On the way to my parent’s house in NC, we stopped along the Ocoee River in Tennessee to take a few pics at the dam. The scenery was just beautiful, a perfect photo op spot.
The dam is pretty spectacular in itself. 
Powerful and beautiful. 
And the stream rushing by the rocks with all that pretty foam is outstanding. 
I’ve always been fascinated with streams, creeks and rivers. And NC and TN is full of such scenes as this. 
I posed for the river in the background and then we were on our way. 
One afternoon, after our lunch, we headed over to Lake Chatuge, which is not far from my parents house. A beautiful man-made lake, the mountains are in the background and it makes for a spectacular view. 
Pretty, pretty, it certainly is. 
I did enhance these pics just a bit, but the water really was a pretty blue.
NOTE on photos: If you haven’t tried out some photo editing software, give it a try to enhance and improve your photographs. I’m using Photoscape (thanks to my friend, Pat for the tip) and Photofiltre for the most part, but Picasa and Piknik are also great. Photoscape has a feature called Bloom that I’m just now trying out and it is fun to play around with. It adds a bit of shimmer and light on a certain spot in your photo (you can pick and choose with it). I also use the Contrast feature, as well as resize my photos to fit on my blog. You can also play around with the colors and hues to give your pics a little boost. Most of the big-gun blogs use Photoshop, but that one’s expensive. These I mentioned are freebies, you gotta love that!
Here’s a pic below and you can see what I did with it in Photoscape, Before and After. I used the Color Enhance and the Bloom feature to add extra light on the haybale. Now, keep in mind, I’m totally a novice at this, so I’m playing around with it until it looks good to me. I could get carried away though, so just be aware of that too. 🙂
It’s amazing what these photo programs can do!
More of pretty Lake Chatuge.
A couple of kayakers were out getting some exercise. It was so hot, I don’t know how they stood it. 
On the way back home, we saw some pretty haybales in a pasture. NC really has some beautiful scenery, from mountains, to lakes and streams. 
As well as pretty and rustic barns. 
Back at my parents house, I just took a few snapshots around the house. My mom has had these canisters since the 70’s. I think my sister gave them to her back then. Frogs might be back in again. 
My sister and her hubby were there for a couple of days and brought their dogs, Holly….
And Buster. They kept us entertained too. 
Dad’s house has board and batten. Before board and batten was cool. 🙂 
Fresh ‘maters!
Blueberries.
Homemade ice cream.
Peach cobbler
And loads of fresh veggies. Are you ready to kill me yet, with all these food pics? I’m so sorry.
Squash, steamed okra, peas.
My plate was full once again. 
But I managed to eat it all. How do I do that? Ha-ha, I’m telling you, I couldn’t eat like that all the time. 
Mom made blueberry pancakes one morning.
Yum! 
Along with bacon, fresh fruit and a hashbrown/egg dish.
Oh my goodness, was it all good. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it all again.
I do hope you all enjoyed our trip to NC with my family. It’s a priceless and special time for all of us!
Rhoda, we love the Ocoee! Great tubing in addition to being so incredibly picturesque. Your photographs are awesome– what kind of camera do you use?
Also, I had to minimize your blog when my husband walked in, otherwise he would have me cooking all week ;-).
Enjoy your day!!
Heidi, I wrote about my camera decision a couple months ago. I bought the Canon T1i Rebel and am really enjoying it.
Don’t know if you remember, but we live in TN. Been to the Ocoee many, many times. Hubby has rafted there, but not me! (Not after I saw a guy get his nose broke while rafting LOL.) So many of your pics look just like around our home – especially those hay rolls – it’s that time of year! There are many farms around us, we live in a somewhat rural area. I have never actually lived in the city.
Yum on the food, that’s how we eat around here – lots of fresh veggies right now. Silver queen corn is one of my favorites. But, where’s your cantaloupe??? Another of our summer musts around here. Oh, but please make my okra fried – the only way I will eat it. We have had tomatoes out our ears, but I think this HOT, DRY weather is going to do away with that. I’ve put up pasta sauce and pureed tomatoes to cook with this winter.
Beautiful pics! Do you ever go to the Smokey’s when going to NC?
tina
Tina, yes, I grew up going to the Smokey’s plenty of times when we went on vacation to NC. Many family members (my grandfather and his brothers and sisters) had cabins up in Franklin, NC back in the 60’/70’s, into the 80’s and we all used to hang out up there. We have a big family & it was a lot of fun. We used to go to Sliding Rock, Deep Creek to tube and we’ve been down the Natahala River many times on raft trips. I’ve also been on the Ocoee rafting too, but that was many years ago.
What I would give to spend a week at your parents’ house and eat some of that cooking and hear some of those stories. Sigh.
Mmmm…. all those food pics are making me hungry! Can you share the recipe for the egg/hashbrown dish?
Oh, Rhoda, what a blessing that both your parents are still alive! And how nice that they live in the mountains. Sometime you’ll have to venture further into North Carolina and explore the scenery around Durham–there are some great places to visit here. 🙂
Oh, and those vegetables. I could have kept you company cleaning a plate that like one. Heavenly!
I went white-water rafting down the Ocoee River this past June. It was awesome!!!!! I totally loved it……I was one of the lucky one to get to swim with the rocks! I had to scrapes and cuts to prove it too. I have pictures of us fighting the rapids on my blog. Thanks for making us all hungry. I am enjoying food from the garden too. YUMMY YUMMY! Glad you had a great trip!
I agree with everyone, the food looks delish & the family time wonderful! It reminds me so much of the way I grew up. But on a side note, I noticed the Tervis tumblers on the table!! I loooove my Tervis tumblers to drink out of, they are the best! I know you probably think this is silly of me, but I had to mention them, since I saw them. hehe
Rhoda,
What part of NC is your parents home? It is charming, and I have always been a big fan of board and batten. Yes, way before it was cool. It’s always been cool to me.
I live in EAst TN not far from Knoxville and the Smokey Mts. Beautiful area, and I also love the Boone, NC area.
Nice pics. You are so fortunate to have your parents. Your mom’s food looks so good. I wish I could eat some of my mother’s food once more.
HI, Brenda, their home is near Murphy, NC. Thanks for stopping by!
Beautiful food pictures–love the home cooked meals–delicious.
Wonderful pics -especially the food! I grew up in the country eating the same things and miss it dearly.
I Love Love Love your pictures. You do such a great job and make me wish I was there with you.! The food looks so good it makes my mouth water. I think that is the best food there is. Thanks for sharing!