USA Road Trip - Spring Rhododendrons in Blue Ridge parkway and Great Smoky Mountains, tunnels and waterfalls!

My name is Rashmi, I am a recent early retiree in my early 50s from Florida. I am a vegetarian and practice a mindfulness routine of yoga, meditation and Pranayama, I will be happy to share these techniques, if interested. I am a fun-loving, easy going, and adventurous person who is looking for TripMates who exhibit the same qualities. I love hanging out with people who are kind, helpful, caring, and are genuinely interested in sharing, learning, and adventuring! If these traits apply to you, join me! I have made several trips to Pisgah forest and the Great Smokies during Fall and Spring, and keep on returning for more easy hikes and breathtaking scenery. I have travelled to far-flung places from Tibet to Alaska to Marrakesh to Iceland to New Zealand and hope to keep on travelling to many more! I love learning about different cultures. The aim of our trip will be easy hikes for spring wildflowers and waterfalls on the Blue Ridge Parkway and Smoky Mountain. Spring brings bursts of Catawba Rhododendrons and flame azalea, bluets, columbine, fire pink, phlox, mountain laurel, wild geranium, dogwoods, Virginia spiderwort, Turk’s cap lily, and many more. Of the 26 tunnels on the Blue Ridge Parkway, 25 of them are in North Carolina near Asheville! Included in the price is: - Double occupancy lodging - Van rental Not included: Transportation costs (fuel, etc.) will be divided among participants at the end of the trip, and lunches and dinners will be paid by each individual participant. 🏠 Accommodation: We will stay in a Cabin in Waynesville. We will have 2 persons sharing a room with separate beds. On the first day we will do our grocery in Asheville and split the work of meals etc. What to expect from this trip? This is going to be a very chill, laid-back vacation for everybody. No tight schedules, flexibility all the way! Some nature time along with some easy hikes, most will be 1-2 mile. However, the terrain is uneven, so some level of physical fitness is encouraged, as we will be doing activities that require some strength and coordination. If you're concerned about your fitness level, contact me and we can discuss it. Our home base will be a cabin in Waynesville. From there, we will be taking adventure/exploratory day trips, splitting evenly: 2 days north towards Asheville and 2 days south towards Smokies! We will have some campfires at the cabin, trips to the local coffee shop and distillery, and we've got ourselves an awesome trip! We can coordinate our flights in and out of Asheville, for pickup/drop-off from/to airport. If there's enough interest, we can see the Biltmore estate and have lunch at the Grove Park Inn, on the way to/from Waynesville. The Sierra Nevada Brewery is a great place to stop over as well. We will do easy hike’s to some of the spectacular falls in the Pisgah Forest: Catawba Falls (2.7 miles) Cathey’s Creek Falls (< 1 mile) Cedar Rock Falls (1.8 miles) Cove Creek Falls (2 miles) Daniel Ridge Falls/Tom’s Spring Falls (1 mile in-and-out or 4 mile loop) Elk River Falls (<1 mile) Log Hollow Falls (< 1 mile) Looking Glass Falls (roadside) Moore Cove Falls (1.4 miles) Roaring Fork Falls (< 1 mile) Sliding Rock Falls (< 1 mile) Upper Creek Falls (1.6 miles) Some Garden Trails we will cover: 1. Craggy Gardens Trail 2. Fryingpan Mountain Lookout Tower Trail 3. Graveyard Fields 4. Devil's Courthouse 5. Richland Balsam