Wednesday, March 21, 2007

See Ruby Falls

Yep. We shelled out the big bucks for a children's lantern tour through Chattanooga's Ruby Falls. Our son is obsessed with all things geological, and we knew he would love it. Especially since he wore a miner's hat with light!After we survived the drive up Lookout Mountain, the guide took our small group to an alternate entrance. We had an extra hour of cave time in the dimly lit portion. Did I mention I was wearing the baby in a front carrier? Ouch. I couldn't complain, because my husband was too busy trying not to scrape his head on the stalagtites!After a long and beautiful journey, we emerged into the Ruby Falls gift shop. The lantern tour included a bag of mine fill, mixed with bits of precious gem stones. Children pan for gems in the water sluice outside. It was so fun! Ruby Falls also built a lovely scenic picnic deck and playground just outside the gift shop.

My review: Despite the tacky tourist overtones, the underground experience and natural WOW factor made Ruby Falls worth the ticket. Once, anyway!

6 comments:

TheNormalMiddle said...

Sometimes you gotta drop the cash for memories, especially if your son loves it :)

This would be us dropping the $$$ to visit a real castle, since my girls are convinced they are from royalty (not of the Christian kind either, the ones with jewels and fortunes!)

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the vacation updates! I feel like I'm right there along with you :)

Shelley (stuck in Iowa.... where we still have SNOW!)

Indie Pereira said...

What kind of carrier do you have? I have a mei tai from babyhawk.com and I'm telling you that it is worth every single dollar. I can carry the baby all day comfortably and I have carried my almost four year old who is closer to the size of a normal 5 year old on my back for as far as half a mile without pain. And I have a history of lower back problems. For those of you who have never met me before I'm a scrawny little thing. I promise I don't get a commission from baby hawk but I should considering how many people I've convinced to buy them. Everyone else has been happy too. They come in so many fun designs and are custom made. I have no trouble breastfeeding in mine when baby is on the front.

Lori - Queen of Dirty Laundry said...

Wow...Lookout Mountain and Ruby Falls! We went there on vacation when I was just a kid, over 30 years ago.

We jokingly say that my dad took us to every cavern and cave in the south that year, but you know what? We still remember it!

Anonymous said...

We followed the link you gave for Lookout Falls, and it looks pretty neat. We go through the Chatanooga area when we go south, so I think we'll try this next time. But my 5 year old has been most impressed not with this natural wonder that you posted, but with the Lego/K'Nex bench you posted from the children's museum!
Susan

dj said...

do you know if the jems you have are real