Cloud Gate is a three-story steel sculpture that has more often known as “The Bean” , because of its legume-like shape. The sculpture is the first public artwork in the United States by world-renowned artist Anish Kapoor.

The Crown Fountain is an interactive fountain, named in honor of Chicago’s Crown family and designed by Jaume Plensa. The fountain has a pair of transparent glass brick towers and water cascades down the two towers, spouting through a nozzle on each tower’s front face. Digital videos  are displayed on the inward faces of the towers. The water appears to be flowing from a person’s mouth. The park and fountain are open to the public daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Weather permitting, the water operates from May to October. Kids can splash in the fountain and have some fun.
The centerpiece of Millennium Park is the Jay Pritzker Pavilion with 4,000 fixed seats, plus additional lawn seating for 7,000. The Pritzker Pavilion is Grant Park’s outdoor performing arts venue for small events.

Here are some photos from our visit to Millennium Park.

Related posts:

1. Lake Michigan Shoreline Chicago
2. Centennial Olympic Park
3. Moses H. Cone Memorial Park

Here are some photos taken during our trip.

Related posts:

1. Julian Price Memorial Park
2. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
3. Lake Norman State Park, North Carolina

The main park entrances are located along U.S. Highway 441 (Newfound Gap Road) at the towns of Gatlinburg in Tennessee and Cherokee in North Carolina.

1. Sugarlands Visitors Center, Gatlinburg
2. Oconaluftee Visitors Center, Cherokee

US 441 – Newfound Gap Road is a very scenic highway through the park with access to many trail heads and scenic overlooks. New Found Gap is the lowest gap in the mountains and is situated near the center of the park on the Tennessee/North Carolina state line, halfway between the border towns of Gatlinburg and Cherokee. On clear days, Newfound Gap offers the most spectacular scenes accessible via highway in the park.

The most popular attractions of the park include:

1. Cades Cove – Historic Buildings, Sightseeing, Trails, Camping, Picnicking
2. Roaring Fork
3. Catalochee
4. Elkmont
5. Mountain Farm Museum and Mingus Mill at Oconaluftee
6. Clingmans Dome – Highest point in the park offering spectacular views
7. Laurel Falls – Beautiful 80 foot waterfall
   
8. Newfound Gap

Fall Colors put up a spectacular show throughout the park during Oct and early November. At higher elevations, colors change during the first 2 weeks of October. Good places to view Fall Colors would be Clingmans Dome and New Found Gap. During the last week of October and first week of November, colors would have peaked at lower elevations. Cades Cove, Catalochee and Oconaluftee will be good choices.

Here are some photos taken during our trip on Oct 17th and 18th, 2009. On Oct 17th, it snowed at higher elevations of the park. It was a spectacular sight with beautiful fall colors and snow covered tree tops. We visited Oconaluftee, New Found Gap, Clingmans Dome, Meigs Falls and Cades Cove. NC 441 was very beautiful with fall colors at higher elevations.

Related posts:

1. Oconaluftee (Great Smoky Mountains)
2. Cades Cove (Great Smoky Mountains)
3. Pisgah National Forest

1. When traveling towards South on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Julian Price Park Picnic Area comes on the right side after Milepost 296.5. The picnic area is beautiful and has plenty of parking. There are over 100 picnic tables located between streams and creeks. It has restroom facilities.
2. At Milepost 296.7 (Boone Fork Overlook), there is a boat rental station from where you can rent canoes.
3. Julian Price Park Campground is located at MP 297.1 and is really good.
4. Price Lake Overlook is located on the left side after Milepost 297.

The park has 7 trails. The trails in the park vary in length but all take you through the forests, by the streams and into the meadows of this fertile land.These are some of the popular trails :-

1. There is a 2.5 mile loop trail which goes around Price Lake and offers good views of the lake.
2. The Boone Fork Loop Trail begins at the Picnic Area. It is a 5 miles loop and is moderate in difficulty.
3. The Tanawha Trail runs between MP 305.5 (1.5 miles south of Linn Cove Viaduct) and 297.1 (Julian Price Memorial Park campground). It is 13.5 miles one-way and considered challenging.
4. The Green Knob Trail is 2.3 miles round trip and is moderate in difficulty. It intersects the park at the picnic area.

Here are some photos of Julian Price Park Picnic Area and Price Lake.

Related posts:

1. Moses H. Cone Memorial Park
2. Hanging Rock State Park
3. Blue Ridge Parkway Fall Sightseeing

In 1931, Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington founded Brookgreen Gardens, a non-profit garden museum, to preserve the native flora and fauna and display objects of art within that natural setting. Once a rice plantation, today, Brookgreen Gardens is a National Historic Landmark with the most significant collection of figurative sculpture in an outdoor setting by American artists in the world and has the only zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums on the coast of the Carolinas.

It is open seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. through 5 p.m. The admission fee is $12 for adults. Admission tickets are valid for seven consecutive days.

These are some of the interesting things to do at Brookgreen:-

1. Brookgreen Gardens, the first public sculpture garden in America, has in its collection more than 1,200 works by 350 sculptors.
2. The Low Country Zoo is home to native animals that live in the woods, swamps and waters of the Low Country. You get to see Alligators, Bald Eagles, River Otters, Red Foxes, Owls, Deers and more.
3. The Cypress Aviary is the only known aviary built over an existing cypress swamp where you can stroll through on an elevated boardwalk and observe the birds feeding and flying in this natural setting.
4. The Oaks Plantation History and Nature Trail is a self-guided walking trail through the woods. Visitors can see the archeological site of the former plantation house, the foundation of the spring house, Alston family cemetery, and the slave village.
5. Low Country Excursions have Cruises on a 48-foot pontoon boat along rice fields now home to alligators and waterfowls.

We had only 1 day to visit Brookgreen Gardens but you actually need atleast 2 days to absorb the beauty of these majestic gardens. We were able to cover most of the gardens and the zoo but couldn’t go for the Cruise and History Trail. So if you are visiting Brookgreen gardens, make sure to plan ahead and visit for at least 2 days.

Visit the Website of Brookgreen for more information.

Related posts:

1. Cypress Gardens, South Carolina
2. Trip Planning Charleston
3. Beautiful Places in South Carolina

Cypress Garden was the areas largest rice plantation, once upon a time. Now it has been converted to a beautiful garden. The black water swamp and cypress trees offer breath taking views. Cypress Gardens is composed of approximately 80 acres of open swamp. Movies like ‘The Patriot’ and ‘The Notebook’ have been filmed here. The admission price is $10 for adults.

There are boat rides through the black water swamp. Guided boat rides cost $5 and the self guided boat rides are free. We were lucky enough to spot wild turtles and alligators in the swamp, during our boat ride. There are many beautiful trails around the swamp and you can often catch a glimpse of wild life.

Cypress Gardens Butterfly House is open year around and features various species of butterflies, turtles and birds. The Freshwater aquarium at Cypress Gardens features the fish, reptiles and amphibians found at the swamp. The Reptile Center features many native venomous and non-venomous snakes. There is also and exotic Bird Aviary.

Visit the official website for more details.

Here are some photos from our Trip.

Here is the Gallery View of all Photos.

Related posts:

1. BrookGreen Gardens
2. Trip Planning Charleston
3. South Carolina Beaches

Today, this unique 21-acre park serves as Georgia’s lasting legacy of the Centennial Olympic Games held in Georgia’s capital city of Atlanta.

The Fountain of Rings is the centerpiece of Centennial Olympic Park and is one of the most recognized and photographed landmarks in Georgia.

It’s free to view the Fountain of Rings show, which plays four times a day, 365 days a year, at 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.

The Fountain of Rings is the world’s largest interactive fountain utilizing the Olympic symbol of five interconnecting Rings.

Visit the official website here.

Here are some photos from our trip to Atlanta.

Here is the Gallery View of all Photos.

Related posts:

1. Millennium Park Chicago
2. Places to Visit in Atlanta
3. CNN Headquarters Atlanta

The lake is approximately 720 acres, with about 21 miles of shoreline. Surrounding the lake are million dollar houses and vacation home.

An ideal place for Real Estate investors.

Lake Lure Park is very beautiful and an ideal place for weddings, get together, parties and so on. There is a paid beach on one side of Lake Lure known as Lake Lure Beach. Lake Lure boat tours are organized at the Marina. Visit this site for more information on Lake Lure Boating. Lake Lure Marina offers both motorized and non-motorized boat rentals.

Nearby attractions include Chimney Rock, Biltmore Estate, Asheville, Blue Ridge Parkway and so on.

We visited Lake Lure along with Chimney Rock. We drove from Charlotte as part of a Day Trip to both these places. Here are some photos from our trip.

Here is the Gallery View of all Photos.

Related posts:

1. Lake Norman State Park, North Carolina
2. Chimney Rock State Park
3. Hilton Lake Charlotte

We went to Tanglewood on New Year’s Eve of 2009 and had a wonderful time. It was the most beautiful light show I had seen in my life. Most of the light shows are animated.

Please visit http://www.forsyth.cc/tanglewood/fol_info.aspx for more information.

We ended up taking more videos than photos. I will be uploading the videos on YouTube.

Here is the Gallery View of all Photos.

Related posts:

1. Lake Norman State Park, North Carolina
2. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
3. Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden

Please visit the Official Website for more information.

Here is the Gallery View of all Photos.

Related posts:

1. Cypress Gardens, South Carolina
2. Snow in Charlotte – March 1st 2009
3. Belmont Abbey