Cruising the Blue Ridge Parkway:

In June of 2007 we took a trip "down south" to my old mission field in the state of North Carolina. One of the highlights of the trip was taking the famous Blue Ridge Parkway to see the incredible Smokey Mountains. We woke up early in Charlotte and made the 2 hour drive up to the funky and beautiful city of Asheville. This cozy little town has been called the "San Francisco of the east" and is famous for its gay community, hippy population, art deco architecture and stunning mountain scenery. Needless to say it is a very cool little town. We arrived just in time for breakfast and sat down at a cute restaurant that had seating out on the street. After that we explored the shops around downtown and even ran into a few missionaries. By mid-morning we were in our rental car and heading north on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The plan was to go from Asheville to Boone hitting up all the major sites like Mt. Mitchell, Lineville falls, Grandfather Mt, etc. Driving the Blue Ridge at this time of year was simply spectacular. It was a clear day with blue sky and the green mountains had a light layer of mist surrounding them. (hence the nickname "smokey mountains") We drove for hours stopping at the occasional scenic view and holding our breaths through the numerous tunnels. It had been a few years since my mission and I had almost forgotten how absolutely breathtaking the landscape in North Carolina really is. We eventually made it to Boone and spent a few hours touring around this funky mountain town. We ran into some missionaries on the street and actually went inside a store with them to chat with someone they were teaching. After Boone we drove out of the mountains and into the town of Morganton to spend the night. It was the perfect day and cruising along the Blue Ridge Parkway on that sunny summer afternoon was a memory we will never forget.