After leaving Texas, our first stop was New Orleans. We of course enjoyed some delicious food (Green Goddess), drinks, and street music, then crashed with some friends. We knew we were coming back to NOLA later so it was just a brief visit this time around. We also made a one night stop in Birmingham to visit with some of Laura’s cousins and rest our heads before finally arriving in Chattanooga where Laura grew up.  It was New Years Eve and we had a fair amount to celebrate.  2016 had been an epic year and 2017 was shaping up to be equally so.

We posted up in Chattanooga for the entire month of January. You would think that there’d be plenty of time to enjoy the many sites that have garnered Chattanooga Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Live status but between the weather and timing we somehow managed to not really do much adventuring in town.  There was the odd bike ride along the Tennessee Riverwalk or night out at Tremont Tavern or Flying Squirrel but we mostly spent this time visiting with Laura’s family, eating, relaxing, and going to a hot yoga class here and there. Laura’s parents and two of her sisters and their families live there, along with a whole bunch of extended family members. This meant lots of babysitting and kid stuff, lots of hanging out, lots of food and drinks. The last week or so in Chattanooga was spent finalizing the livability of the truck camper for “Pickupandwent” adventures. We ended our Chattanooga time with Laura’s dad’s 70th birthday party held at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club, where Laura spent much of her childhood. The party was a smashing success and a great way to end our family time. The truck was ready, we were all packed up and we’d spent some QT with family; Now –  Wagons South!