Pictures from our summer vacation to the Smokies

Yes, this summer was incredibly busy with more grad school and travels. I thought the fall wouldn't be as bad but the amount of mayhem at the start of the school year and the rush towards an onslaught of holiday concerts always takes me by storm. Nevertheless, I wanted to share with you some of our pictures from the August trip we took to Smoky Mountain National Park.

On our way to the Smokies, we met my parents for lunch in Berea, Kentucky, one of Kyle's home towns and where my mom went to college. We ate in a restaurant/hotel that is owned by Berea College called Boone Tavern. The food was delicious and I enjoyed trying the famous spoon bread that I had heard about all my life. We then took a walk through the college campus and my mom pointed out some of the places that meant a lot to her when she was there. On our campus tour, we were able to get into the chapel where my parents got married and Kyle got a few pictures before the security guards asked what were we up to. It was great to see them even if it was only for a little while.

As always, vacations with any member of the Cox family always involve some sort of adventure. On our way into the park, I stopped and asked a young teenage girl to take the traditional picture by the sign. Immediately after that, Kyle found a 4 inch long millipede. Gross!


After hearing about the fun Ryan and Amber had a few years ago on their trip to the Smokies (which was so weird because we stayed in the EXACT same cabin), we decided this sounded like a fun trip for us to try. I had been to the park a few years ago with my parents and my aunt but this was Kyle's first time. Ryan and Amber inspired us to try to take on a LOT of hiking trails.
One was a loop trail which I thought would be fun because we wouldn't have to retrace our steps. However, to both of our surprise, it was a huge loop straight up and straight down a big mountain.
My legs were so on fire and even though this memory is a little old, I still laugh about the fact that the only people we passed on this trail were an middle aged couple who look us straight in the eye and said, "You've got a long way to go still." What words of encouragement, right? Just when you think you've gasped long enough and were close to the top of the mountain, there was still a long way to go. That trail was intense and took us about 5 hours.

We decided to take it easy the next day and hikes smaller trails only one or two miles long. It was really lucky that Kyle and I decided to take that loop trail instead of the Rainbow Falls trail we were going to take because that very day, a 8-year-old boy was attacked on the trail head by a bear. After watching that on the news, Kyle decided we should take it more easy at the end of the trip.

Overall, it was a great vacation and has obviously left vivid memories with me. If you visit the park, stay in one of the many cabin rentals. They are so cute, have a great view of the mountains, most have hot tubs, and they really make us feel like we really got away from the craziness of everyday life. Hope this vacation recap made you smile, want to visit the Smokies (it would be REALLY fun to go in the fall), and remind you of the warmer days of summer.