Adventure #1-- The Duck Boat

On Saturday, I did some local tourism. I've always loved the idea of local tourism. It is so neat to see what there is to do nearby. I got three groupons for the duck boat this past summer. My mom and sister were in town, and I was trying to think of fun things to do. Unfortunately, the week they were here it was hotter than the hinge of hell-- over 100º the whole week. And my sister was 7 months pregnant, and in no mood to be traipsing around in the boiling hot sun. So, I didn't use the duck boat groupons. But then, this weekend, merely 4 days before expiring, the duck boat groupons lived out their purpose.

Sunny's man-friend was in town, so we decided to ride the duck boat. 

"What is the duck boat?" you might be wondering. It's an amphibious vehicle used in WWII. So we drove to the Tennessee river, then launched into the river (at high speed). It was so freaking fun. The tour guide was hilarious, and I learned all kinds of interesting trivia about Chattanooga, the riverfront, the bridges, the little island in the river, etc. 

For instance:

• The market st. bridge opens in the middle. It was paid for in equal thirds by Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi, because this MS congressman thought that the south would rise again, and he wanted a bridge that could open to permit the giant confederate battle ships through. (This was not in 1882 or something. No, no, this was in the 1920s.)
• The fountain next to the aquarium has seven jets of water representing seven indian tribes.
• The waterfall fountain next to the aquarium is a trail of tears memorial
• The broken down nasty looking situation across from the aquarium used to be a floating restaurant. But the guy who owned it tied the ropes between it and the land too tight, so when the river flooded, the restaurant kinda sank a little. 
• A duckboat can head down a steep ramp into the river really fast.
• The number markings on the bridge supports are boat clearance markings, not water depth markings.
• The island in the river used to be a dairy farm. That all ended when a flood carried off all the cows. It was made into a dairy farm in the first place because the stuck up old rich lady who lived on the bluff hated listening to the kids who would go out to the island to engage in scandalous activities such as drinking, smooching, and skinny dipping. 
• Chattanooga was a crime filled cesspool until the aquarium was opened in 1992 and started bringing in tourism. Now only certain parts of the city are crime filled cesspools. Work in progress.
• The delta queen has a good bar on it. We should go as our next act of local tourism.
• I don't remember anything else, but I know I learned a lot more. 

Here are some fun pictures (taken by Chris and Sunny) from the duck boat:

Like two duck boats that pass in the night.
This was a duck boat we passed on our way back.

The Market St. Bridge. Whole new appreciation.
Can you imagine what it'd look like open?

Right after launch. We were really excited.

Before we boarded. No idea of the joy to come.

Overall adventure rating: 5 stars. Usually tickets cost $20, which I personally think is really steep. I'm also ridiculously cheap. Groupon tickets were $10 each, and for an hour and a half of pure awesome fun, they were so worth it.