The Great Smoky Mountains

Since we arrived in Charlotte, we had wanted to make the trip to the Smokies (http://www.nps.gov/grsm/). We realized our weekends were quickly booking up for the rest of the fall, so we made a short-notice trip this weekend --- and it was well worth it.

After saying hello and goodbye to Margaret (Megan's Mom) who flew out of Charlotte to Cali before sunrise on Saturday after arriving from Lynchburg on Friday after 11PM (yep --- she didn't get much sleep), Megan and I planned our trip over coffee and dueling computers. We decided that we would rough it --> (http://www.galvladi.com/). Ok, so not exactly roughing it, but the weather looked a little questionable. Turned out to be an outstanding decision! If you're looking for a remote bed and breakfast around Asheville, look no further: 250 acres and 4000 ft elevation.

The pic just doesn't quite do it justice.

Didn't take Megan long too lay to claim the property.

Enjoying some wine and a good book.

Dave and Terry were great hosts. Turns out Dave was a pilot in the Air Force then started his own charter service. Actually, quite random that each of the other guests had ties to the Navy, Army and/or Air Force.

After an unreal breakfast, we drove down the mtn and headed for the park. We jumped on the Blue Ridge Parkway (http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/) and drove it to its origin just outside Cherokee, NC.

Notice Megan trying to hide her prosthetic limb.

After checking out the park's visitor center, we headed in to explore a little and hike. We decided to try out the Hemphill Bald Trail --- which was a beautiful hike, despite the weather.

A little wet, but fun nonetheless!

We enjoyed our brief trip and look fwd to our next --- both to the park and to the Galvladi. During our hike we decided we'd like to tackle the 69 miles of the AT in the park next year --- definitely something to look fwd to!