Today is a beautiful sunny winter day in East Tennessee. Case and I set out early this morning for an 8AM showing in Blaine. It was cool and drizzling rain but by the time we finished the sun was starting to peek through the clouds and it looked like it was going to be a pretty day. I decided to surprise Case who was asleep in his car seat and take him to Hardee's for his favorite breakfast, biscuits and gravy. After we finished breakfast we took the scenic route and headed to Dandridge to spend the afternoon at the camper.
There are so many things I love about East Tennessee. If I tried to name my favorite thing it would be impossible. My husband and I share the love of fishing and being on the lake. We have so many wonderful memories over the last several years and so many of them involve the lake. If I had to pick one lake it would have to be Douglas Lake I believe only because it is where we spent so many vacations camping and fishing and I am much more familiar with it. I do love the clear green waters of Norris too even though it is a much harder lake to fish. Fort Loudon is another favorite even though I have a few not so fond memories such as scraping the boat motor prop on the rocks and taking a small chunk out of it and I also lost a blue sapphire ring on the ramp one trip.Even with a couple mishaps it's hard to have a bad day on the lake. I love our Great Smoky Mountains National Park too. We love just driving through the campgrounds at Elkmont and Cades Cove and seeing the campers and smelling the burning campfires. At certain times we will try to guess how many campers will be camping before we get there just for fun. We have tent camped a couple times at each campground and also at Look Rock before they shut it down from lack of funding. Tent camping in the Smokies can be fun but also stressful when you have to get up and run to the potty in the middle of the night. That's the fastest I have ever ran in my life. All I could think of was I hope I can outrun a bear if I see one. Then we got a camper and life was good although we never went back to the Smokies since we started pulling the camper trailer but we did start camping more frequently at Douglas Lake. This satisfied two of our loves, camping and fishing. We would have the best times fishing on the banks, camping meals and sitting by the campfire every evening. My kids would come visit and it was some of the best memories in my life. People are never satisfied with what they have for very long. Camping at the lake we would see all the boats launching and all the anglers bringing in the big fish they would catch and we were limited to the banks of the rivers and lakes. We needed a boat. We talked about it, looked at boats both new and used, dreamed about it and talked some more and finally one day on a vacation we went and got one. We were so excited we could hardly wait to get it on the lake. Imagine my disappointment when we couldn't take it with us that same day but had to wait a few days. The boat opened up new fishing experiences for us. What fun and enjoyment we had finding hotspots and big fish. There have been some tradeoffs with the boat. We had fewer camping meals and fewer evening by the campfires. We would head out early at daylight and come back in at bedtime many times. My husband Dwayne would let me fish as long as I wanted to even after he was ready to head back. I would always say (and still do) I will cast just 10 more times and then we can go. :) After I got into real estate things changed. I worked so many hours and never seemed to be able to fit in days off. It controlled me. I could have a couple weeks with no business and then we would pack up for a vacation or a 3 day weekend and my phone would start ringing off the hook. It never failed. One vivid memory I have is a vacation where I was dealing with a difficult loan originator trying to get a young couple who were first time buyers to closing on time and I'll bet I had 10 calls while we were out fishing that afternoon. I thought Dwayne was going to throw me out of the boat. (he would never do it) We were both so frustrated. At one point I was in tears because I was so aggravated that this lender was causing so much unnecessary grief for these buyers and I was trying to enjoy a much needed vacation with my husband who deserved me to enjoy it with him. We had fewer and fewer camping trips because it became such a hassle to pull the camper and the boat(2 trips)plus me drive my car as well. It was no fun for us to go and then me have to run back and forth and leave him alone. Then we were blessed a couple years ago to become acquainted with a man who owns a private campground on Douglas Lake. We rented a permanent site and now leave the camper there. Now we still take 2 vehicles, one to pull the boat when we take it and my car. Sometimes I still have to attend to my real estate but I try not to let it control me. Now we can go for a day, a weekend or a week. We drive to and from work from he camper and we take our grandson Case with us. I don't get to go fishing now as often as I would like but at least I am camping and I'm able to enjoy the beautiful sunsets, and sunrises over the lake. Our home is nice and I am thankful God has provided a place for us to live but there's just something special about camping.
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| Views from the campground |
There are so many things I love about East Tennessee. If I tried to name my favorite thing it would be impossible. My husband and I share the love of fishing and being on the lake. We have so many wonderful memories over the last several years and so many of them involve the lake. If I had to pick one lake it would have to be Douglas Lake I believe only because it is where we spent so many vacations camping and fishing and I am much more familiar with it. I do love the clear green waters of Norris too even though it is a much harder lake to fish. Fort Loudon is another favorite even though I have a few not so fond memories such as scraping the boat motor prop on the rocks and taking a small chunk out of it and I also lost a blue sapphire ring on the ramp one trip.Even with a couple mishaps it's hard to have a bad day on the lake. I love our Great Smoky Mountains National Park too. We love just driving through the campgrounds at Elkmont and Cades Cove and seeing the campers and smelling the burning campfires. At certain times we will try to guess how many campers will be camping before we get there just for fun. We have tent camped a couple times at each campground and also at Look Rock before they shut it down from lack of funding. Tent camping in the Smokies can be fun but also stressful when you have to get up and run to the potty in the middle of the night. That's the fastest I have ever ran in my life. All I could think of was I hope I can outrun a bear if I see one. Then we got a camper and life was good although we never went back to the Smokies since we started pulling the camper trailer but we did start camping more frequently at Douglas Lake. This satisfied two of our loves, camping and fishing. We would have the best times fishing on the banks, camping meals and sitting by the campfire every evening. My kids would come visit and it was some of the best memories in my life. People are never satisfied with what they have for very long. Camping at the lake we would see all the boats launching and all the anglers bringing in the big fish they would catch and we were limited to the banks of the rivers and lakes. We needed a boat. We talked about it, looked at boats both new and used, dreamed about it and talked some more and finally one day on a vacation we went and got one. We were so excited we could hardly wait to get it on the lake. Imagine my disappointment when we couldn't take it with us that same day but had to wait a few days. The boat opened up new fishing experiences for us. What fun and enjoyment we had finding hotspots and big fish. There have been some tradeoffs with the boat. We had fewer camping meals and fewer evening by the campfires. We would head out early at daylight and come back in at bedtime many times. My husband Dwayne would let me fish as long as I wanted to even after he was ready to head back. I would always say (and still do) I will cast just 10 more times and then we can go. :) After I got into real estate things changed. I worked so many hours and never seemed to be able to fit in days off. It controlled me. I could have a couple weeks with no business and then we would pack up for a vacation or a 3 day weekend and my phone would start ringing off the hook. It never failed. One vivid memory I have is a vacation where I was dealing with a difficult loan originator trying to get a young couple who were first time buyers to closing on time and I'll bet I had 10 calls while we were out fishing that afternoon. I thought Dwayne was going to throw me out of the boat. (he would never do it) We were both so frustrated. At one point I was in tears because I was so aggravated that this lender was causing so much unnecessary grief for these buyers and I was trying to enjoy a much needed vacation with my husband who deserved me to enjoy it with him. We had fewer and fewer camping trips because it became such a hassle to pull the camper and the boat(2 trips)plus me drive my car as well. It was no fun for us to go and then me have to run back and forth and leave him alone. Then we were blessed a couple years ago to become acquainted with a man who owns a private campground on Douglas Lake. We rented a permanent site and now leave the camper there. Now we still take 2 vehicles, one to pull the boat when we take it and my car. Sometimes I still have to attend to my real estate but I try not to let it control me. Now we can go for a day, a weekend or a week. We drive to and from work from he camper and we take our grandson Case with us. I don't get to go fishing now as often as I would like but at least I am camping and I'm able to enjoy the beautiful sunsets, and sunrises over the lake. Our home is nice and I am thankful God has provided a place for us to live but there's just something special about camping.
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| Catching a baby bass with Case. Say FISHY! |
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| A spin around the campground in mamaw and papaws boat. His expression says it all! |
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| Sunrise on Douglas Lake. Saturday morning anglers. |
Why do I love spending time at the lake. A picture is worth a 1000 words.
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