The flowers appear on the earth; 
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land.
Song of Solomon 2:12 (NKJ)
A sweet scent blows in the open window—daffodils, hyacinths, and many varieties of flowering fruit trees appear on this part of the earth. Cardinals, finches, wrens, and many other birds create a cacophony of song as they try to out sing each other. Although, I haven’t heard the quiet cooing of any turtledoves yet, it certainly looks and sounds as if the season of singing has indeed come.
Spring seems to fill us all with fresh energy. It’s a good time to travel south before it gets too warm. Yes, I know. Many people head south during the winter because they want to avoid the cold. However, now is the right time of year for all sorts of southern floral beauty. Did you notice the azaleas blooming around the Augusta National Golf Course during the Masters Golf Tournament? http://www.augusta.com/masters/story/news/flowers-making-appearance-golf-course
Since my ground travel through the south has been limited, I turned for wisdom to the only true southern belle among my friends. Here are Belle’s recommendations for the area around Atlanta, GA and Chattanooga, TN.
Travel Tips
For Georgia:
• Gibbs Garden, 1987 Gibbs Drive, Ball Ground. http://www.gibbsgardens.com
You could spend a whole day in this beautiful place.
• Civil War & Georgia History. This website lists attractions: http://www.gacivilwar.org/attractions
• Georgia Aquarium, downtown. The jelly room is my favorite with tanks set in black marble.
http://www.georgiaaquarium.org
• Tellus Science Museum, Cartersville. http://tellusmuseum.org
• Stone Mountain, northeast side, with historic buildings and a, well, stone mountain.
Sky Lift is available.
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/geography-environment/stone-mountain
For Tennessee:
• Chattanooga, Tennessee is my favorite way to go to and from Atlanta. http://www.chattanoogafun.com
• Lookout Mountain is way overrated, but the city is lovely. http://www.lookoutmountain.com
• Cherokee National Forest on the east side, is stunning. http://www.fs.usda.gov/cherokee
• Small towns dot the area with fine restaurants and friendly natives. https://www.tnvacation.com
Thank you for these travel ideas, Belle.
What scenic southern vistas or attractions would you add to my friend’s list? Leave details in the comment box below.
Travel Light Humor
When I asked my friend to recommend any southern mansions in the area she replied, “The only places that weren’t put to the torch with Sherman’s hissy fit (a bitter angry little man) were on 
the south side of the city.”
Her words, not mine. Told you she was a true southern belle. She closed her advice with this last instruction: “Have a blast and soak up some Southern comfort.”
Until next time…Travel Light,
SuZan
© 2016 SuZan Klassen
SuZan Klassen 
Love your pictures! I’ll send you some of my doves – lots of them come to feed, but I have no finches. Maybe we can trade !
We do have an abundance of finch photos. I wanted to enlarge the dove photo so that it’s pretty coloring was more visible. They have blue rings around their eyes and a lovely rosy color. However, space was limited this time in the page layout.