Mini Vacation Part 3

On Sunday of our vacation we took a day trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

I don't really remember which part we were on only that it was in North Carolina.

This was probably my favorite part of our trip.

I could stare at these mountains all day everyday for the rest of my life.

Connor got a slinky the day before we took our excursion.

He annoyed us played with it while we drove.

I think at one point I threatened to throw it off a mountain.

Don't worry, I didn't do it and the slinky is still intact.

Eventually the guilty party kept better control of his toy.

I can't stop staring at the beauty of this country.

Most of the time there's just no words for the gorgeous views God created.

Ah, brotherly love.

No orneriness goin' on here whatsoever.

I love cloud shadows.

This is where we had a picnic break.

It was quite a bit chillier than the lower elevations.

At 54 it was about 20 degrees cooler!

We tried making a call from up there but the signal wasn't the greatest.

:)

A certain someone thought it was funny to photo bomb the mountains.

You can see he's smiling in this one.

Last one.

There are frequent tunnels on the Parkway.

 Unfortunately, they're difficult to get a pic of with the phone.

Fun with the sign.

I believe the sign says Chestnut Cove.

However, I do see three crazy nuts.

According to our tour guide, Dan, the mountain on the right is where the Gatlinburg fire started.

It looks more ominous than it was due to the cloud shadow on the top.

It is still fairly barren though.

It's hard to see, but in the foreground there are blackened tree trunks from the fire.

There is also a distinct fire smell in this area.

In the lower center of this photo you can see a blackened trunk.

If you look closely as you drive along the roads in certain areas you can spot lots of these trees.

It is sad but there is new growth too.

Thanks to the fire there is a new chair lift in Gatlinburg.

Even though it's almost been a year, there is still a smell of smoke
in the air while driving through downtown Gatlinburg.

I was a little disappointed that I didn't see any bears this trip.

I'm not counting the roadkill cub that didn't make it across the highway.

I bet he left a mark on someone's vehicle!

We did see one turkey and it wasn't in the van.

:)

Mini Vacation Part 2

Saturday of our mini vacation we took a trip to Asheville,

North Carolina to an arcade and games place.

We enjoyed miniature golf, batting cages, go carts, air hockey, and more.

It was a blast and the weather was beautiful!

Connor had the biggest grin!

We spent a lot of time playing air hockey.

It's a family favorite.

(Also spent a lot of time chasing the puck across the room.)

:)

Mini Vacation Part 1

We took a mini vacation over the boys' fall break.

Four and a half days not in the flat lands of Indiana.

Four and a half days in the beautiful mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.

While it was a mini vacation we managed to cram in a lot of stuff.

We figured that Dwayne drove 1500 miles!

We stayed with dear friends and long lost family.

(OK, they weren't lost, but it had been a while since we saw them.)

We were able to see more relatives this trip than we have in the last several trips.

It was good to get to catch up with family.

So without further ado, let's start the picture overload.

We spent Thursday night just outside of Cincinnati.

They reported areas of patchy fog.

This is what the I-275 bridge over the Ohio River looked like.

It was a little eerie not being able to see the river.

Once we crossed and rose above the river valley it cleared up.

The same bridge on the way home.

Once we're off the interstates we take 25 E through Kentucky.

It takes you through a peculiar town called Pineville.

It has a flood wall with gates around it that just fascinates us.

We also like the fact that there's a Little Caesar's on one end of town too.

Another favorite of 25 E is the tunnel.

It's one of two tunnels in the country that crosses a state line.

Going south, we went from Kentucky to Tennessee via the tunnel.

We got through to the other side and Nolan, who was sleeping,

asked to be woken up so he wouldn't miss the tunnel.

Sorry son, next time let us know before the tunnel.

Silly kid.

I have no idea what river this is.

It's on 25 E somewhere between the tunnel and Clinch Mountain.

A little fun in the van.

It's such an exciting drive...

Lookout! Mom with a camera.

:)

Smile!

Is this a selfie gone wrong or a self photo bomb?

Can't hide from mom's camera!

Our traditional stop at Clinch Mountain.

We love stopping here.

We've seen everything from lizards and chickens to a prison work crew here.

Over the years this memorial has evolved.

It now has stepping stones through the flowers.

Our guess is so that the flowers don't get trampled when people leave memorials.

Since there was a path to walk on, I decided to read the dog tags.

We tried taking pictures with the great view in the background but the sun wasn't cooperating.

Still pretty with a sparking blue sky.

On our way to Erwin, the mountain range shows up.

This is probably one of my favorite scenes on the way.

The other one is rather difficult to get a picture of due to trees.

You drive along side this range and then up into it.

Erwin is nestled in these mountains and you drive down into town.

It's the coolest view to look down and see the town as you descend one of the mountains.