latest adventures....

So after we left Atlanta we travelled through rural Georgia, avoiding the interstate and going through little towns. We stumbled on Cornelia, home of the giant apple! It was picture perfect, could have been 1950, complete with old fashioned diner, train station (Will was thrilled when a huge train went speeding through!) and little old fashioned shops. The country side in Georgia is stunning, and the trip up to the Smoky Mountains was gorgeous. 

Random!

Next we hit the Smokies, stopping at Tallulah Falls for a look and, unexpectedly, a workout. We walked down 500 stairs to the suspension bridge across the gorge, seemed alright until we had to go back up! It was really beautiful and worth the sore legs the next day.

The drive into the Smoky Mountains was incredible, the countryside was spectacular and the little towns along the way were charming and full of antique stores and flea markets, we stopped at one and had a look around, chatted to the locals - most of whom had never met an Australian 'round these parts'...

This is a school! There were four buildings like this up on a hill. I love the striped lawn!

 We stopped at an old fashioned drug store for an icecream, so cool!

There was a distinct anti Obama feel to the area, interesting...

So the top of the Smoky Mountains was breathtaking, makes you feel small....

 But then you come down the mountain to Gatlinburg, which is a ski town in the winter and was PUMPING with people and neon signs and Vegas style everything. 

We then went off the main road and half a mile down a track to find a quiet spot to stop and make dinner....

 Of course both the boys accidentally fell in....

Then we put the kids to bed and hit the road for a few hours to get closer to Virginia and the NASCAR race we wanted to catch....but had to pull into this dodgy roadhouse along the way, just like you see in movies! Here we met the locals and enjoyed a beer while the kids slept in the RV just outside (well, we are trailer trash now) - Mum, I promise it was just one beer and we could see the RV the whole time!!!

 Toothless Tommy was a scream, total bar fly but could tell a story!

As we were leaving all the locals showed up for a big Saturday night, the place would have been pumping I imagine with $2 beers!

So we arrived in time for NASCAR, and what an experience! It was mind boggling how many people there were! And the noise! I thought F1 was loud but this was incredible! People show up the day before and have a pre-race party in the acres of carparks, incredible to see, BBQs, tents, RVs, lawn furniture, flags, you name it.

The kids loved the race, there was an Aussie from Tassie racing in number nine so we went for him. There was even a girl, who came last most of the way unfortunately! The kids tried their first giant pretzel, Glenn and I drank beer out of can and ate peanuts and we all loved every second. The best bit was I got asked for ID when I bought the beers!!!!!

On the way out the locals who live near the track were selling all sorts of stuff on their front lawn so we bought straight from the oven pies: pumpkin, sweet potato, peacan, apple - and of course chocolate brownies. We sampled each and agreed the brownie was the best, followed by the apple pie and peacan pie! YUM!

Next it was back on the road for a gorgeous lake side campground on the border of Virginia and North Carolina - Glenn says it is real Deliverance country! We are about to head off to Chesapeake Bay so I'd best sign off!

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