I finally got it all typed out…
Dear family and friends,
I guess it’s time for a Spring Vacation report. Now that I have been home 2 days and am getting things back to normal, whatever that was, I have a clearer mind, (stop laughing) to write about our great whirlwind adventures to the south! Ok, maybe not a whirlwind adventure but that was fun to type. We left on Sat. April 8th and returned on Tues. April 18th.
Day 1- Drove through Ohio and Kentucky and into Gatlinburg, TN. The drive was rather dull and uneventful until we arrived in Seiverville, and from there it was about bumper to bumper traffic all through that town, Pigeon Forge, where Dollywood is, and into Gatlinburg. Seems Dolly was in town the day before so lots of folks were still around and in Gatlinburg there was a church convention the weekend we arrived. Good thing we had reservations. We were very hungry and planned on eating at the restaurant located in the Howard Johnson’s but it was closed! it’s a breakfast/lunch place. So we went to Applebee’s, walked to it, and sat right by the window overlooking Pigeon River. How nice.
Day 2- Toured Gatlinburg. Rode the Air Tram up to Ober Gatlinburg and let me tell you, it was quite a ride. The view was gorgeous. The highest we were, according to Phil, was 300 ft in the air. It felt like 3000 ft in the air. Anyway, we went up to the top of the hillside, and from there Phil and the boys rode a chairlift up halfway of the next hill to do the Alpine slide. That’s a sled in a cement chute. It was fun for them. We checked out the gift shops at Ober Gatlinburg, then returned back down by the Air Tram. The Air Tram holds 120 people. Then we had some time in the hotel to watch TV. After that we went for another walk and saw some sites. We played Hillbilly Golf. That is where an incline car takes you up a hill, you get off and play 18 holes of mini-golf on the hillside, then return down by incline car again. That car would hold about 10-12 people. We tried to go to the Hard Rock Cafe to eat our dinner, but it was loud, smoky and Caleb couldn’t handle the noise. Neither could I for that matter. So we found a nice Mexican food place and enjoyed dinner, except that Phil and I managed to tip my cup of sweet tea and it spilled on poor Caleb. He was only mildly soaked.
Day 3- Up early and out the door for breakfast at the same place we tried on Day one but alas, it was closed and not meant for us to eat there. We found a “flapjack” place and ate. Then we took the nice 30 mile drive through the Great Smokey Mountains. It was beautiful. We ended in Bryson City, NC and went to the train depot. We rode the Great Smokey Mountain railroad there. Our trip was 4 1/2 hours. We had a lunch stop in the middle and the boys were able to wade in the Nantahala river for a bit. From there we drove without stopping for dinner to Sun City, SC to Phil’s parents’ home. We did stop along the way for a picnic dinner at a rest stop.
Day 4- We rested and decided on our itinerary with Grandma Sue. Grandpa Roger had to work a few days that week. We went to Kate’s to borrow a few movies. We took the boys to the pool in Sun City.
Day 5- We went on a boat ride to look for Dolphins. This was a nice hour and a half ride along the inter-costal waterways around Bluffton, SC. Very nice weather but we only got to see one dolphin. It was still a nice ride. We went home for some lunch then to see the movie Ice Age 2. Dinner was at Sue’s.
Day 6- This was our beach day. We went onto Hilton Head island and to a public beach. The weather was great but the water was too cold for a lot of swimming. Caleb and Phil managed to get wet though. The boys had fun in the sand. Caleb made a sand angel and Jacob tried digging a hole to China. What is it about sand and digging to China? Jacob wondered if kids on the beach in China dug holes to the USA? That evening we went to the Crazy Crab for our seafood dinner out. The restaurant smelled too much so we asked for outdoor seating. Well we were in the shade which left us all cold. But we enjoyed the meal as best as we could.
Day 7- We, including Great Grandma Jane, went into historic Beaufort for a horse drawn carriage ride. This was a narrated tour so it was fun and informative. We did some shopping then stopped for lunch. While at lunch we had a nice view of a bridge that could move. The middle of the bridge would turn so allow tall ships to pass. This would cause a back up in the town. We also saw a group carrying a cross through the city, as this was Good Friday. We went back home and relaxed and then it was my turn to cook dinner. Everyone seemed to like my new favorite pasta dish.It’s a Pampered Chef recipe called Lemon Chicken Pasta Toss. Yummy. Oh yeah, we had lots of sweets all week too.
Day 8- We got up early and then took the boys to the Sun City Easter egg hunt for kids. There were hundreds of people there. Each kid had a parent or 2 and a few grandparents as well. Our boys found their 8 eggs easily. There was Disney magician there and the Easter Bunny for pictures. The boys didn’t get their pictures taken with the bunny, saying they were too old for that part. I guess they weren’t too old for the chocolate in the eggs. After that the boys went swimming with Phil and Grandpa Roger. Sue and I went out to shop and have a nice quiet lunch in Palmetto Bluff. I had a pizza with crab meat and roasted green tomatoes on it. So good. That night for dinner, Sue made us a wonderful beef loin roast. Roger grilled it. It was so good. We ate good on this trip.
Day 9- Easter morning we went to Church on the Cross at the Cross Pointe campus. It was a nice service. We went home and Phil and I took the boys swimming for a bit. We all rested then Phil and I took a ride on the golf cart around Sun City. Don and Kate, Gina’s parent’s, came over for dinner. We had ham and potatoes and fresh veggies. Also a nice chocolate cake. That night we gathered all our stuff and began the packing again to leave in the morning.
Day 10- After packing and saying our goodbyes to Grandma Sue and Great-Grandma Jane, we loaded up the van and were on the road at 9:30. We drove to Troutville, VA. We had rain from the middle of NC to VA. We went to dinner then swam in the hotel pool.
Day 11- We got up, packed and had breakfast in the hotel. We then drove to Blue Ridge and visited with a friend of mine that I know from the internet. This the 3rd time we have met. This time she met Phil and the boys. She has 12 children, 11 still at home and one grandchild. She is the sweetest, calmest mom I know! Her boys and our boys had so much fun playing for 2 hours. After that we headed home. We got back home at 8:30 Tuesday evening. Both Brit and Lauren were here watching TV and waiting for us. Jack, our dog, who stayed with Brit all week, was so glad to see all of us. Brit spoiled him with a daily walk so guess who is walking the dog every day now?? Yep, me!
Well that’s our trip. If you didn’t read it all, I won’t know and don’t mind. I wanted to only type it out once and post it to my blog and email it around to the family. I also will cut it apart for the photo album I am making about our trip. I already have 65 pictures and plan to get about 30 more printed. Thanks for reading it all if you did. We did have fun and did rest.
Caleb’s sand angel….
Jacob sitting in the hole to China.
