Respecting Social Distancing in Chattanooga, TN

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer. As more states emerge from the lockdown, people are flocking to the beaches, water parks, swimming pools, anywhere they can gather and have a party.

Can you blame them? They had already missed Easter, Mother's Day and graduation celebrations, so they are dying to get out.

But please! Respect the guidelines for social distancing and wear a mask if going to crowded places!  The last thing we need is a second wave of the virus, like the health pundits are predicting. Until we get a vaccine, we have got to be careful and stay safe when venturing out.

We too went out to celebrate our anniversary this weekend with dinner and a walk in downtown Chattanooga. As we were heading out, we noticed our marina neighbors were gearing up for their signature barbecue parties.

Dry rubbed smoked ribs and chicken wings

We met a couple of friends for an early dinner at Tony’s Pasta Shop & Trattoria. This place is normally packed, but not today. We got a table right away. The staff took our temperatures before letting us in. We were surprised they had closed the outside seating area, but happy to know that the restaurant had removed some tables to comply with the social distancing guidelines. All the servers were wearing masks and gloves as well. Hubby ordered his usual Low Country Linguine with crawfish in Alfredo sauce, and I had grilled salmon over spinach salad. Fabulous food, as always!

After dinner, we explored the garden and the sculptures. This Arts Bluff district captivated us since day one. It's one of the reasons we've been in Chattanooga as long as we have. See the video below that we took back in 2007.

Back Inn Café - Food Network's Rachel Ray was here!

Desserts at Rembrandt's

Walking underneath Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge

Zig zag path down to the waterfront

Hunter Museum of American Art

High water at the waterfront after a week of heavy rains

The Coronavirus pandemic has changed our lives forever. Three major music festivals which normally kick off in June have been changed. The CMA Music Festival in Nashville is cancelled. Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in  Manchester has been rescheduled to September. Chattanooga is still pondering what to do with its Riverbend Music Festival.

It's our civic duty to slow the spread of COVID-19. So whatever you do, please be cautious, and try to avoid large gatherings during this stressful time.


This post is shared on Through My Lens, Our World Tuesday and Image-in-ing and MyCorner of the World.

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