mountain offered otherwise. I really enjoyed the views and it helped reset my spirit after some of the disappointments in Chattanooga. (I’ll explain this next.)

After that, I drove back to Atlanta to rejoin Heidi and Bella and continue my December visit.

Here’s what I learned:

Have you ever had one of those experiences where you go somewhere and nothing’s wrong, no one did anything bad, the place is fine… but something is just “off” for you? That was my experience the whole time I was in Chattanooga. I felt energetically “off”. Nothing felt right and I was just itchy and uncomfortable the whole time I was there. It’s hard to explain. I was irritated by how much they charged for the touristy things. But that’s not really different from other places. At the end of the day, I chalked it up to it just not being a place for me, and that’s okay. I’m glad I decided to visit Mt. Oglethorpe on the way back. Not only was that a great visit, but it was a testament to how I can reclaim myself when things don’t go the way I want them to. It was still, overall, a good experience. And it was a great example of one of the many ways I can experience my nomad life.

Here’s what’s next:

From here it was back to Atlanta to finish out the year. You can read more about that in the post titled “Atlanta”.

As always, please interact with this post. I love getting your questions, your thoughts, and your comments. I’ll reply when I’m able.

Please enjoy yourselves in this week ahead and look for another update from me about the adventures of the journey. Be well my friends!

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