The Sweaty, rainy, green monster of the East

Doug and I flew to Atlanta, rented a car, and drove to DC. We had every intention of driving the entire Blue Ridge Parkway from Great Smokey Mt Nat. Park to Shanendoah Nat Park. But it is very twisty, turny and you can go no faster than 40 mph so we took a break and hit the freeway every once in a while. We stayed in Knoxville, Asheville, and Charlottesville, all very charming cities. I did not realize what a tourist trap it was going to be around Gatlinburg, though, with wax museums, Dollywood, and speedways. But once we were in the parkway it was very pretty, although quite monotonous. They have mountains that are about 6000 feet high, but they are covered with giant greenery, trees of all kinds, and beautiful flowering plants. There are view points but more often than not, they consisted of views of trees! When we did have a view, it was of long rolling hills and green valleys. We also visited Tazewell county Virginia where the Peery's came from. It was interesting, and quaint; fun to see Peery emblazoned on so many sites!
My overall impression was that the area was very poor, that the weather permitted a more laid back lifestyle, that people were very friendly and that there were so very many bugs! It was beautiful, but I could not live there, being the desert girl that I am.