So Kevin and I are in the Midwest, we do love it here and we have so much fun, but there is one thing missing.....mountains! So, we decided we needed to get back into some mountains. It is fall, and we love changing leaves, so we determined that now would be the perfect time to see The Great Smoky Mountains! It is the most visited national park in America, and neither of us had been down through Kentucky or Tennessee. So we picked a weekend, and decided we could do it all in a matter of a couple days. Several football/basketball/and other sports venues later, we arrived at our destination.
This is going to be a LONG post with a TON of pics, so here is your chance to turn back.
1st Stop: Louisville
Louisville; Home of the Louisville Slugger and giant bat
This is the museum/factory.
They love their baseball bats
We had to stop by Papa John's Stadium; Home of the Louisville Cardinals.
And right next door was Churchill Downs.
We were too early for the breeder's cup, so we missed the jockey fight, but here it is just in case you missed it as well.
I enjoyed the winner's circle
2nd Stop: Nashville:
All you Percy Jackson fans might recognize the Parthenon.
Kevin was so cute posing for me.
And what do you know... right across the street was Vanderbilt's stadium... We were tailgating with the Game Cocks, I think they liked Kevin because the kept yelling "Go Cocks!" ...he thinks he is pretty funny
Next stop, Country Music Hall of Fame.
I think it looks like a piano?
Then we went across town to the Grand ol' Opry. As mentioned before, Kevin LOVED this. He quickly fell in love with Nashville too. It is a fun, friendly (everyone said hi!), diverse, interesting, warm city, and the new home of my Randall Moss.
As we were heading back to our hotel, we kept seeing signs for "The Hermitage" So Kevin made me look up what this thing could possibly be. When we discovered it was the home of an American president (albeit Kevin's least favorite, cite the trail of tears), it was decided, we had to go. Unfortunately, when we got there, they were not permitting the general public to look around. October was reserved for "The Haunted Hermitage". So we'll have to go back someday.
3rd Stop: Knoxville
After Nashville, it was off to Knoxville.
Knoxville had some charm, but it quickly faded as I walked across Peyton Manning Street. Yick! the hairs on the back of my neck rose and I think I threw up a bit in my mouth.
As we were walking around the stadium, we noticed a door propped open. We unfortunate (due to looking at the wrong dates) missed a big Tennessee Bama game the night before. They were cleaning up, so we went in and looked around. 2nd biggest stadium in America.
4th Stop: Great Smoky Mountains
I am not going to deny that I LOVE southern accents. I called to check a hotel and some girl cursed on the phone in her southern accent...It didn't even sound bad. Kevin and I would just look at each other and start laughing when people would speak to us. They do say some of the greatest things too.
We timed it right, the leaves were changing and it was an AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL day.
We went on a lovely drive through the mountains. It made me miss my Sunday drives through Provo Canyon that I would go on every week in the fall.
Just a few more for your viewing pleasure.
I LOVE fall!
I wish we could have stayed longer. A weekend trip just wasn't long enough.
We were getting a picture with the mountains behind us, and some sweet southern lady was taking the picture. Afterward, she insisted that we cross the street, she stopped traffic (the ranger was first in line), stand under this tree, and take a picture together. She told us, "you should use this on a Christmas Card" so if you get a Christmas card from us, here is the preview. I love southern hospitality.
At the end of our 3 hour loop, there were some old buildings, so we felt obligated to get out and check them out since we drove so far. Here is the old mill. It is actually still functioning.
We also witnessed an old man give a child a good old fashioned spanking while screaming Kevin's new favorite quote "you better mind me boi, or I'm gonna tear your tail off"
we then started back so that we could reach the top of ol' Smoky for the sunset.
the colors were getting better as lighting changed
I think This is my FAVORITE picture. I love the random guy behind Kevin.
We crossed Tennessee and made it into North Carolina.
The mountains were starting to look Smoky
You may ask, why do they look so smoky? This is a valid question. I asked it myself.
Well, the answer is; there is so much foliage, that it traps in so much moisture. As it releases this moisture, it gives the appearance of smoke settling in the valleys.
An amazing, but beautiful phenomenon.
After such a long day, we had us some good southern cookin. We had us some apple fritters, fried chicken, corn bread....all the good comfort foods. Kevin enjoyed his rocking chair out front.
5th Stop: Lexington
We had to make a stop in Lexington Ky and check out Rupp arena
And of course Commonwealth stadium.
6th Stop: Cincinnati
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A look across the river into Kentucky
I am not sure what this statue was about, but it was too funny not to take a picture of.
The beautiful Cincinnati skyline.
Oh, we couldn't miss a stadium stop! Go Bearcats!
7th Stop: Indianapolis
Then we hit up Indianapolis Speedway! We were still in white trash mode.
Indianapolis also boasts Hinkle Fieldhouse. This is where Hoosiers was filmed. It is a national historic landmark....so of course, we had to stop.
Except Butler, not Indiana, plays here.
That was our last stop on a fun-filled, action-packed weekend.
