On our last day in the Great Smokies we wanted to tour the park a bit and visit the Lost Sea Cavern. The plan was to drive through the park and then on to the cave. It was Sunday afternoon and everyone in the world was out for a Sunday drive or a Sunday picnic. There is a loop in the park called Cades Cove that is about eleven miles long we thought we could leave the loop about halfway through and make our way to the cave. The speed limit through the loop is twenty miles an hour. We averaged about five or six bumper to bumper the whole way. It is narrow and one way. There were many signs instructing drivers to be considerate and use the frequent pullouts. Nobody did. We didn't find the exit from the loop and went the whole distance in about two hours. Even though it was now getting late it was on to search for the cave which turned out to be further than I thought. After about another hour and a half we were in the vicinity of where the cave was supposed to be. But no cave was to be found. Later we found that the name of the cave had been changed. In any event, we headed back to our condo and two hours later we were there.

Today we checked out of the condo and headed for Atlanta. Our route would take across Great Smoky National Park, a drive that is considered one of the most beautiful in the country. Unfortunately it rained most of the way. We did make a few stops and managed to get a few pictures between the rain drops. The fall colors were better at higher altitudes and we could see how spectacular this area would look in a couple of weeks.

We are now holed up at a La Quinta a little outside Atlanta. The rain has been torrential and the TV says there is a tornado potential. We have come to Atlanta primarily to see the Georgia Aquarium which is supposed to be the largest in the world. We plan to check it out tomorrow morning before heading to Savannah. Hopefully we will be able to find it.