Going: Gatlinburg, TN

Ahh. I feel rested and relaxed after my Labor Day holiday. We (and by we I mean me, the hubby, his sister, his parents and two of his grandparents) went to Gatlinburg, TN for the weekend. I had a great time on my mini-vacation, but I don't think I'll be returning to Gatlinburg any time soon. The cabin we stayed in was wonderful - large bedrooms, a pool table and hot tub, three-level balcony and enough space where we could all spread out and do our own thing - it was literally on the side of a mountain. The actual town wasn't my cup of tea. It has lots of tourist spots and very little authenticity.

Our biggest highlight was an all day excursion courtesy of the Nantahala Outdoor Center. We started our day with a three hour train ride along the Nantahala River, had a boxed lunch at the NOC then rafted down the Nantahala for two hours. I had never been rafting before but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. The hubby and a few others got thrown from the raft at one point but I managed to stay out of the water, which is good because the water was only 52 degrees. It was a exhilirating but tiring day. The rest of the weekend was spent reading, napping, eating and hot tubbing.

Here are a few shots I captured over the weekend.

sunrise, as seen from the cabin balcony

charming barn, as seen from the train

bridge, as seen from the train

flower at NOC

Great Smoky Mountains, as seen from the NC/TN state line

Me, post-rafting, warm and dry.

I don't normally like to post pictures of myself here, but I thought this was a bit cute, and I wanted to show off my Raleigh shirt that I finally bought (and love, btw).

all images by me