Shenandoah, Great Smoky Mountains, Georgia

The 2nd Day (November 25, 2008 Tuesday - Virginia, Tennessee)

Shenandoah National Park Left the hotel in Front Royal at 8 o’clock in the morning. Unexpectedly it was clear and beautiful in spite of the heavy rain yesterday. Just at the south end of Front Royal was the entrance of the mountain highway of Shenandoah National Park. This park, located on the ridge of an independent range rising from the north to the south, had great view westward and eastward.
The picture below, a view westwards, shows the Appalachian Mts. and the Shenandoah River and Valley (the shadow is that of Shenandoah Mountains). This valley was called the “highway” that General Lee’s army used for invading the Northern States during the Civil War.
In the opposite side, eastward, we saw the uneven land that has overlapped hills. It is the tableland called Piedmont meaning “Foot of Mountain.”
During our driving, we saw a lot of deers. At 9:30 am, we drove away from the mountain highway at the place of 25 mile driving although the highway is totally around 100 miles long. Drove across Shenandoah Valley to New Market.

New Market is also the historical battlefield of the Civil War according to the book. The battle was held in 1864 between the Union army of 6,000 led by Sigel and the Confederate army of 4,500 led by Breckinridge. The latter, including 250 young soldiers from 14 to 18 years old, won in spite of its inferiority in number.
Drove along the highway 81to the south. It was nice to see beautiful views changing while driving. Saw a funny sign of “Hungry Mother State Park” at 2:30 pm. Drove into Tennessee State at 3:20 pm. It was the seventh state in this driving. Encountered suddenly a traffic jam and drove slowly for 30 min. It was caused by an overturned truck loaded with Christmas trees (Picture).

Dishes of the South
Driving through Knosville, Tennessee, we arrived at the hotel, Courtyard de Marriott , in Alcoa at 5:30 p.m. Kumiko looked much happier here because this hotel was much more comfortable than the previous day. A counter girl told us about a good restaurant, Driving through Knosville, Tennessee, we arrived at the hotel, Courtyard de Marriott , in Alcoa at 5:30 pm. Kumiko looked much happier here because this hotel was much more comfortable than the motel in Front Royal last night.

A counter girl told us about a good restaurant, ”Foothills Milling Co. Restaurant”(315, Washington St.). It was hard to find it out but finally we got it. We enjoyed elegant atmosphere and nice dishes of the South, such as “fried green tomatoes” and “fried rabbit’s lever” as appetizers.

The 3rd Day (November 26, 2008 Wednesday - Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia)
Left Alcoa at 8:45 in the morning. Entered in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park and dove to “Cades Cove” located in the west area the park. Cades Cove was a basin surrounded by mountains.This basin was pioneered in the 19th century by colonists who had bought it from Cherokee Indians but was abandoned in early 20th. The origin of the name, “Cades Cove” is not clear. Drove on the one-way narrow road along the foot of the mountains. Saw the frost attached to grasses shinning beautifully (Picture). Stopped off at the visitor center on the way. After about one-hour driving, we returned to the entrance of the basin.

After driving along the stream to the east, drove upward on RT 441. Had a lunch at the pass. Saw the hazy, light blue view of mountains far away just as the name of this pard, “Smokey Mountains”. The haziness is caused by moisture generated by the forest abundant in trees according to the guide panel.

Crossing the pass, it was North Carolina, the eighth State in this trip. There was snow on the downward road. Saw a car accident where a vehicle slipped and clashed to the rock wall.

At the bottom of the mountain road, saw a village of Cherokee Indians. Entered in Georgia, the ninth State in this trip. Arrived at a small town, Clayton. Our cottage, located at the end of a narrow mountain road, had a nice view of mountains.

Having a rest, we drove to Atlanta Airport to pick up our daughter from NY. It was in the midnight that all the family met together, eight people and four dogs.

The 4th ~ 6th Days (November 27~29, 2008 Thursday~Saturday - Georgia)
All stars together. One dog is missing: he hid behind because he hates photography.　
This picture includes all the dogs together.
Travis, the dog who hates photography, (left) was so gentle and friendly. He hates thunder and lightening and thus also hates flash of photography. Sasha is a black pit bull, (second left). She used to live together with me and this was the first time for us to see each other since two years ago. Just when she saw me, she was very excited, jumped around and kissed me. Lear, another black one (second right), was quiet and shy. Dusty (right) was rather difficult and short-tempered.

Our family enjoyed chatting, cooking, gaming and so on.

The 7th~8th Days (November 30~December 1, 2008 Sunday~Monday - Georgia to NY)
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