Beautiful Lights at the Opryland Hotel Resort, Nashville, TN

Here's another post from our December 19, 2013 visit to see the Christmas Lights at the Opryland Hotel Resort.  Hope you didn't miss seeing the gorgeous Nativity from there I published on my January 10th blog post. 

Today,  I'll show you some more photos from outside the hotel.  Above is a beautiful decoration---made to be a huge 'tree' with poinsettias around the bottom.  Beautiful, isn't it?

Here is a close-up of one of the huge Poinsettias.   I love this flower/decoration.  Do you?

Above is a photo showing some of the beautifully decorated trees in the area.  Wonder how many many lights there are total????

Here is one more photo showing more of the awesome trees all lit up.

And here is a photo I took from outside while looking back toward the entrance to the hotel.  I will show one more photo from outside on my other blog (Betsy's Photo Blog) that you do not want to miss seeing.  Click HERE  for that photo (January 15 post).





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We met George's daughter, Kelly and hubby Chuck, in Nashville that evening for a Christmas Dinner at the Claim Jumper Restaurant in Opry Mills Mall and then,  we all visited the hotel in order to see their Christmas decorations --and of course, to take LOTS of photos!!!!   Below are some photos of the four of us taken in the Opryland Hotel Resort.

Here is a photo of George's beautiful daughter, Kelly, and her hubby, Chuck.

Kelly took this photo of George and me ---carrying all of our camera gear!!!!

AND-- Here's a photo of the four of us taken with the tripod... We had a great time with those two very active, very busy young adults.

Finally,  I want to send a shout-out to my middle son, Mark, who turns 44 today!!!!  Happy Birthday, Sweetie.  I love you!

Have a great Wednesday --and don't forget to check out the photo I posted on my Photo Blog.  Thanks to so many of you for your kind words to me after our near-head-on-collision on Monday afternoon.  I'm still talking about it --and keep thinking of what could have been.  For those who don't know,  a car came straight toward us on a 2-lane road here near our home --in OUR lane.  He was about 15-20 feet from hitting us head-on.  George swerved and we went into a ditch.  Luckily,  the ditch wasn't steep and there were no trees nearby for us to hit.  We were FINE and the car is fine --other than being extremely muddy and dirty around the tires and bottom. Our angels were with us for sure --and I thank God and thank George for staying calm and knowing what to do to save our lives.  Neither of us have EVER gone through a close-call like this before.  SCARY.

NOTE:  Anyone getting an email from me (with a Cox.net address)--do NOT open it. I will not send out an email just with a link.  The one that hubby got, was a link and said AMAZING.   I must have gotten spammed!  I will change passwords AGAIN.  Thanks..  (So far,  nobody has received an email except my hubby--so hopefully,  things are okay.)

Another NOTE:  Anyone with Google+  may want to read THIS if you don't want your name used in advertisements --which you may not recommend.  

Hugs,

Emoticons

Backroad Trip in the Smokies 12-2-13

Beautiful Winter Day in the Smokies

On December 2nd,  George and I decided to take one of the backroads in the Smokies (between Cosby and Cataloochee).   WELL---You've heard about 'best laid plans' haven't you????  We got about halfway up the mountain only to find the road beyond was CLOSED.   SO---we took off on another backroad ---not sure where we would end up!!!!!  We love surprises ---and this one was wonderful...  AND---it all worked out well for us since we finally came out over on I-40---toward Asheville (which is where we wanted to go).

I'll share with you some of the beautiful photos we took along that road...  Be sure to click on the photos for enlargements.  The photo above shows what a pretty day it was for us.  However,  there was snow at the higher elevations ---which we hadn't planned on seeing.

Snow on the road

I took several photos of our road that day showing the ice and snow and MUD.  It wasn't very cold that day---but the snow was still clinging onto the shady spots!

Very Dirty Car!

Our pretty little Prius (Mrs. P) got EXTREMELY muddy and dirty that day.... Poor thing---she's SO abused!!!!!! ha

Mt. Sterling Baptist Church

Years ago,  people lived in small communities in the mountains... This little church sits up on top of a mountain ---so of course,  we had to check it out.  It is still in use---so there are families who still must live nearby (although we didn't see many homes).  What a beautiful place for a church.  This is Mt. Sterling Baptist Church.  Neat, huh?

Mt. Sterling Cemetery

And--this is the Mt. Sterling Cemetery behind the church.  There obviously have been quite a few families in those mountains through the years.

Huge Holly Tree

I don't know how long the church has been there,  but I was in awe of this huge Holly Tree.  I have no idea how old the Holly is but I seldom see them that large... We have some Holly bushes in our yard --but they are small. 

Beautiful Cascade

Of course,  you know that George and I always stop when we see cascades and waterfalls --no matter where we are.   We  saw some beauties in these mountains.  

George getting ready to take a picture

Since we didn't have our jackets on,  you will know that the weather wasn't too cold on this day.  There's just nothing better than being way back in the mountains enjoying a mountain creek!

My "Dream Cabin"

I put a similar photo on my Photo Blog saying that this is my 'Dream House'... That's what I would love to have:  cabin high in the mountains with a beautiful view!!!!  WOW---gorgeous,  isn't it? 

Laurel Creek

There was a sign nearby this creek/cascade saying "Twisted Laurel Trail"... SO--I assume that this creek is named Laurel Creek...  I love all of the Rhododendrons surrounding the creek.

Snow, Cascades and Creek

Here's another cascade/waterfall/creek.  As you can see,  there's still quite a bit of snow in the area.  Isn't this a beautiful area????  We LOVED it. (Just look at the next photo!)

A Happy Mountain Girl

Here's your proof... We do love being in the mountains!!!!  Can you tell???? ha ha

Another Little Cabin

Here''s another little cabin along our way!  Makes me wonder if these cabins are where people live year-round ---or are they 'seasonal' cabins???  I'm sure one could get stuck up on those mountains for long periods of time in the winter.

Beautiful View

I love this view---from those mountains... Can you imagine a cabin here with that view?  WOW!!!

WELL---after wandering around for awhile,  we did wind our way back down the mountain and came out at Interstate 40---which is where we wanted to go since we were headed on to Asheville, North Carolina.   SO---even though we didn't get to go on the road we thought we'd go on,  this was a wonderful little side-trip---and except for a very dirty car,  we loved every second in those mountains.

Hope you have a good weekend and hope that it has warmed up some where you live also.  We had a nice weekend --but they say it will get cold again here on Wednesday... SO--I guess Winter is still with us!!!!!

NOTE:  Anyone getting an email from me (with a Cox.net address)--do NOT open it. I will not send out an email just with a link.  The one that hubby got, was a link and said AMAZING.   I must have gotten spammed!  I will change passwords AGAIN.  Thanks..

NOTE:  Anyone with Google+  may want to read THIS if you don't want your name used in advertisements --which you may not recommend.  

Have a great day.
Hugs,

Emoticons