Back to reality

Back to laundry, meals and bills! We got back from Tennessee yesterday, and let me tell you...I was sad to leave that beautiful place. I can honestly say it was the best family vacation we've ever been on.
On days one and two, we stayed in Chattanooga. We visited Point Park, a beautiful military museum/park on the mountain that overlooks the TN river and surrounding valley. We also did the Incline Railway and Rock City. The Incline, I must say, was ONE of the scariest things I did, due to my fear of heights. I've determined that it's not just a fear of heights, but a fear of heights that are MOVING! You simply must see the steep incline (72.7% grade) we traveled! It was breath taking in more ways than one. Rock City was awesome too. I remember visiting this place with my grandparents when I was a child. I was amazed at the things that came back to me after all these years. My kids LOVED it! We got lots of exercise too, and I took tons of pictures...which I fully intend to upload in the next few days. When I do, I'll share a few with you. We also parked and walked along the TN river in downtown Chattanooga. Nice place!
On days three and four of our vacation, we went to Pikeville, TN. On the way, we noticed several yard sales along HWY 127. Then we noticed a few more, and a few more. At McDonald's, I asked, "What's up with all these yard sales?" The manager told me that they do this yearly along that highway stretching all the way from Alabama through TN. Read more about it HERE. Amazing! Anyway...we stayed at Fall Creek Falls Inn. It was wonderful, and the people in Tennessee were so hospitable. We hiked and saw several waterfalls and cascades. We saw deer everywhere, birds, ducks, raccoon, and even a snake on one of our hikes. The beauty of the mountains and waterfalls was spectacular. God created some amazing things! I also got to face my fear of heights again. It wasn't enough to get me across the swinging bridge at Rock City...there were three more suspension bridges at Fall Creek Falls. I must say, I did only one of them across and then back. I actually cried on the way across the first time. That was the scariest thing I've ever done! Ed was proud of me for facing my fears.
While at the Inn, we enjoyed the pool, 2 playgrounds for the kids, a nature center, a game room in which Jonathan whipped me at both pool and ping pong. We just had the time of our lives! Now that I'm back home, and school is about to start in another week, I hope to get back to the gym, (even though I think I did pretty well on all that hiking). Okay...that's a blog entry for another day!