Smoky Mountain Drive

I just got back from a long weekend in the Smoky Mountains.

It has been several years since my last visit.

I couldn't resist the beautiful autumn colors and took

lots of pictures.

This was taken from my car in Gatlinburg.

Tunnel outside of Gatlinburg

A tapestry of rich, autumn hues

I like barns.

An old church cemetary in the cove.

The view over Gatlinburg.

The mountains change colors depending

on what time of day it is

Trees forming a canopy over the road

A creekbed

Driving through Cades Cove

Stepping back to a more peaceful time

My daughter and granddaughter

visiting the old church

Beach Vacation

I just returned from my vacation with my daughters and grandchildren. It's been five years since my last "real" vacation, so I was ready! The change of scenery did my spirit a world of good, as they say down here in the South.

This was the view from our condo in Panama Beach.

We were on the 4th floor, and I opened the door

to the balcony first thing in the morning

to take in the awesomeness of the ocean.

The grandchildren loved catching the ocean waves,

building sand castles and hunting for seashells.

My oldest granddaughter (she'll be 8 in two weeks)

is like a fish. We couldn't keep her out of the water!

.

                                                                 
                                                                   Destin

Beach front restaurant in Destin. We ate shrimp, crab legs,

and Salmon. Yummy! The kids got pails and shovels

with their meals. It was an hour wait, but they had a playground

on the beach for the children and the scenery was definitely 

worth the wait.

We took a boat ride to see some dolphins. We saw a few, but

had to look really close. The boat ride was relaxing

and the ocean breezes were refreshing

after the summer heat.

The seagulls came and ate right from our hands.

The kids thought it was the coolest thing.

Shell Island

The view on the way back to shore. Gorgeous.