Where to Go?

This years marks our 5th year of marriage. Yeah, fifth! Our anniversary isn't until October, but if you know me at all, it's that I plan and plan. And then plan some more. I'm not the person who plans where we will eat or where we will stay, but more the person that researches things to see and/or do in a certain area to make sure that we see it.

And, of course, with Tay's wicked busy school/work schedule, planning a trip seems impossible, but the University of Tennessee has graciously allowed the students to take off two weeks (not consecutively) from this point on until graduation. We both decided that taking time off in October would be a good idea. It would allow time for us to possibly take a trip and also give Tay a break from the hospital.

Tay's leave was approved. I'm still working on mine.

Now the question is, where to go?
I obviously and sarcastically suggested the Grand Canyon, knowing that can't happen until Tay finishes school. That's definitely one trip that you don't want to rush!

We nixed the beach. I've said it before and I'll say it again, we aren't beach people. We aren't tan. We aren't fit. We hate sand. We both burn and peel. There isn't enough SPF and aloe in the world to help us.

We have nixed flying anywhere since we are trying to save some air miles for a possible future trip that has yet to be planned. Plus, flying is just way out of our price range at the moment.

After talking about our past trips and the one that we always look back on the fondest was our one year anniversary trip. The trip where we lived out of the car and camped and had picnics by lakes and mountains. The trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

First Anniversary Trip (October 2010)

We've done the trip before, but we both enjoyed it so much that we are fine with doing a pretty similar trip again as opposed to going somewhere new. Let's be honest, we've seen everything there is to see within a 10(+) hour drive from Memphis...and the Blue Ridge Parkway (to us) is the best.

If you want to see our original trip photos: click here

 As a refresher, the Blue Ridge Parkway runs 469 miles from Cherokee, North Carolina all the way into Virginia. The Blue Ridge Parkway connects the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (one of the most visited parks) to Shenandoah National Park (one of the least visited parks).
 

 

On our last visit, when the Parkway ended, we veered towards Washington, D.C. to visit friends and didn't get to experience Shenandoah National Park or Skyline Drive. We are hoping that this trip we will get to experience that.

Once we finish Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park, we have a few options.
1) Venture home through the mountains and backroads of Virginia and West Virginia
2) Head to D.C. to see the city and possibly visit friends again
3) Drive an extra three hours to Gettysburg

We shall see which one we decide upon. The trip is still tentative, but of course, since we've already done this trip before, we don't have to plan anything and know what to hit and not to hit!
Grandfather Mountain is a must, and so is some homemade fudge and cider!