Roughing It

We had a great Labor Day weekend camping up in the Smokies with the extended family and the Sorrells and Sullivan Clans. We drove up Friday afternoon, a three hour trip from Hot-lanta to the mountains of my native home in Western North Carolina. We stayed at a KOA campground just outside of Cherokee. Not my favorite sort of camping per say (I'm more of a backpacking sort of guy) but it was convenient and kid-friendly. Ridge was especially excited about staying in his very own cabin in the woods.

We set up camp in the dark and in a drizzling rain, but the next morning the sun was up, dried things out and the rest of our time we had spectacular weather. It was such a relief to be out of the sweltering heat and humidity of Georgia. We spent the day throwing rocks in the river, fishing for trout, eating ice cream cones in downtown Cherokee, sight-seeing on the Blue Ridge Parkway, organizing Scavenger Hunts and playing trivia around the campfire.

I would say with the exception of having to walk a cranky Colton around a dark, cold campground every morning at 5:30 AM, it was a perfect trip. Looking forward to it next year. It's always good spending time with family and friends.