-I'm in a destination that's a perfect blend of city and country, where the quest for the outdoors shows itself in the most surprising and delightful ways.
It's a city that sits along a river in the foothills of the Appalachians, which inspires the people here to get out in nature, as well as protect and restore it.
It was once a famous transportation hub that's found a new energy and steadfast pace.
[ Grunts ] I'm in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
[ Upbeat tune plays ] I'm Samantha Brown, and I've traveled all over this world.
And I'm always looking to find the destinations, the experiences, and, most importantly, the people who make us feel like we're really a part of a place.
That's why I have a love of travel and why these are my places to love.
Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" is made possible by... ♪ ♪ ♪ -The world is full of breathtaking destinations and experiences.
AAA wants to help turn vacation dreams into reality.
Wherever you want to go, AAA has services to help you before, during, and after your trip.
Learn more at AAA.com/LIVETV.
-The endless deserts, canyons, and stunning vistas between Denver and Moab deserve to be traveled.
Rocky Mountaineer.
Proud sponsor of "Places to Love."
-Exploring the world for over 150 years.
Guests cruise to nearly 400 ports of call around the globe, exploring over 100 countries.
Live music at sea fills each evening.
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Offering mid-sized ship experiences with handcrafted itineraries, personal service, and connections to the destinations guests visit.
-My morning in Chattanooga begins with a stroll along the Tennessee River with a good friend and professional traveler.
What are the things you do that I love in your blog?
You always do 7 top things to do using a wheelchair.
And what we're doing right now is number 1.
-Yeah.
The Tennessee Riverwalk is just such a gorgeous area, as you can see the river, you can see boats going by.
You can see the bridges, the Walnut Street Bridge right there.
And the riverwalk is actually over 20 miles long.
I'm Cory Lee.
I'm an accessible travel writer and content creator and I've visited all seven continents and 39 countries and I call Chattanooga home.
-A zigzagging, accessible pathway from the lower Riverwalk to the Arts District is another reason why Cory loves this city.
-When I go to different destinations and do speeches, like the number one thing I'm always sure to mention is that people with disabilities spend over $58 billion a year -[ Laughing ] Yeah.
-just on travel.
-Yes.
-And so, when I say that, the eyes in the room widen -and it's like the first time they've ever realized, you know, that people with disabilities are actually traveling.
So, this is in the Arts District, which is one of my personal favorite areas in Chattanooga.
There's the Hunter Museum of Art, which is world-class art.
-[ Laughs ] -You've got a lot of great coffee shops and restaurants in this area and it's right on the river as well, so.
I always discover something new in this area, too.
Yeah.
The fact that you can just wander around outside and see art, but then also... -Uh-huh.
-you know, head inside to the museum and see thousands of pieces, it's just such a spectacular experience.
-Cory is giving me a nice overview of Chattanooga, starting on the South Side, then heading over the Walnut Street Bridge towards the North Shore.
You know, I've always deeply admired your work, Cory, and I follow you because it gives such a valuable perspective that is so sorely needed.
I would imagine your advice goes beyond the wheelchair user as well.
-Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, a lot of families, you know, that have strollers, they also find valuable input.
Older people want, you know, easier access and an easier way to find things.
And I think there's value, not only for wheelchair users, but for just humans, in general.
-[ Laughs ] You know, being down the river, coming up to the Arts District, going across a bridge -- I would never second-guess that I could be here.
But your information really informs the person who absolutely does have to wonder, "Is this going to be accessible to me?
-Oh, yeah.
-Is this experience for me?"
-Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, when you're traveling as a wheelchair user, there's definitely a lot of work that goes into it with the planning.
But I think, you know, as long as you stay focused and, you know, know what's waiting for you on the other end, then the journey is always worth it.
-And waiting for us on the other end is the North Shore, a neighborhood Cory knows I love, with its shops and small galleries featuring local artists.
-Travel is, I think, never going to be perfect for anyone, whether you have a disability or you're ablebodied, and so, there's still a magic in travel, no matter what your abilities are, I think.
-Chattanooga is in the Tennessee River Valley and just 10 minutes from downtown is the Reflection Riding Arboretum, which contains a diverse ecosystem, from creek to wetlands, to native meadows, to the hardwood forests of Lookout Mountain.
And I'll be exploring it in one of these.
This is an entirely electric Swincar.
So, these cars are extremely responsive and it's just like a little bit on the throttle, which is just my thumb, and we go very fast and then you start to turn and you realize that it's all-wheel drive.
Like each tire has its own little articulated arm.
All the better to have some real fun.
[ Laughing ] A riding is an 18th-century term, meaning a pleasant path through nature, which this certainly is.
You're not hearing a loud engine or smelling the exhaust.
It's just beauty.
You're in nature and you can actually hear it.
We stopped to see some of the arboretum's conservation work up close, starting with an area that has recently undergone a prescribed burn.
-There are certain species that do require fire disturbance for germination.
It definitely keeps invasive species down and provides nutrients to that soil -- all of the things that are burnt.
But also, with underbrush in the forest, that one lightning strike that decides to set a forest fire, things will get way out of hand -I see.
-really quickly.
-Looking at these trees, they have burn marks on the side.
Are they going to be okay?
-Oh, they will be just fine.
Trees can compartmentalize damage pretty amazingly.
-Uh-huh?
-Yes.
-Next up, Haley wanted to introduce me to an icon -- the American chestnut.
I've never seen an American chestnut.
-Not too long ago they would've made up about a quarter to a half of the forest here.
-Agh!
And then the blight came.
-Around the turn of the century, it was a fungal blight that came from Japan -Mm-hmm.
-and, within about 60 years, almost the entire population was completely decimated.
-So, what's interesting about being an arboretum is it's more than just taking sort of a cool electronic drive through it.
A lot of research is being done here, so, where is science going with the American chestnut?
-They're trying to isolate the genes that are going to have that resistance to the blight.
We have hybridized these trees with a Chinese chestnut, so, about 1/16 of the genetic makeup of this tree will be Chinese chestnut, yes.
-Ah!
Okay.
You can see the blight already ravaging this tree.
Anything above it is healthy.
But the blight will move its way up until it destroys the tree, a process that could take 15 to 30 years, unless... That little strain of Chinese chestnut will enable the American chestnut to survive and live on.
We hope.
-That's the idea.
-[ Laughing ] Okay.
-Conservation works.
You just have to be willing to put in the time.
-From one area of conservation to another.
I have spent all my time in aquariums that really focus on the ocean, but we're really missing the big picture by not understanding freshwater, right?
-That's the whole purpose of this aquarium and why it was built, in the first place, was to shed light on the freshwater.
-For a lot of us, we don't have access to an ocean.
-No.
-But most people have access to a river.
-Exactly.
And, if you think about it, these rivers, they're going to end up in the ocean, so, it's all connected.
I am Natali Rodgers and I'm the director of learning and evaluation here at the Tennessee Aquarium.
I oversee the Education Department here.
We do programs on-site here, from camps to preschool, to homeschool, to outreach programs that we do out in the community to schools as well.
I was a sixth grader coming in here and mesmerized by what I saw, literally frozen in spot, to the point that my teacher was calling to me, unbeknownst to me.
-[ Laughs ] -Because I was just in awe, standing here, just with my mouth wide open, friends pulling me, trying to tug me away.
I had no words.
I still am at a loss for words sometimes.
But it really started it all for me, career-wise.
It's pretty phenomenal.
-Gosh!
You've got some big guys in there!
Is that a catfish?
-Yes.
So, down there, you're looking at one of our lake sturgeons.
-Whoa!
I never knew anything that massive lived in -- in a river.
-Can reach up to about 6 to 8 feet, so, yes.
And there's other fish that get bigger than that that's found in this river.
-Oh, my gosh!
Oh, my gosh!
What's the guy that's opening up his mouth?
He's hysterical.
-Paddlefish!
-He looks like he's yawning.
-He's a paddlefish.
-It's a paddlefish.
Not yawning.
He is filter feeding right now.
-[ Laughing ] Okay.
-That's how he's getting his nourishment -Wow!
-and his nutrients.
-The museum even has its own unique nursery.
For turtles.
-There's about 360 species.
More than half of them are endangered or have some kind of threats to them.
-Bill Hughes is the senior herpetologist and is known for successfully breeding some of the most threatened and endangered species of turtles.
You have the largest collection of turtles in North America -On display.
-On display.
-On display in North America, at an institution.
-So, are all the turtles from the United States?
-We have African.
We have lots of Asian animals.
Some South American, North America.
-And, at the Delta River exhibit, you get to meet the locals.
This one is beautiful.
What type of turtle is this?
-This is a gopher tortoise.
-A gopher tortoise.
Okay.
-Gopher tortoise.
And then who's this little guy?
-This is Boxer, an eastern box turtle.
-May I touch him?
-You can!
-Oh, my gosh.
And this is what's so wonderful about this aquarium, is that it gives every-- Well, hey, I've got another hand, too, for you as well.
It gives everyone, from, especially, young kids to adults the ability to really interact -Right.
-with turtles.
So, I see sort of a swamp-like environment behind us.
Does this give us an idea of the vital role that turtles play in the environment?
-It absolutely does.
So, these guys, specifically, our gopher tortoises are what we call an ecosystem engineer.
They're burrowing.
They're going to go down on the ground.
They're going to dig burrow systems 10, 20, 30 feet long.
300, 400 different species are going to live with them.
-Can we learn from something that has survived dinosaur-- the dinosaur age and has been here all this -- all this while?
-We should all have a shell.
-[ Laughing ] A shell.
The shell.
[ Upbeat jazz plays ] Chattanooga was made famous by the "Choo Choo" song by Glenn Miller.
In 1982, this city was still the transportation hub of the South, with 50 trains departing a day.
The Chattanooga Choo Choo complex is now a hotel with shops and restaurants, where the sound of a train means it's time to catch a cocktail.
And, when it comes to cocktails, Stir is my final destination because of one thing -- ice.
You've got crushed.
You've got shaved.
You've got a sphere.
You've got the long rod.
I love ice and, for me, ice is always the most important part of the drink.
-You know, I would agree.
You'll go to a fancy restaurant and they'll have this beautiful, artisanally cut ice, but chances are, it's not made in that restaurant.
-And so yours is.
-Yes.
Yes, it is.
Over the course of, you know, three or four days, we will freeze a 300-pound block of ice.
We take it and we use, pretty much, just the giant meat saw you'd find in a butcher shop and we cut it up into 1x1s, 2x2s, 3x3s, 4x4 ice cubes that are meant for shaved ice, to give that really slushy -Yes, of course!
-kind of feel.
-That ice will be used in Stir's signature cocktails, that are highly crafted.
Some are aged in oak barrels, others go on draft.
Bitters and syrups are all housemade and you can choose your ice, but sometimes the ice chooses you.
You may think watching ice being made is like watching paint dry.
But I would beg to differ.
Oh, my gosh.
It's stunning.
-So a sphere actually has less surface area than a cube.
So it's gonna water down your drink less, thus giving you that great flavor for a longer period of time.
-Cheers.
Thanks, Cole.
I'll be here all night.
-Hope so.
-[ Laughs ] -I started frying fish when I was 12 years old, and I learned a lot about cooking from my mother.
I would cook fish for the family.
The family enjoyed my fish.
We opened up a restaurant in 2013, and now Uncle Larry's is known worldwide now.
-I've been looking forward to this fish for a long time, because this -- your fish has a reputation.
So what type of fish am I eating right now?
-Catfish.
-This is catfish.
-Catfish is my top seller.
-Oh, my God.
This is so good.
-That -- That'll smack you around a little bit.
[ Both laugh ] -When do you put the seasoning on?
Do you put it on the -- the fresh fish itself?
-I have the seasoning on the fresh fish itself.
-Okay.
So it's cornmeal crust and fresh fish.
-I have a mixture of meals in the cornmeal.
-Okay.
-Can't tell you that, though.
-Ohh.
-But it's a mixture.
I like the way that the meal sticks to the fish.
-Mm-hmm.
-A lot of people don't know how to fry fish that way.
You got to have your fish cold and wet.
-Cold and wet.
-Cold and wet.
That makes your meal stick to it.
My fish lays flat, and it's crunchy.
-I've had a lot of fried seafood.
You live on the coast, you get fried seafood.
But the fish fry, it's different.
There's -- There's a culture behind it, a coming together of enjoying a fish fry that's a little -- So in this fish fry, there's that sort of fellowship.
-That's what I love.
See, my mother used to have family dinners all the time.
-Mm-hmm.
-People come here, and they can sit here and feel like they're in grandma's kitchen or something.
-Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
-It's just so down-to-earth.
-And that's just as important as the meal itself, the feeling of this restaurant when you walk in.
-That's exactly right.
That's exactly right.
-And you're a part of that, too.
-Oh, yeah, and, see, I like the diversity of my restaurant.
You know, it's just not one culture.
Many cultures of people come here from all over the world, actually.
-Where's the furthest someone has traveled?
-China.
-China.
Did they like it?
-Yeah.
Something, isn't it?
[ Chuckles ] -And with big expansion plans in the works, even more people will be able to enjoy fish so good, it'll smack you.
-[ Grunts ] [ Thud ] When your surrounding environment looks like this, you'll develop a strong community centered around this.
High Point Climbing has 25,000 square feet of climbing space, from 45-foot walls to a kids' zone.
So one thing I've always wanted to try was bouldering.
And what's great about being here is I get to try a sport that I would probably never try out in nature, right, because it's kind of scary and really intimidating.
But here, well, I'm gonna take advantage of the mat.
-Mm-hmm.
So, you want to start where these are.
So you want to start where these two are.
You want to squat down really low.
You're gonna probably put your left foot over here, and then you can kind of pull onto the wall.
There you go.
Really use those legs to push through.
-Oh, see, how do you use your legs?
[ Laughs ] -Nice job.
Climbing is 90% failing.
So that's actually what we do is we actually fall 90% of the time.
And you most of the time only ascend the boulder one time.
Then you move on to the next thing.
-It's funny when I signed the waiver, that's not what they said.
[ Both laugh ] -There you go.
-Rock climbs are changed to keep it fresh and build in experiences you would find in nature so people feel the thrill of rock climbing.
-Right, move your hand over a little bit more.
-And then I'm going for that one.
-Yes, ma'am.
-This boulder is replicated after a famous rock formation called Mushroom Rock... That's the hard one, right?
-Yeah, you're gonna go with your left hand up.
-...bringing the outside in.
-Oh, you're getting close.
-I was much better at eating fried catfish.
-Good effort.
-I tell you, that was -- that was a great feeling.
Even getting past that challenge for me was -- that one challenge was awesome.
-I do have one more that I would really like to see you try, though.
-[ Grunts ] High Point does offer one of the most incredible views of downtown, with a little effort, of course.
-If you're doing something that's right at the limit of what your physical ability is, then a lot of it, you actually do go up and practice certain sections.
Kind of like dance moves, you know.
You, like, know exactly what you're doing.
So when you come up to it fresh, you know what to do whenever you get up there.
Yep.
Then you're gonna go for the next one up there.
-[ Grunts ] -Oh.
You can start -- -I think that's all I can do.
With the aquarium in the background, I'm reminded something about turtles.
But right now I could use a little roadside assistance.
I love museums that really dial down on something very specific.
But the Towing Museum takes the cake.
Why is there a museum dedicated to towing in Chattanooga?
-The Towing Museum is in Chattanooga because the tow truck was invented in Chattanooga.
-It was?
-It was.
In 1916, a gentleman named Ernest Holmes had a mechanic shop, and he would get called out because cars were on the scene more and he'd have to hire six to eight men, pull them up off the side of the mountain, and he would go back to his mechanic shop and think there had to be a better way.
-That's a huge piece of information that I would imagine even locals don't know about their city.
-You are correct.
They do not know that.
-Gosh, the choo-choo gets all the credit for Chattanooga.
-They do.
They do.
-And so this is Ernest Holmes' first truck or a replica of?
-This is a replica of the first truck.
He had it patented in 1916.
And now it is worldwide.
As you stroll through, you start to see the apparatus on the back of the truck starts to really become a little more sophisticated for the age.
-It hasn't changed greatly, has that?
-Basically, it is the same premise.
-This is what we don't even think about, right?
We just think that we're gonna be able to call someone.
-Yes.
We've all been there on the side of a road.
-Yes, we have.
-But something else this museum really informs you about is the dangers of these jobs.
-Yes.
It is one of the world's most dangerous jobs.
There's approximately one tow truck driver killed every 6 to 10 days in the United States.
-Oh, my gosh.
-And the majority of them are from people that aren't paying attention.
They're out on the side of the road with vehicles that don't slow down and move over.
So we do have a place to honor these drivers when they're killed in the line of service.
And the thing that it does for the families, really, is helps them to know that their loved one is never forgotten.
-You also have some other surprises here at the museum.
-Yes, we do -- the world's fastest tow truck, which happens to be a record that is still unbroken.
-[ Laughs ] -It ran at 109.330 miles per hour on the Talladega Speedway.
We are the proud owners of this truck.
This is the Cony, made in Japan.
-Hey, little lady, you need a tow.
Do you have a favorite?
-The military truck right here, I think, is my favorite.
It's amazing to look at it and realize that this particular truck was left on the beaches of Normandy.
There were a few men here in the United States that knew about it.
So they went to France.
They talked to the government.
It was given back to them, but it was in pieces.
They shipped it back to the U.S., and then they restored it.
And we have it here today.
It's a very special truck, knowing that it served in our country.
-Mm-hmm.
-Here on top of Lookout Mountain is a landscape and geological formations unlike anything else in the country and in the world.
Over millions of years, water in the Tennessee River has shaped this area and shaped this mountain in particular into something that is beautiful and breathtaking and has brought people for thousands of years.
I'm Doug Chapin.
I'm the fourth-generation owner here of Rock City Gardens.
-There are so many things that Rock City kind of gave us.
It was one of the first marketing campaigns we know in this country.
-Yeah, in the late '30s, at one point, having over 900 barns throughout the Southeast and the Midwest painted all over telling people to come to Rock City.
-That's incredible.
-And it worked.
-So one of the most famous tourist attractions in three states you grew up in.
This was your backyard.
-It was actually just the original garden of Garnet and Frieda, my great-great-aunt and uncle.
They developed the neighborhood, and she was an amazing gardener and artist and pretty incredible woman.
And then they opened it to the public about 90 years ago.
-It's so funny, when I said I was coming to Chattanooga, everyone was like, "Oh, you got to go see Rock City."
It really is this confluence of nature, of history and total nostalgia.
-Yeah, there is a little bit of enchantment and playfulness when you are here.
It's surprises and delights people and it has for the past 90 years.
-And you just got to see it.
-Exactly.
You got to see it.
That's why all the signs just said, "See Rock City."
We never tried to explain what it was.
You just had to come see it.
-[ Laughs ] -Chattanooga is such a spectacular destination because whether, you know, you came to Chattanooga 10 years ago or five years ago or you're coming for the first time, there's always something new to enjoy here in Chattanooga.
-No matter your age, you can come here and enjoy what Chattanooga has to offer.
I love being able to connect and engage with our visitors, and I think that's so important because if we don't connect and engage with them, what is the purpose of us being here?
-What I like about Chattanooga is the mountains and how laid-back people are.
We try to just have a family-style environment to make people feel at home.
-We have the name the Scenic City for a reason.
It is a beautiful place, full of adventure, full of natural beauty, a great place with friendly people that anyone would want to visit.
-When a small city delivers big, from food and drink, conservation, and adventure to its people, that is when we share a love of travel.
And that's why Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a place to love.
For more information about this and other episodes, destination guides, or links to follow me on social media, log on to placestolove.com.
Samantha Brown's "Places to Love" was made possible by... -Exploring the world for over 150 years.
Guests cruise to nearly 400 ports of call around the globe, exploring over 100 countries.
Live music at sea fills each evening.
Dining venues feature selections from a Culinary Council of chefs.
Offering mid-sized ship experiences with handcrafted itineraries, personal service, and connections to the destinations guests visit.
-The endless deserts, canyons, and stunning vistas between Denver and Moab deserve to be traveled.
Rocky Mountaineer.
Proud sponsor of "Places to Love."
-The world is full of breathtaking destinations and experiences.
AAA wants to help turn vacation dreams into reality.
Wherever you want to go, AAA has services to help you before, during, and after your trip.
Learn more at AAA.com/LIVETV.
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