We returned last night from a wonderful road trip into the Deep South where we visited Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina. The whole purpose of the trip was to visit my sister and her family and spend some quality time with them. We had a wonderful, wonderful time. Every minute we spent with ‘La Familia’ was memorable and will be cherished forever.
The kids were just so wonderful as usual. They keep getting cuter by the day. I can never get enough of them. One of the highlights of our visit there was getting the chance to ride a Sea Doo on the Gadsen River. We cruised on the river for maybe 40 minutes and got a chance to see some of the most wonderful sights I have ever seen in my life. For a while there, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.
Driving back to Virginia, we stopped for a night in Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the Smoky Mountains and what a sight it was. The mountains lived up to their name, as they are indeed smoky, particularly with the light rain.
The town of Gatlinburg itself was buzzing with life. It had entertainment of every imaginable sort. I could not believe what I was seeing as things looked like a mesh between Las Vegas and Disney Land (Please bear in mind that I have never been to either of these places).
Leaving Gatlinburg we drove through the Smokies to North Carolina, where we stopped in the Indian reservation of Cherokee. It was intriguing. I had never quiet grasped the concept of an Indian reservation before visiting this place. In addition to hopping between tourist shops, we got to chat and take pictures with a Native American man by the name of “Killing Bear.”
Of course, I could not keep my mouth shut and had to ask him one million questions about his native language, the reservation, and if I could pass as a Native American, something he affirmed. One of the interesting things we saw were signs written in both English and Cherokee. Now, isn’t this neat?
I believe this trip will wrap up our touring for the time being, as we’ll soon head further north to pursue job opportunities. This trip has definitely given us enough of a boost to help us take the career world by storm. We are very hopeful and excited about the coming days.
Dear Abdulsalam,
No we did not pass by Mobile. If we do happen to stop by Mobile the next time we are in the south, we should meet up. I promise;-)
You didn’t pass by Mobile, Alabama by any chance did you? It would be quite unfortunate if you did and I didn’t get too meet somebody whose blog I’ve been reading for sometime now.
Laith
I’d love to visit LA. I will consider your note as an open invitation he he he.
Hey Natasha
i’m glad you enjoyed the south, how were thecherokees? A couple of years ago i met their chief, and at that moment i think i was the first jordanian to meet the cherokee chief, hehe, or that is what he said. You should come out to L.A next time and visit me and amin…
Loved the pictures !
May I just say that you are getting prettier by the day 😉 , The scenery is to die for ! Yaaay .
If that was your older sister Natasha, then say hi to her for me. I hope she reads your blog as well.
Natasha,
Glad you both had such a great trip to the South. Believe it or not, my first honeymoon was in Gatlinburg, TN in 1965. At that time, it was little more than a quiet, quaint little town with a few shops.
20 years later I went back with husband #2 – Bob. Boy, what a change. It was a bustling little town that I could hardly recognize except for the little creek/river that ran through it, as it hadn’t changed. Believe it or not, I did recognize the little motel we first stayed in and was surprised it was even still there.
I also grew up going to Cherokee as a child – only about 100 miles from Mooresville. I don’t remember much more than a teepee and a couple of shops and a wooden cigar Indian on the porch of one of them and a black bear in a cage. We have those in our neighborhood now, so what’s the big deal? I went back 20 years later and was amazed again, and since then I know they have a casino there, so I can imagine the changes and probably don’t need to go back again.
I also took Bob back to Cripple Creek, Colorado after about 20 years. It had been a quaint little town too in the ’60’s and now it is one small casino after another in every little old town building on main street! Guess I just shouldn’t go back after 20 years and not expect changes.
Niagria Falls (Canadian side) has turned into a casino town too. I just don’t like what it does to the towns. We don’t like to gamble, but still love going to Vegas to see the shows and the fantastic hotels, so go see Vegas some time.
Good luck with your new job and location.
Love, Aunt Gayle
Wow, sounds like it was an amazing trip, such variety. It is astonishing how different the South and North are, being only several hundred miles apart.
Good luck with the job search. That’s one thing I liked about Washington,D.C. and New York City, there are so many job opportunities, one can be very selective.
Have fun and get what you both deserve.
Take care,
Craig
The south is great; I lived in Alabama for the past 16 years, and did live in Gadsden when I first moved to the states for 5 years. People keep telling me why do you stay in Alabama?!
I keep telling them it’s beautiful, safe, and cheap, and not to mention people here are (believe or not) warm and respectable.
I also went to smoky mountain last year, isn’t it just wonderful?
Thanks for admiring the south 🙂
PALFORCE