Visiting the South

Rocky trails, waterfalls, millionaires, bear escape, spring rains, great steaks and bad BBQ.  That's a quick summary of our recent vacation to Tennessee and Georgia.

Peaceful Mountain Streams

We had two basic destinations: Gatlinburg, TN and Savannah, GA.  We've been to Gatlinburg before and we enjoy the mountain scenery.  The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is a wonderful place to experience nature.  

Rocky Trails where I had trouble keeping up

We made a few hikes into the mountains, where we discovered that Linda's regular walking exercise discipline really paid off, as she was able to continue on after I had to give up on the longer trails.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed seeing mountain brooks, waterfalls, towering trees and rocky gorges.  

Self Portrait - Contemplating the Universe
(or Watching out for Bears)

My lack of endurance saved me from encountering the black bear, but, praise the Lord, Linda stared it down and survived to tell the tale.  Of course, she didn't have a camera.  I had the camera, and with the extra time on my trip back down the trail I tried some artistic shots of myself and other scenery.

While staying at Gatlinburg, we made a day trip to Asheville, NC, to tour the super mansion of George Vanderbilt, Biltmore Estate -- it was beautiful.  We spent over 2 hours in the house, but it was a rainy day so we didn't walk the grounds and gardens like we had hoped.  This place is definitely worth visiting, especially on Mother's Day when all mothers get in free.  Built in 1895, it is the biggest (at 175,000 sq. ft.) single family home in the U.S.  See my previous post for a stock photo of the mansion, as we were not able to take photos inside the  home, and the weather prevented outdoor shots that day.  We also took in a dinner show at Pigeon Forge -- it was a fun program that included  rock & roll, country and gospel music, all performed by quite talented local entertainers.

Chocolates, anyone?

This was our first visit to Savannah, so we took the trolley tour to learn the basic layout and history of the city.  We could get off and on trolleys all day long for one price, and the drivers were all quite informative and entertaining.  Of course, it rained there too, but it was fun to see all the historic homes, churches and squares, like the one where Forrest Gump shared his box of chocolates and told the story of his life.  As Savannah is very scenic as well as historic, we learned that many movies have been made there over the years.

Linda & Dave, on a
rainy day at Biltmore

No, we didn't take many pictures, but at least we did try some of those arm-length self photos.  Oh, and the great steaks were found in Gatlinburg, also on Mother's Day, and also free for all mothers.  The disappointing BBQ was unfortunately found the next day in Pigeon Forge.


So, in the spirit of this blog, let me just say we are each unique; and so were George Vanderbilt and Forrest Gump.


Thanks for reading.  Next up is a motorcycle trip to NW Michigan.

Dixie Bound

This week we are taking a vacation, and we're heading south.  Specifically we're going to Gatlinburg, TN and Savannah, GA.  We have a timeshare resort in both cities.  We love Gatlinburg because of the Great Smokey Mountain National Park where we like to explore the hiking trails into the woods.  When one gets away from the crowds, the mountains seem like a place untouched by humans, except of course for the trail on which one is walking.

Savannah, on the other hand, is a place we've never visited before.  Our resort is right in town, so our plan is to spend a day strolling through the old town, getting a taste of its charm, perhaps planning a return trip with more time.

Biltmore Estate

One more highlight of this trip, while we're in Gatlinburg, will be a visit to Biltmore, the extravagant mansion of the Vanderbilts in Asheville, NC.

We're never good at taking pictures, but I will try to make a great effort to take photos of this trip and include them here in a summary blog of our vacation.

Later this month, I plan to take a solo motorcycle trip to northern Michigan, using another timeshare resort as my base while making daily excursions around the beautiful northwestern corner of the mitten.  I did this trip last year, and despite cool, wet weather I had a marvelous time.  I'll try to take pictures here too.

Thanks for reading.