Chattanooga's scenic and historic attractions are gaining national attention this weekend with the airing of the travel series "RV There Yet?" on the Discovery Channel and other streaming television services.
Kevin and Patrice McCabe brought their Winnebago RV to Harrison Bay State Park last June and filmed four days of their experiences visiting everything from historic Point Park and the Incline Railroad to Adventure Sports Innovation and the nature park at the Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center.
Patrice McCabe said she was impressed by the creativity and diversity of Chattanooga.
"A lot of people obviously know about the Chattanooga Choo Choo and they think of what is an old and reminiscent town, but we found Chattanooga to be a really cool, futuristic city with a history," she said in a telephone interview Friday.
McCabe said she and her husband particularly like the Songbirds Guitar & Pop Culture Museum they visited at the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
"Both Kevin and I when we were growing up wanted to be rock stars, so we were really impressed with the cool music vibe that goes on there and the great work they are doing to keep kids in music with their guitar program," she said.
The McCabes, who visit campgrounds and scenic sites across America for their travel show on Warner Bros. Discovery channel, also rode on one of the electric-powered Swincars at Reflection Riding to get views from the back side of Lookout Mountain in a futuristic, eco-friendly off-road vehicle.
"That was a great experience," McCabe said.
In their first full season coming out of the pandemic, "RV There Yet?" will air 13 episodes after the first season aired the initial six shows. Each of the 30-minute programs features a particular area of the country, showing the camping and hiking expeditions of the McCabes along with highlights of their visits to unique sites around the country.
The couple hikes, camps and tastes their way across the country meeting new people, learning history, having fun and inspiring viewers to plan their own travel adventure, McCabe said.
The Chattanooga episode, which is the fifth episode for this season, will air for the first time at 8 a.m. Saturday on the Discovery Channel and can be streamed on MotorTrend, Roku, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube.
The Discovery Channel is available in more than 400 million households worldwide, through its U.S. flagship channel and its various owned or licensed television channels internationally.
"RV There Yet?" is one of two network TV programs this year to highlight Chattanooga and its travel attractions. PBS travel host Samantha Brown, who also spent four days in Chattanooga last year, will air her Emmy award-winning PBS show, "Samantha Brown's Places to Love" in March on PBS stations across the country. Brown's show usually attracts about 3 million viewers.
The Chattanooga Tourism Co., helped attract and coordinate the television shows as part of its promotional efforts for the local hospitality industry, which according to agency estimates employs more than 31,000 workers and generates $1.5 billion in annual revenues in metropolitan Chattanooga.
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6340.