We have developed a nice routine of getting away for at least a few days every year for our anniversary. It's a great time of year for pastors, really. The program year is well-launched but Advent isn't breathing down our necks quite yet.
This year, we headed south to our nation's most-visited National Park, Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Neither of us had ever been and it was a great trip. Now, my western bias did kick in just a little bit: the park just didn't seem as wild as my beloved Yellowstone. But my years in the East and Midwest have mellowed me and I must admit that there really were mountains and they really were pretty. They might not be my favorite range ever, but they were indeed mountains. In fact, they really were the perfect mountains for hiking at 7 months pregnant. There's no way I could have handled the elevation and grade of the Rockies this year! The Smokeys were just the right speed. Plus, we got to some great spots like the waterfall pictured here.Time on the trail and a great dinner at the end of the day are my recipe for a perfect vacation.
Finally, just to give you a little southern chit-chatty flavor:
Random guy passing us on the trail says: if you waited until next year, he could have carried the baby!
Next year, I say, I'll choose someplace steeper!
