There's Something About North Carolina

I don't remember if I've mentioned it in blogs about our previous trip to North Carolina, but there is just something about the state that feels familiar to me - sort of an "I'm home" feeling. Whether it is the mountains, the roadside waterfalls, or what? I don't know. I just like the area.

Rocks and redbuds. The scenery is gorgeous around every turn. I remember being surprised to learn that a childhood friend/neighbor had retired to Asheville, NC after living most of her adult life in New England. But just maybe I can understand......

This trip was just a quick drive through the western strip of the state between South Carolina and Tennessee, but I enjoyed every bit of it - every roadside waterfall. Do the natives consider these little coursing waterways as falls?

Tennessee was slated to be a drive-through state on this trip, also. Like North Carolina, it is a state of natural beauty which I adore.

What other state has rest stops that look like mountain cabins?

Like North Carolina, Tennessee also has waterfalls along the roads. This one may even have had a name, but I didn't write it down. It was along the scenic drive between Smithville and Murfreesboro.

Ah, my own little piece of Tennessee, perhaps? Looks like the cabin would need quite a bit of repair, but that might help bring the price down.

I thought this TVA site was interesting. Surprisingly I got a pretty good shot of it from the car window as we passed by. I have always tended to think of the TVA as one location, when in reality there are numerous sites.

Seeing these twin peaks in the distance really had me wondering. It looked as though someone had built a castle on a ridge high above I-840. Had I known more about Castle Gwynn at the time, I would have wanted to stop. The fact that it is the site of the Tennessee Renaissance Faire (going on now in the merry month of May), would really have interested me. As it was, all I have are a couple pictures taken from the road. Someday maybe I'll learn to stop at those interesting looking places - even if it does throw the schedule off a day or two. (You can read more about Castle Gwynn here.)