The mountains were good to us. The girls did beautifully on their longest car ride as of yet.
Nature based trips relax and rejuvenate my little family. Sticks, rocks, lightening bugs... these were their toys for most of the trip. The cool mountain air sent my husband into raptures, while the twisting high altitude roads sent him into panic.
Field of the Woods where the world's largest Ten Commandments can be viewed, or walked up using 305 stair steps. Which then make you realize how out of shape you are... well, mainly myself, I think the girls sprinted up them. And still had enough lung capacity to blow a few dandelions.
Blue Ridge, GA
I was trying to line up a good shot of my yummy macarons but my camera was being goofy (I am sure it was 100% operator error) and I peek into my viewfinder again to see this funny fella.
Ocoee River Dam in the Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee.
Rock City and Ruby Falls on Lookout Mountain, GA near Chatanooga, TN were both beautiful experiences. The unique rock formations, majestic vistas (see 7 states at one spot!), and whimsical fairy gardens were wonderful. The only thing that hubs did not care for were the slightly creepy blacklit fairy tale caves.
Ruby Falls provided my girls with their first cavern experience. The history of the falls is pretty neat. For some reason I felt slightly unnerved realizing I was underground with 1,000 foot of stone mountain on top of my head. I could not shake the feeling that it might just all crumble down at any point. But I managed to fake a smile and shake it off until we got outta there. Whew. 
On our way to Helen, GA to go tubing down the Chattahoochee we took a scenic route that had the most beautiful wildflowers blooming alongside. I love it when vacations have lag time. No one is waiting on you, the schedule is flexible and moments can be created at a whim.
Thank you for indulging me a dozen or so vacation photos. We were very blessed to have a wonderful time and given some memories to tuck away and peruse on a rainy day years down the road. Do you have a favorite childhood vacation memory?
Beautiful scenery. I have to drive an hour to get to a similar mountainy place and it's so restorative.
ReplyDeleteI went into a cave once when I was middle school aged and know how you felt. The turned all of the lights for about 30 seconds too.
Only an hour?! How awesome. The beach, the mountains, they are so beautiful and calming. They used to turn out the lights at Ruby Falls but I noticed they didn't this time. I can say I am glad they did not.
DeleteLove all the pics. =)
ReplyDeleteMy boys were 7 and 5 when we went to Germany. It was back before the digital age so taking pictures was much more limited when you only had a certain amount of film. Anyway, I'm so glad I forced the boys to have their pics taken in various places. Most of it they don't remember. It irks me that they don't even TRY to remember things. But it's fun to look back on the pics and show them.
~Deb
Awww 5 and 7! Just like my babies. I have a feeling they will forget too but I have the photos and will bore them endlessly with "remember when..." Germany! I would love for my kids to travel outside the US one day. <3
DeleteGorgeous pics!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in North Florida, your vacation spots are part of my childhood memories! My summer camps were always in the mountains of Georgia and TN.
Your pictures really brought back some very fond recollections --especially of Lookout Mountain.
Thank you for sharing this. The last two pictures are AMAZING. <3
Lookout Mountain was so fun and beautiful! I bet you had a blast camping in those mountains! We are really kinda missing the mountains a bit. Thank you, the last two are my favorite too. I was hoping y'all wouldn't mind some gratuitous kid shots. Hope your week is going well Sunnee!
DeleteJulie, these pictures are just fantastic. The photos of the scenery are stunning...sometimes we forget how beautiful our little planet can look! It seems like you did and saw so much on your relaxing vacation! The girls look like they had a blast. Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThank you for looking! I agree, I forget there is so much to see. The older I get, the stronger my inner travel bug grows.
DeleteLove these photos! Gorgeous! You're becoming quite the professional photographer & I'm totally jealous of your mountain vacation! Love the mountains! Glad y'all had a great time! Thanks for sharing your photos! :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Tricia!! I hope you get to have your mountain vacation again soon <3 I am so thankful we were able to try something new! Your live of the mountains spurred us on!
Delete