Smoky Mountain vacation starts tomorrow!

[jjirons69]

Vacation time is finally here. Played 18 holes this morning and finished all my chores outside this afternoon. Leaving tomorrow for a trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway from 1-26 to the Great Smoky Mountain Parkway and onto the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area. Being SC lowcountry born and raised, I truly get a charge out of the mountains. It was my favorite trip every year as a kid. Did a lot of hiking up there in college and spent many a night under the stars on top of various mountains. I'm trying to pass my love of the area on to my kids. This is their second trip. Got a 7 and 8-year old, so we're going to hike several trails to waterfalls and mountain ridge viewings. Gonna spend 4 nights in a condo with several days at Dollywood and the Dollywood Splash park. As they get older, we'll do more hiking and backpacking. To me nothing finer on the planet. I feel so lucky to have been born in SC - beautiful beaches on one side and some great mountains 6 hours away on the other.

See you guys in a week! I'll post a few pics.