travel
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Sweetwater Creek State Park and Casual Hike Attire
This past Saturday was a fun but exhausting day. I started my morning with a 9 mile run with my friends at 6 AM and this particular run was a difficult one as there were many hills. I came home to make my boys some banana pancakes and we decided that since there were no sports activities that we should do something as a family. We decided to hike. Did I really want to hike after that run? Not really, but it was a beautiful day and we decided on a hike that was somewhat of a short drive from home at about one hour. Sweetwater Creek State Park is…
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Nantahala Gorge and other views
The drive to Boone, NC is such a picturesque drive. It takes you through Ellijay and Blue Ridge in the North Georgia mountains and through the Nantahala Gorge. We often stop at the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) for the pretty views and to have a picnic by the river when we head to North Carolina. We’ve gone white water rafting nearby before (before kids) and have also taken a train ride that turns around there. There are many activities you can do and I am thinking we might make it a destination this summer since it is only 3 and half hours from our house. It also might be cooler…
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The Blowing Rock, NC
On Sunday afternoon before the snow started, we decided to go on a little excursion. The Blowing Rock was only about 15 minutes from our rental and is the oldest attraction in North Carolina. The Blowing Rock overlooks the Johns River Gorge and is 4000 ft above sea level. “The phenomenon is so called because the rocky walls of the gorge form a flume through which the northwest wind sweeps with such force that it returns light objects cast over the void.” We were able to observe this with the snow flurry that were coming up toward us instead of down. So we actually got to observe what is described…
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Boone, NC: Snowed in!
Well, we technically were not snowed in at all! However, we were very excited that the ever changing forecast during our stay actually did stay true and we did get 3-4 inches of snow. The predictions kept changing and ranged from less than an inch to 8 inches. so we were grateful for what we got. For all of you Northerners, us Southerners do get excited when we get snow. The last time it snowed near Atlanta was 6 years ago and we drove 5 and half hour to Boone, NC in hopes to see snow on this short winter break! I went on 3 walks in the snow and…
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A Visit to St. Symeon Orthodox Church in Birmingham, AL
Two weekends ago, I traveled to Birmingham to my old church parish for my Goddaughter’s wedding. It was a beautiful occasion and emotional for me as I felt like it was my own daughter getting married. I have watched her grow from a baby and even though I moved away when she was young, I visited some and was able to see her during our church camps once a year for 5-6 years as a teen as she and her friends would spend a week at our house in the summer. I am very grateful for that special time and her visit this past summer. I am hoping she will…
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Morning Run Sunrise Beauty
One of my favorite things from my Saturday morning runs is when we are able to catch the sunrise. Some days in the winter, it is too dark other days, it is too cloudy. Most Saturdays though, we are rewarded on our runs with the beauty of God’s creation. Of course, getting to exercise is a reward too as well as spending time with my friends. I think this might be my favorite picture: my friend took it by getting real low by the tall grass. It reminds me of the beach and the colors of the sunrise were absolutely gorgeous. I am always amazed at how the sky can…
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Nooga Lights and Chattanooga Choo Choo Ice Skating
After spending the day at Renaissance and Coolidge Park (see my post here), we checked in at our hotel and headed out for dinner. My friend Rachel was great with her recommendations for our stay. We ate at Fiamma’s pizza for dinner and I thought our wood fire pizza was very tasty. We then drove about 25 minutes to Chester Frost Park for their Nooga Lights Show. The week after Christmas was $23 per car, and you were able to do the loop as many times as you wanted too. I did think it was overpriced (I think it should be $15 at the most), but we did enjoy it…
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Chattanooga Parks: A Must Do with Children
My friend Rachel introduced me to Renaissance and Coolidge Park in Chattanooga. These 2 parks are right next too each by the river and near all the food and shops. Parking is fairly inexpensive and is easy to get too. On our overnight stay during the Christmas break, this was our first destination. I had spoken to the boys about the hill where you can slide down on carboard boxes and they were excited to see what I was talking about. This hill is in Renaissance park and it took us a few tries to figure out how to get going and how big the carboard piece needed to be…
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Sunsets on the Gulf of Mexico
I don’t always get up early enough to see the sunrises at the beach but I can always catch the sunset. When you go to the beach in the fall and winter, between the time zone and it being in the central time zone, sunsets come early. In fact, it is all the way dark by 5 PM. I have taken so many pictures of sunsets that this year I tried to focus on trying to compose the pictures with interesting pieces whether nature or man made. The picture above is my typical sunset picture. Beautiful sun and beach! The following picture is compliments of my oldest! I like how…
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Bike Ride to Seaside on 30A, Florida
One of the reasons we have been choosing to rent on 30A on the gulf is the beautiful beaches as well as how quaint and pretty the towns are along that 17 mile stretch. Many of the pretty towns like Seaside, Rosemary and Alys Beach are way out of our budget but there are small ones like Blue Mountain where you can find less expensive rentals. One of our favorite thing to do is rent bikes and go for a bike ride. We only rented bikes for a day and while it was not the most budget friendly outing, we really enjoyed our ride. We only rode from Blue Mountain…