travel
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A Visit to Franklin, TN
We stayed in a hotel in Cool Spring, TN for spring break which is just 10-15 minutes from Franklin, TN. What a cute little town! The area around Franklin is lush and green with beautiful pastures and fences and rolling hills. The town itself boasts a nice square and boutiques and several restaurants. We first found a place for coffee which led us to the Factory. The Factory used to be a furniture factory, but now houses trendy shops and restaurants. We stopped for coffee, but returned for lunch. The sculpture outside was really neat, so I had to share it here. We passed by that evening after dinner and…
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Nashville Zoo
A couple of weeks ago, we took a little mini spring break trip to the Nashville area. It is only a 3 hour drive and the boys had never been. One of the things I knew we wanted to visit was the Nashville zoo. We first stopped for lunch at an all vegan restaurant called the Sunflower Cafe which was 12 minutes from the zoo. I enjoyed my selection (a “chicken Caesar” wrap) and took some pictures of my bright outfit in front (I will be sharing my outfit in a post on Friday). Of course, spring break was a cooler week than usual with our first day just around…
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Vacation Planning: Nashville on a Budget
The first couple of months after my mother in law passed were a little on the surviving mode as far as plans: there was grief to be dealt with, some different financial stressors and while we still went on our beach vacation that was planned a few days after she died, it was not what it always had been in the past. We did make some good memories, it was healing and peace of mind for me, but it was not an easy vacation. So now that 2025 is well under way, it is time to plan a few fun vacations. The first, a few days in Nashville is going…
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Butterfly Trail: New Beginnings and Warmer Days Ahead
I thought that it would be nice timing to share the pictures I took of the local iron butterfly Trail. The weather has been cold and the outdoors are not always enjoyed as much as on warmer days. Butterflies are symbols of transformation, rebirth and new beginnings. They are often symbols of hope and love. Many of us have spent some time in January planning some changes for our year or wanted to start something new, so these butterflies are fitting to close out this month. The trail allows different local businesses to sponsor different artist to paint the butterflies. The project began in 2021 and connects the community through…
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Snow Day in the South
People up there probably make fun of us, but after not having any snow for 7 years, an inch or two makes us happy down here in Georgia! Now, we don’t think that this is a lot by any means, and we would have loved to have at least 6 to 8 inches, but we will take what we get! We are still hoping for a good snow this winter, but are weary as we have had snows/ice that have crippled us. We are not used to driving in this and when it ices up, then it’s scary! But the boys and I fully took advantage of this! We went…
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Banning Mills: Hike and Mushrooms
Last week, I shared a little about our overnight trip to Historic Banning Mills for our anniversary a few months ago. Today, I am sharing some more pictures, this time of our hike on the 2nd day. It was an overcast day which made it really comfortable for a hike and we were quite impressed with the number of trails there were on the property. We enjoyed this one and would pleasantly surprised with all of the mushroom varieties we encountered. I love swinging bridges: whether they are in Costa Rica or here in the states, swinging bridges are really fun to cross! When hiking in the fall, you might…
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Historic Banning Mills: Anniversary Trip
A few months ago, my husband and I took an overnight trip about an hour and a half from our house to Historic Banning Mills. It is located just a little south of I20 on the west side of Atlanta. The area offers trails to walk with swinging bridges, waterfalls, ziplines as well as a few other activities you can book. The mill has a lodge, cabins and some treehouses you can rent for just a couple or a family. In the summer, there is a pool, mini golf and camps for children. We rented a treehouse for one night: I thought is was pretty overpriced as the accommodations were…
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Ruby Falls, TN
Many friends were surprised that even though we have lived in the Atlanta for more than 20 years, this fall was the first time that we visited Ruby Falls Ruby Falls is located in Chattanooga, TN and is about 1 hour and half from our house. We have gone many times to Chattanooga for day trips and overnight trips, but we had never visited the falls. We have visited other caves and caverns in the past, and this was the most expensive one to date. We visited the Tuskaleechee Caverns, TN and I share them here, and I share caves we visited in the Republic of Georgia here. What makes…
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Rock Garden, Calhoun, GA, 2024
I wrote about this rock garden 5 years ago when we visited it for the first time. You can read more about the history of the garden in that post, here. Today, I am sharing the pictures we took this past October on our way back from Chattanooga on fall break. It is sometimes fun to revisit places when the children have grown: our youngest didn’t remember this place since he was less than two the first time we stopped at the garden. For how old some of these structures are, the gardens and its miniature buildings are in really good shape. I really would like to go on a…
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Rock City, Chattanooga, TN
Since we were not going anywhere on vacation for our week of fall break, I decided to take a couple overnight trips as I was able to get my 2 sisters in law to come over to help their mom who lives with us. The first overnight was a late anniversary trip for my husband and I, and the second was for the boys. I decided on Chattanooga as our destination for its proximity and all of the different things we can do there. We will probably return for another overnight during the Christmas break. Rock City sits atop Lookout Mountain and features many large rock formations, beautiful views and…