COLORS OF FALL

When the leaves start turning and the mountains are aglow with vibrant colors, I am taken back to the fall trips we took as children to see the beautiful colors of fall.

Mommy and daddy would watch as the mountains came alive with color, and then decide the weekend had come for our annual day trip.  When they told my sister and me it was time for our trip, we were so excited.  Not only a day trip, but a picnic too!  How great is that!  We started planning right away.

First, we had to make sure we had the right clothes.  Old jeans and flannel shirts, boots and, of course, a jacket.  That time of year the air was getting a little nippy so we knew to be prepared.  We got all our things laid out on Friday night because the next day was going to be the big trip.  

We had to  talk to mommy about the picnic lunch.  We fixed homemade pimento cheese sandwiches ~ everyone's favorite at our house.  We packed potato chips, cookies that mommy made Friday night, and Kool-Aid in a big insulated jug we had been using for about a hundred years!  Daddy got the big cooler cleaned and ready, and  we packed all we could the night before.  Bedtime rolled around but we weren't very tired.

We slept a little bit, and when it was time to get up, we were ready to go!  We jumped into our clothes and helped pack the cooler and, with everything packed into our station wagon, we were off on our day trip.  Our destination had been a secret until now, and we could wait no longer.  "Daddy, where are we going" was our first question when we got into the car.  "The Smoky Mountains" was his reply.  This was too good to be true!  My sister and I shouted with glee!  We were on our way to the Great Smoky Mountains!

We traveled along that day, cameras in hand, taking pictures of all the lovely leaves turning brilliant colors of red, yellow and orange.  Even though we saw this sight every year, we were always awed by the beauty.  We have boxes of pictures taken on our day trips throughout our childhood.

We stopped at a campground and laid out our picnic on the big stone picnic table in the park.  Oh, how beautiful it was.  We ate our lunch and then ran and played in the park.  We hoped to see a bear; you would  sometimes see bears in the Smoky Mountains, they would come out for some food scraps.  That day they weren't hungry I guess and so we didn't see one.  

After a day of sight seeing we headed home.  My sister and I were worn out, but happy from all the day's activities.  We had plenty of pictures of our day trip to the Smoky Mountains, especially the lovely changing leaves on the trees.  Soon the snow would be falling, but  that was far back in our minds.  We slept well and dreamed of our trip.

As my family plans our annual day trip to see the beautiful changing of the colors, I pack a picnic lunch, and feel like that little girl again!