God's Country

This past weekend, Mike and I took a trip to what I like to call God's Country: The Smokey Mountains. I had been there before with my family while growing up (The good 'ol Crazy Horse Campground) but things always seem a bit different when you're older. I think I appreciated different things this time. Wasn't too excited about Pigeon Forge or downtown Gatlinburg at all... I wanted to get beyond all the touristy stuff.

The main reason we were there was to shoot a wedding on Saturday, which was beautiful! On Sunday, it was "Family Free Day" and all of the families were able to go off and do their own thing. Mike and I knew we wanted to go into the mountains, but we wern't sure if we wanted to visit Cades Cove or the Newfound Gap. We decided on Cades Cove. I fell in love...

I realized how much I loved it when we were driving home from TN: We had stopped at a Red Box in KY (where it was still VERY hilly - mountains compared to IN) and rented a DVD that I watched almost the rest of the way home. When the movie finished, I looked up and there were no mountains. There were flat cornfields. I wanted to cry.

I know Mike and I have been fortunate enough to travel many places throughout the U.S. between personal vacations and my work travel, and I've always enjoyed everyplace we went (well - all except L.A. I have NO desire to go back there...) but I think my heart will always be in TN.

I'm quite sure we'll never end up in TN to live (although that would be my dream) but I'll settle for a yearly trip down there, and a few Christmas vacations down there... you know... a Tennessee Christmas. (And now I have Amy Grant's "Tennessee Christmas" in my head...)

Here are a few pictures that Mike and I took with more to come.