Vacation

The fall semester is about to start and I decided that I needed to get away for a few days so I did this past weekend. Sometimes taking a long weekend is a really good thing.

I drove to Atlanta to see the Braves play on Friday. I had a seat right behind home plate. It was very nice and the Braves won a very good game with Smoltz going the entire way and Francouer hitting a game winning double in the ninth. In the eighth inning Smoltz came up to bat and Bobby Cox did not pinch hit for him and in the at bat Smoltz fouled off a number of pitches a drew a walk and received one of the loudest ovations of the night. It was great to see a true competitor dig in and do his absolute best. Very cool.

On Saturday I drove up to some friends' house in North Carolina for a very long overdue visit.

Then on Sunday I drove through the Great Smokey Mountain National Park (a gorgeous drive that everyone should do if they haven't already.) to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge where I futzed about the rest of the day. I think I want to go back and spend several days there.

Then I drove home. I did use the Natchez Trace Parkway rather than the Interstate for the bulk of the distance between Nashville and Oxford. Another lovely drive though this one was largely devoid of cars unlike the Smokies.

A very relaxing weekend to help me get ready for a new school year.