100513 Chattanooga Riverpark

I was supposed to be with the Plateau Chapter of Tennessee Trail Assn, for an 8-mile walk along the riverpark then, lunch in a downtown restaurant. We met up, stopped for a bathroom break a little over 1 mile out; that was the last I saw anyone. I finished the walk into downtown Chattanooga, found the restaurant where I thought they were going for lunch, did not find them and did not know the parking lot where they had left the cars for the return to Chickamauga Dam. The restaurant manager was really kind, and allowed me to look through the restaurant - twice. I did some asking, to see if there was a bus, or tram, that went to the dam - there was not. I went into another restaurant, that was not too busy. A young lady really went out of her way to help, by making phone calls and going on the Internet for a map of the bus routes. Chattanooga has two bus companies that serve the area. The only problem - no one told her the bus I needed to take did not run on Saturdays. I asked a police officer if there was any other way to get back to the dam, without having to walk back. He said I could rent a bike - which would have cost me my life, as there are no places near the dam to return the bike. Chattanooga would have charged my credit card (the only way to rent) for the cost to replace the bike. So, I walked or, should I say, hobbled. I had not eaten; my feet were extremely sore; my hip flexors were sore; I was physically challenged; but, with lots of prayer and putting one foot in front of the other, I made it back to the car. Then I had to find a gas station and drive about 2 hours home. I'm not anxious to go back but the riverpark, Great Blue Herons, downtown, amenities, etc., really make for a nice trip.