Ole Boy and I went to The Great Smoky Mountains a few weeks ago. We stayed right on the strip in Gatlinburg a few days, and spent a the week just having a nice, relaxing vacation. We had dinner with family who live in nearby Morristown, and it was just extraordinarily nice to see them! I realized how much I’d missed them when I got to see them.
The color was not spectacular in Gatlinburg like it was two years ago when we went in October. We got up very early one morning and headed off to Cades Cove. It was very foggy, and again, the color wasn’t in full bloom, but I did get a few interesting shots….
This old mill was actually being used: 
This is the only buck I think I’ve ever shot (taken a picture of, mind you!)…and he let me get pretty close. The deer in Cades Cove must be pretty used to people gawking at them. He hardly looked our way.
Some other "wild"life:
We went to the aquarium in G’burg. Unlike my very talented sister, Gina, I can’t always get good pictures, and I found that to be especially true with water shots.
We ate at Tony Roma’s with my cousins. We tried Bubba Gump’s for the first time, and the food is very good there. I’m sure we’ll go back some day. We also ate at one of my favorite places, The Old Mill Square, in Pigeon Forge. It was raining pretty hard (the only day it rained on us), so I didn’t get any pictures…but it’s very pretty. We didn’t go to Dollywood, because I am hoping to go back again in December to take in the Christmas shows.
The color was much prettier in Cherokee, but as you can see, it was also much foggier.
On the way home, we stopped at the Ocoee River and Dam, and it was just beautiful.
