Tagganooda choo choo

Day one, Gainesville to Chattanooga (or Tagganooda, as Ceci called it), went surprisingly smoothly.  The kids were well occupied between the new Bolt dvd (thanks Frantz family) and the endless treats (thanks Nana).  I mean, I would even go as far to say that yesterday's drive could possibly be the smoothest we have ever had in the 6 years we have been parents.  There was little to no crying, only one stop, and really only two movies were watched.  It was amazing.  I attribute it to the new car, but only because I want to justify buying it since we have yet to sell the van (any takers?).  It was very easy, though, and we made great time.  One unfortunate pastime Malcolm has taken up is chucking cars/ trains at the driver's head.  We have yet to find a way to navigate this situation as it seems to come without warning.   

who, me?

So here we are at the famed Chattanooga Choo Choo, which everyone here refers to as "the Choo Choo."   As in,"Do you want to go down and see the Choo Choo?" and  "Does this shuttle take us to the Choo Choo?" It is strange to hear grown people saying such juvenile things to eachother.

After the Choo Choo, we took a shuttle down to the aquarium.  We opted not to visit the aquarium (cost prohibitive) and just splashed around in the extensive water feature outside:

The kids got soaked, and we were all hungry, so we took the shuttle back to the Choo Choo and went to this place called The Terminal for lunch.  They brew their own beer there.  It is excellent.  I had the Belgian White and a super tasty burger with mushrooms.  And did I mention the beer was excellent?  Here is Sarah, our hostess, and by hostess, I mean the person whose house we are staying at, not the restaurant hostess, staring at the light fixture.  The beer was that good... 

Here Henry is lamenting the fact that he didn't find anything in his price range at the souvenir shop.  I had said, "Why don't you just wait until we get to North Dakota?"  Then I heard the people behind us chuckle.  What, is that not something you hear every day?