Summer Vacation

Hi, y'all!  Hope you are all having a wonderful summer so far! This time last month, Hubby and I were getting ready to leave for vacation!  I can't believe a month has already passed.  This summer is flying by.

We decided for our vacation this year that we wanted to go back to the Smoky Mountains (of course!), but we also wanted to try to see some new places too.  So, we decided to go a little farther East for a few days and spend some time in North Carolina.  

We spent the first couple of days in Charlotte, visiting the Billy Graham Library and home place.  It was absolutely amazing!  If you ever have the chance to go...GO!  It was by far my favorite stop of the entire week.  Rev. Graham is such an inspiration and a wonderful example of living a life for Christ. Seeing his journey through the years on display at the museum and library was a blessing!

This is the entrance to the library and museum.  I love that the windows are placed in the shape of a cross.

Here is a photo of Billy with President Kennedy, from the museum.

At the end of the museum tour, there was a video presentation by Rev. Graham on how to be saved. When the video was over and the doors opened, this walkway to exit was lit up with crosses.  It was so pretty!

After we finished at the library and museum,  we went for a walk in the memorial garden where Ruth Bell Graham is buried.

The next stop we made was in Asheville to see the Biltmore Estate.  All I can say is WOW!  Of course, the place is HUGE, but the features that they had in the house when it was built were unreal for that time period.  They don't allow photography inside the house, but we took some pictures of the outside and of the gardens.  It was beautiful!

The flowers in the gardens and conservatory were gorgeous. Hubby took tons of pictures, but these are three of my favorites.

We left North Carolina on Thursday and spent the last couple of days in Pigeon Forge.  The Smoky Mountains are one of my most favorite places on earth. No matter how many times we go, it never gets old.  

We went up to Clingman's Dome but it was way too cloudy to see very much.  Still, it was breathtaking.

This is The Island at Pigeon Forge.  When we were there last year, it was still a work in progress.  They have a water show every hour that is choreographed to a fun song.  It was awesome at night.

The night before we left, we saw a dinner show at The Biblical Times Dinner Theater.  It was a production about Moses and you can read about it here.  As always, we were not disappointed with the food or the show.  If you visit Pigeon Forge, make sure to go to Biblical Times.

Now that I have looked at all of the pictures, I am ready to go back!  :-)

Have a blessed week, friends!

Spring Is In The Air

Spring has sprung!  It is a pleasant 70 degrees this morning and we're well on the way to a high of 80!  Wow, is it really March?  It feels more like May!


The warm weather and sunny skies have me pining for vacation!  I'm not a beach kinda gal at all, so this year, we are planning a trip to the beautiful Smoky Mountains.  I can.not.wait!!  It's just a few hours away and there is so much to do there.  Hubby and I love it!

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I was glancing through some photos of our vacation to Lancaster, PA last summer...awesome place to visit, by the way...and I decided to share a few with you.

Enjoy!

Lancaster County in Pennsylvania is home to the world's oldest and largest Amish community.  This is a beautiful Amish farm:

Gorgeous, right?

Lancaster also has around 25 covered bridges.  They are charming!  Here's one for your viewing pleasure:

Hershey, PA is a short drive from Lancaster, so of course, we had to visit Hershey's Chocolate World.  We toured the chocolate factory and made our own Hershey bar!  

And, no visit to Pennsylvania would be complete without a stop at Gettysburg.  Of course, the area is rich with Civil War history...perfect for my history-buff Hubby.

Here we are at the Gettysburg National Park.  In the background is the area that would have been the battlefield.

And here are the remnants of a rock wall fort built by Civil War soldiers:

Hubby and I had an amazing time, but there's nothing like comin' home!

What about you guys?  Any vacation plans in the works?  

Have a blessed week, friends.