Only 1 more week to go!

One week from today I will be driving with my boyfriend to the mountains! This will be my first vacation in about two years (not counting some little weekend getaways) and I am completely stoked. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of those places that I feel truly connected with the beauty of nature and I can remember the loved ones I have lost over the years. My grandfather was a park ranger many years ago during the summer when he wasn't teaching. That was one of his favorite places in the whole world besides Walt Disney World. He really loved the It's A Small World ride. I can't remember the first times I visited the mountains but I do have many wonderful memories. It is the place that my father and his borther got lost for three days when they were much younger (teens and twenties). It is the place that my father took my mother backpacking with his brother and sister. It is the place where I spent several summers, falls and winters camping with my family. I can remember waking up in the middle of the night needing to use the bathroom only to nearly get stuck to the toilet seat because of now cold it was outside. I can remember horseback riding with my mom, my sisters and aunts. I can remember going on hay rides with my entire family, including several aunts, uncles and cousins. It is the place that I realized how much I really love my boyfriend. It is the place that I first saw the look in his eye. That look which told me he loved the mountains as much as I do. It is the place I look forward to visiting with every fiber of my being.