of course, the Choo-Choo is Chattanooga's claim to fame. it's always been a railroading town, and the Choo-Choo itself ran from 1906 till 1970. now it's a Holiday Inn. go figure. anyway, it's still a really cool thing to see. you can see the sign from all over town. the hotel lobby, which once was the ticket office, has a beautiful original rotunda. Outside is even better, with the beautiful gardens which produce heirloom roses for gardens all over the Southeast. my favorite part is the koi pond, which for some reason i was unable to interest Munchkin in ("look, munchkin, teh FISHIES!" "...." ).
then of course the train of song and legend: the engine the trolley you can actually have dinner in one of the original dining cars (nothing could be finer!)
there's some little shops and stuff there too; i took Munchkin and BETTY for some ice cream, then we rode the kiddie rides, had BETTY's fortune told by scary Estrella, got one of those flattened pennies with a picture of the Choo-Choo on it (it's in the scrapbook), and had her love fortune (she's the "life of the party", though the light didn't light up).
after we got home and put Munchkin to bed, BETTY and i went out for some grown-up entertainment. sadly, my camera batteries died when i got there, and i only got one picture (this one, of my friend Monica about to take a shot). but it was great fun, and i was able to test my liver and find that, yes, it does just what it's supposed to do, but that doesn't mean i'm not going to feel like crap in the morning.
my friend Debbie was bartending, and she invented a shot just for BETTY called "Le Fantastique" - only thing is, after three of them, i can't remember what went in it. 
i packed BETTY and her entourage up this morning and shipped it all off to SLiK. T_T for myself, i kept the Big O toy, the SG bracelet, and a pair of 3D glasses. i really wanted to keep the Japan Day t-shirt but it's way too big for me, so i know i'd end up only wearing it to bed, and i thought someone else should have it if it fits them better. here's what i put into the box:
a Ricky Ricotta graphic novel for kids
two postcards: Incline and ITRM
a feathery ducky gift bag
a State of Tennessee magnet
a digital pedometer (in case BETTY needs some exercise)
a train whistle
the dealer tag from my new car
a pre-she-ate-cha bumper sticker
statuette of St. Vivian, patron saint of hangovers ("eases the pain!" )
a deck of Tarot cards
a picture frame that says "Betty"
a hillbilly shot glass
a Chattanooga keychain
a bottle-opener ring (only fits big fingers)
also, some brochures and stuff.
so that's it, that's my week with BETTY. sure do miss that gal already. i had a wee tear in my eye when UPS came to pick her up this morning. i hope she has as much fun with SLiK as she had with us this week!
Originally posted by venus_df
No comments:
Post a Comment