Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Going to Kentucky...

After spending some time in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, we decided to drive on up towards Kentucky...with a few stops along the way, of course ;).


I could not help myself...I kept stopping to admire these quilt paintings on barns that were sprinkled everywhere.  For every one that I managed to get stopped enough to snap a picture of, there were half a dozen more that I had to be satisfied with only a picture in my mind.  So pretty...




We were able to visit and let the kids complete the Junior Ranger programs at the Obed Wild & Scenic River and also the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area.  Each park in the NPS system has their own way of doing the program, some are longer and some are shorter.  Just a FYI, plan for quite a bit of time to complete the Big South Fork one...it was looooong.  Oh, and pack a picnic lunch if you go up there...you'll be very glad that you did :).

the only photo i have from those parks.  camera glitch ate the rest of them...

Big South Fork is right up next to the Kentucky line, so we took the time while we were stopped to look at a map and decide exactly where we wanted to go next.  We saw that Mammoth Cave National Park was only a few hours away and a couple of the kids were instantly intrigued.  We put it to a vote and it was decided...we were heading to the caves... 

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The mountains are calling...

The ocean is our first love, but the mountains, they run a close second.  After several months apart the pull is there, the need to go.  And so we did...


After a wonderful night's sleep in Cherokee (hehe), we headed off to spend the day in the Smoky Mountains.  But first, food...  Upon the recommendations of a good friend (thanks B.!), we drove over to Bryson City to pick up a picnic lunch to take with us.  Ya'll, seriously, The Filling Station Deli is worth going out of your way for.  Cuban sandwiches, sweet tater fries, and the biggest richest brownies evah.  Mmm...


We set Cades Cove (one of our all time favorite spots) as the destination for the day, but we didn't rush the drive over.  We took our time, enjoying the scenery and several stops along the way...




their "look, i'm in two states at one time" pose ;)


The kids had wanted to play in a mountain stream.  We found the perfect one...





the boys...always wandering farther and farther away...


When they'd had their fill of the rocks and water, we got back on the road.  We drove and drove and drove, Cades Cove is way on the other side of the mountains.  Just before we got to the cove, we came to a group of cars parked along the highway with people standing and staring into the trees.  Ya'll know in the mountains that means one thing:  wildlife sighting.  Of course we had to check it out :).  We had to park up the road a little ways and walk back...and then we saw them...


Baby bears all snuggled up in a tree!



There was a Park Ranger there, keeping everything safe, and she was happy to fill us in on the details.  What she told us was that there was a momma bear just out of our sight at the bottom of the hill.  The momma bear had her three little baby bears with her...two up in the tree and one down below that she was feeding.  The Ranger said that the momma had been feeding one baby at a time while the other two hung out in the tree, then she'd call them down and they'd swap turns. 


We stayed there for a while, hoping to see them climb down/up, but they never did.  Oh well, that's ok.  They sure were cute little things :)...


There's a campground just outside of the cove.  We've never stayed there, so we pulled in to check it out.  Wow!  It was beautiful...definitely one to come back to someday...



Ok, finally, we pulled into the cove.  There is a one-way road that loops around and takes you to quite a few old structures that have been preserved.  I recommend getting the little tour booklet at the beginning.  It's worth the small fee and it gives a great history of each stop along the drive.






This place is just super special.  When you visit, it really feels like you have taken a step back in time...






i <3 honeysuckle

We've been coming here for many years and it never fails to impress...


can you still spot the deer in this picture?...

...they could :).  My little photographers :)




By the time we got all the way around the loop (and stopped about 100 times), it was getting dark.  We made it out of the park just ahead of what looked to be a big storm that was heading our way.  Hoping to stay ahead of it (driving at night in the rain is the worst), we spotted a Sonic and pulled in to grab a quick something to go.  While the kids all hopped out to use the facilities, I stayed behind to order our food.  The kids all still had full drinks, so I just ordered one Route 44 Diet Dr. Pepper (yep, the giant soda) for me and then two corn dogs a piece for each of us.  One giant drink and a dozen corn dogs.  Annnd, I was still the only person sitting in the car when it was delivered.  Ha ha, kids.  Sooo funny ;)!  (actually, it was pretty funny...hehehe...)


Thursday, October 23, 2014

Welcome to North Carolina...

When we left South Carolina behind, we headed north and west towards the Smoky Mountains.  We were only planning to go as far as Asheville the first night, so we took the time to make a little stop along the way.  I'm so glad we did :)...


The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site was the perfect place to get out and stretch our legs...


I have to admit, I had never heard of this man before...but that's one of the reasons we travel and go to these places, is to learn.

This home in Flat Rock, North Carolina, was where the Sandburg family lived and raised goats.  Here Mr. Sandburg wrote his poetry and watched his children grow.  It is such a peaceful place...



We were super impressed with how friendly and helpful EVERYone was at this site.  Above and beyond.  We walked the grounds, checked out the house, and then headed to the best spot of all:  the barnyard full of critters :)...





There were goats, goats, and more goats.  They were so cute!...


I don't know what it is about petting an animal that is so soothing, but it just is :).  We lingered for a long while, the kids (my kids and the goat "kids", haha) running back and forth just enjoying each others company.  When it was getting close to time for the park to close, we made our way back to the house to finish up the Jr. Ranger books and get our magnet.  We found something unique in this gift shop...goat milk fudge!  I personally didn't try it, but the kids all said it was fabulously delicious :).



The trail that leads back down towards the parking area was so pretty, we walked slowly and just enjoyed the scenery...





Everytime we see a goose..."look, it's Helen!".  The name the kids gave our goose friend from AZ ;)


Down at the bottom we were greeted by a few Park Rangers that were getting ready to take down the flag for the day.  They invited the children to participate and learn the proper flag handling etiquette.  Very cool :)...



We had such a good time at this farm, but it was time to get back on the road.  That area of the country is so pretty, we really wanted to see it as we passed through.  So anyway, on to Asheville we went...

It was supper time when we got to town, so we headed for a Chinese restaurant that had good reviews online.  It was so gross!  Like wash your mouth out gross.  The servers were all sullen and rude, I think they were probably tired of not getting tipped (we tipped anyway, but not at our usual level...it simply wasn't earned) because it was all just horrible.  We could not get out of there fast enough ya'll :(. 

Ok, bad restaurant behind us and we headed to our hotel.  I had booked a place online that looked interesting and charming...and it had a room available that would comfortably sleep all six of us.  We pulled up out front and the first thing I noticed was a lady standing barefoot in the parking lot.  She just stood there watching us, so we smiled, said "hi", and headed up to the door marked "office".  It was locked, so we looked around and the lady was still standing there watching us.  We smiled again (what else you gonna do?) and finally she came over and unlocked the office (yep, she was the manager-should have been a clue of what was to come).  She was nice (just strange) and got our room keys to personally show us to our room.  Ummm...it was bad.  Real bad.  When the door opened the smell of stale cigarettes nearly took our breath away.  I had booked this room as a non-smoking family suite (haha!), so this was not going to work.  She asked if I would take the room if she brought in some fans.  Um, no.  Ok, so she then asks if we would consider a different room.  I wanted nothing more than to leave, but I didn't want to be rude so I agreed.  The next room was even worse...smoke smell plus black and red velvet everywhere.  Ew.  I told her (as nicely as possible) that it simply wasn't going to work and could I please have a refund.  She took me back to the office and a man came out of another room in the back, they spoke in another language and then he actually agreed to give me a refund (hallelujah!).  We power walked it back to the car and got outta there, phew! 

Ya'll, I am not trying to bash Asheville.  Not at all.  We have been to that beautiful city before...visited the Biltmore House, apple orchards, etc. and had a wonderful time.  This time, we were just not hitting the right places and the whole time we were there I just had an uneasy feeling.  But you know, I look at it like this...everything happens for a reason.  I believe that we were just not meant to stay there this go around.  That uneasy feeling combined with two places that were supposed to be great and were totally terrible...yeah, I got the message :).  Time to get back on the road.

Last minute adjustment to plans put us heading off into the mountains after dark..bummed that we were missing the scenery, but thankful to shake that uneasy feeling.  We ended up in Cherokee, North Carolina, and made a beeline for the closest Marriot...I had had enough "adventure" for the evening, thankyouverymuch ;).