Finally using a Christmas gift from 2008

Jamison and Jane, our son and daughter-in-law (Oscar's parents) gave us this book for Christmas, 2008.  Today we used it for a day trip into the North Carolina country side.  We took a round trip of about 230 miles along some of the most scenic roads in the southeastern United States.  It was a perfect spring day (well, almost perfect).  We stopped in Bryson at Noon at a small town restauarant with really good cooking and about eight pies and cakes on the dessert menu. Everything is made from scratch in the kitchen.  Let me tell you the carrot cake and coconut creme pie slices we brought home for a late night snack (oink) were outstanding. 

To the right is the Nantahala River.

The river is a favorite among rafters.

Cumulus clouds in the mountains sometime lead to a change of weather.

Then it started to get darker.

And then the skies opened up, the temperature dropped 20 degrees, the winds picked up and the hail started to fall. So we pulled off the road, turned on the flashers and waited.   At one point the pea-sized hail was so loud we could hear nothing else, and it accumulated at the bottom of the windshield. 


Within 15 minutes the storm passed us by and we resumed our journey.

 A view from one of the occasional scenic pull offs. Rain or shine the haze covers some of the mountains.  They aren't called the Great Smoky Mountains for nothing. 

And then we reached our home for another eight days.