Camping time...

Before my daughter headed off for college we took one more camping trip. This time to Wears Valley, which is right outside Pigeon Forge in Tn.



Check out the view of Wears Valley from the top of the Parkway. It's gorgeous up there. Not so fun pulling a camper, though...lol



Once we got the campground, it was time to set up and enjoy the view.



The campground is called Honeysuckle Meadows. It's a small campground. It does have a pool, but no showers. The lots are really big, too, as you can see from the picture. It has lots of space and it's very quiet.



Our dog loved it. As you can see, she was in heaven...:)




Had to put the beauty shot in there, of course...:)



The girls enjoyed it, too. We grilled burgers for dinner and just enjoyed the scenery.

We did lots of other stuff as well, including miniature golf and Anakeesta, which I'll post pictures of in the next post. Hope you enjoy!

{{hugs}}

Trista

Day trips

I love doing day trips with my kids. We're lucky enough to live in Tn, which is within a day's drive to a lot of different and fun places. One of our favorites is Biltmore.

When we first arrived it was cloudy, but the day cleared up and by the time we finished touring the house, it was a beautiful blue sky day.

One of my favorite things about Biltmore is the gardens. I think I've been every season, but my favorite is spring.

As you can see, I love taking pictures of flowers..:)

My son and I enjoying the greenhouse..:)

We had a great day. The weather was cool, but not too cold. The flowers were gorgeous and the food at the Stable cafe was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend it if you visit. After a walk in the garden, we stopped for ice cream at Biltmore's ice cream shop just outside the house. 

If you're ever in Ashville, North Carolina, stop by Biltmore. You won't be disappointed..:)

{{hugs}}

Trista

My life through the lens....

We went this past June to Disney World. It's one of my absolute favorite places. It's also the one place our entire family can go that everyone likes, so that's usually what we end up doing most of the time.

Usually we stay somewhere on the resort. We've done several of them, but my favorite so far are the tree houses at Saratoga Springs Resort.

We didn't get to stay there this time, though. We had too many people, so we decided to rent a house through Home Away. That was our first mistake, but that's a post for another day.

The house was nice, but the drive back and forth to Disney every day sucked. I missed the Disney transportation, which made things so much easier.

Other than that, the trip was good. The day started with a fun selfie..:) That's my daughter in law to the right. She thought it would be funny to photo bomb me and my son, which is was..lol

My grand daughter got to meet Mickey for the first time, although it doesn't look like she's too enthused..lol

This is my favorite picture from the entire trip. I just love the funny faces my grandkids make..:)

This is my son and I in his favorite country in Epcot. Maybe on day he'll get to go to Japan for real.

One thing I've learned. No matter your age, Disney will wear you out..lol

Disney is always a blast whether we go as a large group of nine or just me and my husband. It seems I'll never tire of Florida sunshine and Mickey Mouse..:)

My life through the lens...

Finally got out of the house last weekend and did a little hiking. It wore me out, but it felt good to be out after that horrible week of recovery.

We hiked to Laurel Falls, a small waterfall outside of Gatlinburg, Tn.

The hike is fairly easy and the trail is concrete, or at least the parts that haven't washed away.

The weather was hot, but the trail is pretty much shaded the entire way. And when you get to your destination, the cool airflow off the falls feels incredible...:)

It's a hike I could do over and over again. And probably will once the weather cools off. Fall in the Smokies is absolutely gorgeous..:)

Since I did so well, I'm now challenging you to get out and get some fresh air. Enjoy the summer!

{hugs}

Trista

Fun times....

 This past weekend hubby and I took our 14 yr old daughter to Florida for the Sun and Fun Fly In. She just started taking flying lessons, so hubby thought she would really enjoy seeing the planes and all the cool stuff the venders had for pilots, both old and new. And of course any excuse for hubby to explore all the new planes as well...:)

Here are some of the planes we saw...Below is a Phenom...because it's Phenomenal..:) Yeah, corny, I know..lol

And I don't remember what this one is. I just posted it because I love getting weird angles...:)

These are my favs. I love the old warbirds. They're just so cool..:)

And I have no idea how they even get these big monstrosities in the air to begin with.

This is the Icon. This was my dd's favorite. Looks pretty cool, but it comes as kit. If you can build it, you can get it for around $225,000. If you want it assembled? Over a million.

Yeah, I don't think we're getting that one..lol











Over all, Lakeland's Sun and Fun Fly In was pretty cool. The weather was great, the sky a beautiful blue, the airshow was a little slow to start, but once the reenactments started, it livened up quite a bit. We had a pretty good time and I came up with a great idea for a hero...:)

Townsend KOA

 We decided to take our camper out last weekend to enjoy the last of the nice weather we might have before it just became too cold to camp.

So we loaded everything up and headed to Townsend and the KOA there just outside the smoky mountains national park.

It's a small camp ground, but it has a variety of sights from full hook-ups with sewer, to tent sights. I think my favorite was this one with the patio. It wasn't on the river, but it was close enough that we could hear it.

Everyone there was very friendly and nice. The bath houses were clean. They had a store and a cute little fenced in dog run for all the furry critters that accompanied their families.

My dog Nay-Nay had a blast. Check out that happy face..lol

For those that don't have campers and don't like to tent camp, they even have little cabins along the river.

The colors this weekend were amazing. I love fall. It's my favorite time of year. It's a shame the colors don't last longer.

We also took some time to check out the Apple Barn. I got some fudge and some fabulous Chocolate Mint coffee. Nothing like caffeine and warm peppermint patties..lol

All in all it was a great time and I even got some writing done. Now if I could just get this story finished...:/

Happy Fall everyone..:)

Elkmonte...Great Smoky Mountains...

It's time for another episode of my life through the lens..:)

Occasionally, my hubby and dd like to go tent camping. I'm not a tent camper, but I did go up to spend the afternoon with them.

Here's their site.

 Elkmonte has a fabulous camp ground with sites for campers as well as tents, although truthfully, I think I saw more tents there than campers. It was a beautiful day and the fall colors were just beginning to come out.

We were also close to a river and waterfall.

 As well as the lost town of Elkmonte...<snicker> Okay, it's not really lost. It's actually been there for years, but it's still fun to walk through and explore all the cabins. 

Then it's time for a little break at the community center of Elkmonte, which is in the 'lost' town..:)

It was a great day for me, although I missed the firepit and marshmallows. Maybe next time..:)