In May 2013 I took a road trip with my parents through the Southeastern U.S. We started in Tennessee at Great Smoky National Park, which was more rugged and beautiful than I had expected. The wispy clouds hanging over the mountains made it clear how the park got its name, and we saw waterfalls and beautiful valleys there.
We made our way to North Carolina where we saw Biltmore Estate in Asheville. This historic house is the largest in the U.S. and quite impressive. Then we were off to South Carolina to see Congaree National Park. It's a small park but it boasts the largest old growth hardwood forest in the southeastern U.S. as well as one of the highest tree canopies in the world. Then I swung through historic Savannah Georgia before a quick stop at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta. All in all it was a wonderful trip through an area that frequently surprised me with its beauty and history.