Light Chaser

Smoky Mountain National Park

We are enjoying the beautiful Smokies! We spent 10 days with our grandson and then came back to explore the area some more. We are glad we did!

Deep Creek Camp Campground (Bryson City, North Carolina)

Indian Creek Falls – we always meet wonderful people willing to swap photo opps

Love all the light filtering through the trees as walk. Imagine the silence, the filtered light, and beautiful forest capturing our thoughts and imaginations.

Chef Roger making his wonderful vegetable beef stew. It was GREAT.

Trying out a new instant pot recipe. It’s a keeper.

Enchanted Hike to a Cemetery

We saw a sign while hiking that said Cemetery. We hiked up through one of the most interesting and magical trails we have been on.

How cool is this? We felt like we were entering another world.

Three graves..hmm? Haven’t been able to find the story behind this place

Bryson City

We loved Bryson City which was only a short drive from our campsite. Our camp host recommended a little coffee shop and of course we needed to try it out!

Enjoying a relaxing moment with Sundance

Sunny posing for a picture. Some other people passing by took his picture too.

We tried getting Sunny to pose on the seat of this bike—BAD IDEA 😳

We had fun on the Great Smoky Mountain Railway Tour.

Here is our steam engine. It reminded us of riding the steam trains in India and Bangladesh although MUCH more luxurious

We really enjoyed meeting wonderful new friends from Georgia

Watching the engine puff away as we go around the bend.

Soccer in Tallahassee

We had fun watching Eamon and Knox play soccer, but IT WAS HOT! I was too hot to take pictures.

Life is zipping by! It doesn’t seem that long ago that we watched our kids play sports and now we are cheering the grandkids on!

Super Defender, Knox, waiting for the throw in

G-Top and Eamon Scout Out Local Camping Areas

Happiness is spending time together-Maclay Garden State Park

Swimming with the gators🐊 – at least G-Top said so

And of course ICE CREAM for dessert . Best way to top off a 12 hour day of fun.

G-Top’s Helper

Thor loved helping wash the Alto. Grateful for the professional assistance …

S’mor Time on the Back Patio

We LOVE the Johnson Family

Guess Myra girl didn’t want her picture taken

Goodbye for Now TallahasseNo for JJe We’ll Be Back

Feeling blessed with these beautiful grand babies

Family Time in Tallahassee

After returning Knox to his family, we hung out with the rest of the Johnson clan! There is never a dull moment with 4 kiddos. We love being grandparents to this crew!

We had a lovely breakfast/lake date with our 4 year old granddaughter.

Chocolate chip waffle with whip cream—not sure mommy approved😳

The ducks loved the lettuce and kale. They are watching their carbs.

Climbing trees with G-Top. Thumbs up that Myra climbed all the way up here, ALMOST all by herself!

The slow jump. Myra is so proud of herself.

This egret was listening, as we played the sound of his call with an app on our cellphone. Fun watching the reaction. I wonder what we were saying in egret language?

Museum Day

Enjoyed a Museum trip with the homeschool group

Slow down please.

Continuing Adventures with Knox in Tennessee

Each morning, the first challenge question of the day from Knox , “G-Top, what’s my adventure today?” ( G-Top always had a plan or came up with one!)

Cosby Campground Tennessee Smoky Mountain National Park

G-Top’s pancake creativity (He has been known for this for many years…. Right, Micah, Sarah, and Jackie?)

Knox the warrior

I’m ready to sleep out under the stars with my glow necklace.

Adventure in Gatlinburg Tennessee

We left the campground and headed to Gatlinburg for a fun packed day with our “energizer bunny” grandson. He’s keeping us young!

Up up and away!

Beautiful Smoky Mountains at the top of SkyLift Park, Gatlinburg

Had to take a selfie over the glass portion of the bridge. It was kinda scary looking down!

Whoop whoop! Hadn’t done this for a while!

G-Top is so cute(G-Top became the “Junior Ranger!)

G-Top challenge (G-son was much faster!)

Very cool walking bridge through the forest (Look carefully and you can see G-Son and G-Mom, leaving G-Top in their vapors)

Lake Sinclair Georgia

Our last campsite with Knox.

Last s’mores (To celebracasion, Knox received S’mores for lunch and dinner. – two for dinner with double marshmallows – pushing the line with mom)

Last battleship challenge . Tight game came to an end when the board and table fell scattering the pieces 😞

Goodbye. Time to head back to Tallahassee. Light Chaser!

Do I really have to go home?? Yelp. But we extended one day….

Homecoming

I think dear Knox was missed by his family!

Thor is so happy to see big brother, Knox!

Andrew Jackson State Park –South Carolina

This park was in a PERFECT location. We were about 15 minutes from Waxhall where Dave and Karen DeGraff live. They just returned from Cameroon so the timing was PERFECT for a sweet catch up visit! We like PERFECT especially when it comes to seeing wonderful friends like Dave and Karen.

Karen, Dave and Chris joined us at our campsite for a barbecue., Afterwards, we had a nice walk around the small lake. Our 7 year old grandson, Knox, had already done this hike with his G-Pop. So, he was thrilled to be designated as the trail guide.

We were camped about 30 minutes from Charlotte. We picked up our 7 year old grandson who flew by himself from Tallahassee to have a 7 day adventure with G-mom and G-Top.

This campground was where Andrew Jackson grew up. There was a very interesting museum which all of us enjoyed. Knox loved hearing the stories told about this brave young man!

This little guy was up early his first morning with us raring to go on his first adventure! Love the matching sweatshirts!

This little boy LOVES pancakes, especially G-Top’s special Minnie Mouse rendition!

Canoe adventure on the lake! We had all 3 of us + Sunny paddling around the lake.

A boy and a dog! Sunny loved having someone always willing to toss the ball.

Indian Creek Campground-North Carolina

We had a great campsite next to a stream. It was so nice to hear the sound of the running water. Knox loved throwing rocks into the river and playing along the edge.

Enjoying the green flames of the campfire

Always happy to be climbing on something

Elk Adventure

Our campground neighbors invited us to go with them to see the elk. It was an amazing experience! We saw so many bull elks along with cows and calves. The bulls bugled back and forth calling the cows and perhaps challenging other males for dominance.

Pennsylvania- Open Alto

It was a sweet weekend visiting family and friends in PA. Thanks to our friends, Connie and Feryl, for hosting us and providing a place to park our Alto for our Open Alto event. We were so happy to be able to show so many our new tiny house with its raised roof and bay windows. We so appreciate the visit we had with those who came by to say hi! You are all so very special to us.

Longwood Gardens (A must see if you’ve never been there!)

We love Longwood Gardens! My brother Paul has a yearly pass that allows him to include guests. We always appreciate the invitation to go explore the gardens! This time it was an evening fountain light show that was beautiful! Thanks Paul!

Captivated by 70’s music brought to life by water and lights

Thanks Jolene for joining us for the fountain light show

Prospect Maine

Driving from Maine to Pennsylvania we stopped at Fort Knox and a VERY cool bridge. It had an observation deck at the very top! We are so glad we took the time to stop!

Acadia National Park (September 9 to 11)

We loved this beautiful park! Our time was limited, so we will have lots more to explore next time around! Our highlight was a 4 mile hike on the Schoodic Head Trail from Blueberry Hill to amazing overlooks. We couldn’t stop singing, “ I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill” ( Fats Domino -Blueberry Hill )