Day 51

I'm a planner. I don't know if it is my nature or my mom molded me but my brain is always on, always thinking, always planning. The majority of my plans work out at least mostly how I plan them to. Some just don't.

Brayden had an especially tough time going to sleep and at 1:30am he was up again. Seems his sleep mat died at some point since we set up. What are the odds that 3 sleep mats die within weeks after having them for 4 years?! I guess we do inflate and deflate more than the average camper. Anyway, he was flat on the ground and angry.

The night before I'd checked the weather and knew there was a storm coming in the early morning so I checked again only to see it was about 90 minutes away.  I checked to see if it was going to bring or follow any kind of cool front but it wasn't. So not only were we going to have to put on the rainfly and listen to a loud storm but we were going to be miserably hot in the process. I asked Brayden if he was up for just packing up and driving home now and all three kids answered, "Yes!"

So that's what we did. We packed up by moonlight and were driving out of the park at 2:20am. We filled up with gas and I told the kids to try to sleep now that we were in air conditioning. It was me and truckers on the road this morning.

I told the kids we would need to stop quite a bit because I was going to get tired and need to walk around and wake up. The adrenaline of  packing up and escaping the storm had me wide awake until about 5am and a few miles into Louisiana. We stopped then to take a break and eat some breakfast. Cereal to the rescue again!  I was feeling okay but I could tell my patience was thin already. This was going to be a long day.

We got back in the car and watched the sunrise as we moved across the state. I was relying on the cold air conditioning to keep me awake at this point so I knew it was time for me to stop and sleep. We weren't in any rush and it was simply unsafe to keep driving.  Once we pulled into the rest stop I told the kids to be quiet and let me sleep for just a short time. A nice rain shower started and I was out within seconds. I woke up an hour later not even realizing I slept when Brayden opened the door for cool air. We all climbed out of the car to stretch a little and before we knew it we were back on the road again.

After we were well into Mississippi I needed gas and the kids found a Redbox nearby with movies they would watch so we were set for a few hours.  We were all getting a little loopy by this point! I was tired of all of my music so every 40 minutes or so I would have to find a new radio station in the next town. We listened to all the decades of music from the 70s to today and sometimes I could even find an NPR station for a little while.

Once we made it into Alabama everyone perked up. They were excited about surprising Dave getting home a day early and they decided to send him a text with a picture of them at the Welcome to Florida sign. That last 45 minutes from Mobile seemed to take 2 hours but we finally made it!

In just a few more minutes we were home seeing animals, unpacking the car, and starting on the mountain of laundry. We all showered and I realized I must have scared a few people because my eyes were both so red I looked like I had pink eye in both!  

Once Dave got home we had a quick dinner and walked over to the house for the grand tour. I hadn't seen it in person since they started the floors so I was blown away by how much they had accomplished. The kids begged Dave to sleep there so we all grabbed pillows and blankets and enjoyed our first night in the new house. Just don't tell the county!

We are thrilled to be back home and jumping back into life as usual. We have a long list of lessons learned that I will be posting in the next few days!!

Day 37 - Home!

We all woke up this day ready to be home. It seems the closer we get the more ready we all are! Once Dave and I were mostly packed up I peeked in the kids tent to see Ryan smiling back at me. The other two were awake so I said, "Whoever gets their stuff packed up first gets to push the 'Home' button on the GPS!" You would have thought I just offered the winner a million dollars. I've never seen any of them move so fast! I think I might need to rethink my bribing strategy!

While they were packing up I noticed the nice grassy area I had decided to set their tent must have been homes to all kinds of animals. All around the tent there were snails enjoying the new textures and climbing opportunities! Tyan was finished packing up first so she relocated all of them to a snail and slug sanctuary closer to the woods.

We packed up in record time and Ryan pushed the "Home" button as we all climbed into the car. We were all excited that it would only be a little over a 4 hour drive! As soon as we were out of the state park and into some small towns I found us a place for a biscuit for breakfast. We ate at Hardee's and talked about how many times Nana and Papa had taken the kids there when they stayed with them. 

The last day is the least eventful because of our pinpoint focused goal of getting home. I was thrilled though because Dave actually drove the whole way! We did stop again at Preisters Pecans for a sugar snack since Dave didn't get to stop on the way out. While I sat in the rocking chair, Ryan challenged him to flip tic-tac-toe but he beat her. She was consoled by a quick visit to the swinging horses before we hopped back into the car again for the short trip home. 

We were able to be home be early afternoon so we could start on the mountain of laundry and the kids could actively but grudgingly participate in unloading the car and organizing all their things. We were all SO ready for showers and a good, solid night's sleep in our own beds!

Day 36

We were on the road shortly after 9 to head to Alabama. I had no idea the route we were taking I just hopped into the driver's seat and set the GPS. I did know that I wanted to go back to the visitor's center for a sticker for our cargo carrier since we didn't have one from The Smoky Mountains. The kids were excited to watch the rest of the first Lord of the Rings movie and had their fingers crossed they'd be able to fit the second one in as well.  I was just glad I hadn't been driving 5 hours a day like many previous years!

We ended up skirting around Chattanooga after a lot of sleepy interstate miles then even more into Alabama. Dave fell asleep reading in the passenger's seat a few times so I knew he wouldn't be much better!

We finally arrived at the highest point of Alabama and got set up. I picked a spot near the top of the campground near the lookout tower but within walking distance of the pool this time. It was a terrible campsite for tents - we have definitely been spoiled by our perfect little tent pads this summer! I struggled to find a good spot for either of our tents that was even close to level but we settled on a dirt sorta level spot for the adult tent and a grassy tree-covered spot for the kid tent. Within 10 seconds of setting up we were walking down the road to the pool.

The weather was nice and the pool felt great. Unfortunately I'd forgotten my swimsuit so I was the penny thrower and referee once the chicken fighting and wrestling began. 

After about an hour a dark cloud started to make it's presence known in the distance so I went back to the campsite to get dinner going. I laughed most of the way back thinking about the whining from Dave as it was a straight up hike back up the hill to our site.

They were about 15 minutes behind me so dinner was in full cooking mode when Dave walked up. I asked him to turn the heat down on the boiling pot and I was met with silence. Both burners were on full blast and neither would turn down or off. We couldn't have asked for a better time for our trusty stove to die than the last meal of the last day of the trip! To add to the chaos it started pouring at that moment so I grabbed all the food and the pot of boiling noodles and headed to the picnic shelter across the street. We made do with watery macaroni and cheese and cold pizza quesadillas. The kid thought it was a great dinner however it left a lot to be desired for me for sure.

Lucky for us I had one of the kids grab the game box so we had some entertainment. We ended up playing card games while the storm passed and chatted about our fun memories of the trip.

Once the weather seemed to have cleared we headed back down to the pool again. I wasn't sure Dave would want to go with that big hill to climb but he didn't complain! Brayden brought his football this time so the kids had a good time jumping in to catch it.

This one-handed catch was my favorite of the night!

The kids eyes started hurting after too much longer from the chlorine so we decided to call it a night and head back to the tents. Dave did catch a tiny piece of the sunset before we left though!

Day 1

Even though I didn't start actually packing until 3 days before our for-sure-leave-date, this was quite possibly the most prepared we have been since our very first trip 5 years ago! After going back and forth and back and forth trying to figure out if we should get out of town early before Alberto hit, we finally decided to wait until our planned date. As per our tradition, we met Grandpa at Bagelheads for breakfast to say our goodbyes and so I didn't have to cook!

We were on the road by 7:30am and headed to our next first day tradition - Priesler's Pecans in Ft. Deposit. The kids had been anxiously waiting to read their new books on their Kindles and listen to their newly downloaded music so I had a quiet first few hours of driving.  They weren't too happy when I said they couldn't have the travel candy Dave had bought them until I mentioned we'd be stopping at the jelly bean place.

Unfortunately, the kids have been ruined by Bean Boozled. Ever year we'd driven this route we stopped at this same place to pick up a 1/4 pound scoop of jelly beans for everyone to gorge and share. Just the site of chocolate pudding, juicy pear, and strawberry banana smoothie jelly beans had all three of them holding their stomachs with memories of eating dog food, boogers, and dead fish instead. They decided instead to get candy legos and gummy worms.




Once we hopped back on the interstate I realized I'd forgotten to top off my gas tank with the always-cheaper Alabama fuel so we found a stop with a Redbox machine as well to grab a movie. With this being our first day it was our longest drive so it was a good time to grab The Greatest Showman and sing loud as we logged the miles.

The drive was beautiful most of the day until we made it just north of Atlanta. There were dark clouds everywhere and we were slowed with heavy rain about every 30 minutes. I was just hoping we were driving through what had already past our campground!

After a 45-minute winding drive up and around the mountain we finally made it to our campground and got to work setting up. I'd checked the forecast at the registration desk so I knew there would be rain for about the next 36 hours so we decided to all stay together in one tent. I'm a little gun-shy when I know rain is coming after the windy downpour in the middle of the night last year when we ended up in Grammie's RV!

When we pulled into our site we noticed a group of 4 guys having a little trouble setting up their tent next door. They were giving us quite the stink eye once we were all set up and ready for the night!

We took a walk down to the lake to check out the area then cooked a quick dinner. Our neighbor's companions showed up with what looked like enough supplies for a week of partying. This was going to be a long two nights!

We'd picked up some firewood and the kids requested some marshmallows so we ran back up to the trading post to grab some but they were already closed. On our way back to the campsite I missed the turn and we ended up near the trails I had on our list for the next day. With all the rain coming we decided to hop out and go ahead check them out.

Brayden was happy to see some signs noting some Civilian Conservation Corps done in the area and in this park. We scrambled up the trail first to check out the Cool Springs Overlook with a 180-degree view of the valley below. I couldn't even fit it in a panoramic picture!












Brayden spotted a bird having fun in the wind currents!

Next stop was the once operational fire tower that had recently been restored as a historic building. We talked all about how parks treat fires differently these days and the kids remembered a lot of what they'd learned in Yellowstone and Glacier the year before where fires were active around us. Notice the heart-shaped rock a little above the windows!

On our way back down we visited the stone wall archaeological site. There were a bunch of legends and stories about the purpose of the walls from astronomy to protection. The kids enjoyed thinking about standing in a place where people once built and stood a thousand or more years ago. We often seem to stumble on this wonderful historic places!

Once we got back to our site and finished the dishes I spotted a great spot for some camp ball. We quickly found our supplies and decided on 3 innings of regular play followed by a home run derby if we could finish before dark. Laney and I were teamed up against Brayden and Ryan this go round.

The first inning Ryan and Brayden had a little trouble fielding and we scored 3 runs then struck out Brayden twice keeping them to only 1 run. The next inning I hit one of Brayden's meatballs across the road for another run. The third inning they held us and popped out for a so-far score of 4-1. Brayden finally got in his groove to hit the furthest home run.

Once we got back to our site I noticed the beautiful glow before dusk by the lake so we all took a short walk over to see if we could see anything. We saw some giant snails along the way and hung out by the water for a little while before heading back.

After one long day we all brushed our teeth and retired to the tent for a game of Trouble and reading. We are finally wrapping up our last chapters of Nanny Piggins! By the time we finished the lullaby of rain started on the tent roof.  Our neighbors were full of gusto so we laid there trying to sleep through their arguments and drama around the campfire. Once it started steadily raining their campfire was squashed so they left for a dry spot somewhere. I was only hoping I could get some sleep before they returned!

Day 45 - The End

I was up early with the fog today. It was quiet and I was sad. After all this constant moving, our last day was here. After checking our route we even had a short drive of only 3 hours. We were all anxious to sleep in our own beds and take "real" showers, but I definitely wasn't ready for the trip to be over.

Once we were up Dave and I packed up for the last time. After popping into the RV to check in with Grammie the kids reported back that the inside of the RV looked weird with all the linens put away and all the kid stuff gone.

While Grammie showered we all sat down for a delicious breakfast. The kids played and Dave explored for a little while once we were full.  Somehow they always seem to find swords or bow and arrows to keep us safe. Brayden and Ryan have been enjoying Lord of the Rings, so today it was bows and arrows!

We all pitched in to help Grammie finish disconnecting and getting ready for our final leg home. Although it was a short drive, we didn't want to get home too terribly late so we left the campground around 11.

We passed many of the same places this day as our first through Mississippi and Alabama. Dave was disappointed our route wasn't taking us anywhere near Prestler's Pecans in Alabama. I guess we'll just have to stop by on another trip!

We arrived at Grammie's house in mid-afternoon greeted by Austin, Milo and Peepaw. We'd lost Grammie on some backroad in Alabama but she finally arrived about 20 minutes later. I asked her if she was glad to be home. She shook her head yes and then asked when we leave again. So I guess that answers whether Grammie enjoyed the trip!

We made it to our house and were unpacked within and hour. I started the first load of laundry within minutes hoping to conquer the mountain of clothes as soon as possible. Unfortunately for Brayden and Ryan, they had soccer practice this evening so they left a couple hours after we got home. Fortunately for me, that allowed uninterrupted time for me to finish the laundry! Definitely not the favorite activity I would have chosen as we got back, but I was thrilled to have it all finished and folded by early that evening.

We all went to bed early, eager to get into our own beds. Most nights I will hear the kids chatting after bedtime but tonight was silent.

Day 1

Our day started bright and early packing up all the last minute clothes, coolers, and food we were on the road again. We met Grammie at her house and began to follow the RV down to our first stop.

Dave gave me the dreaded bad news of the weather we would be facing the night before. At this point though after five years I really should expect some rain along the way on the first part of our trip. It's just not my favorite way to spend the first day for sure!

The drive was an adjustment with Dave along trying to get some work done as we drove. While the first day has become a favorite of mine with the kids plugged into all their new music and playing DS games, this year was a bust. The night before we left, I stayed up until 1am to try to get the ipod I use for my music and our audiobooks working. It seems to have taken a dive. I was left with NPR and music from Dave's laptop for the first hour while I pouted. We'll definitely have to figure something out.

We arrived at our first site tucked up on the bend of a lake just after noon. We had been watching the weather all day to see how the rest of our day would go. When we pulled in Dave and I decided to hold off putting up the tents until the bulk of the rain was supposed to pass around 7. We explored the campground and the lake a little bit then headed off to the nature trail.

Lola led the way as we slipped and sloshed through mud and water up and around the lake. After about 20 minutes, we came upon a few buildings in a small clearing and I instantly had Blairwitch flash backs. We figured out they were actually archery targets after some super stealth sneaking around though!

We found another trail and after hiking in about 5 minutes we decided to turn around in an attempt to beat the rain. We were very unsuccessful with a downpour starting about 1/4 mile from our site. But not before finding two bags of trash and four painted rocks! Ryan is our eagle-eye rock-finder of the day!






Our resident chef Grammie cooked us up a delicious dinner! We were all very hungry and all ate until we were almost miserably full.

After about an hour in the RV, Dave and I decided to make a run to the car to prepare for the night should we decide to stay in the RV instead of braving the rain in the tents. When we make the decision the trees were dripping rain but by the time we actually made it out the door to the car it was pouring again and we got drenched. Then Grammie decided to inform me that she had two umbrellas after I peeled off my soaked shirt in favor of one of her dry sweatshirts!

When the rain slowed a little again , I went back out (with an umbrella!) and grabbed computers, a few movies, and the kid's pillows. We'd had trouble finding a local tv station and no way DirecTV wasn't going to work in the storm! Unfortunately, the DVD player was not interested in accepting a movie. That's Ok, Dave offered up his laptop to let the kids watch. Until he realized like most new laptops, it doesn't have a DVD player. I knew mine didn't either and Grammie confirmed hers was the same.

The kids were definitely losing their patience with us! We grabbed the umbrellas again and pulled the portable DVD players out of the bottom my jenga-packed car. As we came back to the RV for the third time dripping wet, Brayden looked at me like, "Why didn't you do this in the beginning?", but realized he shouldn't say a word when he saw the look on my face!

Within a couple minutes the kids were snuggled together watching a movie and the adults were able to chat and relax. We laughed at ourselves and talked about plans for the next day. Once the movie was over, we made up all the beds and tried to figure out how in the world this RV was really supposed to sleep 6 people. Dave and Laney ended up squished on the bed where the table once was, Grammie and Ryan were squeezed into the couch bed, and Brayden and I were tucked up together on the loft bed above them all.

Laney told us all a very bizzare bedtime story and the RV was completely quiet within a few minutes. As I was drifting off, I couldn't help but think how differently this day would have gone had I been by myself with the kids like the past 5 years. The downpour was definitely the same as the beginning of each trip, but today was made infinitely easier and absolutely more full with Grammie and Dave with us!

Quote of the Day:  Brayden walking next to me trying to explain why his knee brace ruined every picture, "Because there is all this good stuff...", as he motioned from  his head toward his knees, "and then you get here." No ego there.

Day 46

We woke this morning pretty early ready to get on the road to home. We'd had some rain overnight so the packing up wasn't the cleanest, but with all five of us pitching in it was relatively painless. After all the mud that had been on the tent and sand inside I knew I'd be cleaning them once we got home anyway. The weather up on the mountain was nice and cool and a refreshing peek into fall on the way I hoped.

Our first stop on the way home was just around the corner at Bald Rock. The kids and I had visited on our stay before and they wanted to show Dave. Brayden and I were surprised to find out after all our learning about the Civilian Conservation Corps, this was the first trail they ever built.

We enjoyed walking down the boardwalk together and the kids of course especially loved climbing over all the rocks. Ryan has been right next to me all trip taking pictures. I'm interested to see how her photos all turned out!

With some strategic camera rock placement, we even managed to get a picture of all of us!

After a quick stop at Cracker Barrel where we all found out we were not in fact, geniuses, we stopped into a shoe store for the kids' back-to-school shoes and Books-A-Million for a back-to-school book from Dave.  I think we were all pretty much ready to be home so the stops didn't take too terribly long.

Of course about 45 minutes into the drive Dave's sleepy-while-driving-straight issue creeped up so I drove the rest of the way home. I was so happy to see our home and our animals, but not so happy to see the mountain of all mountains of stuff that exploded from my car.

Thankfully we had dinner covered with a Santino's Pizza gift card from Grandpa Scott earlier in the summer. I was pretty sure we wouldn't be able to see the floor of the laundry room for a few days.

Day 45

We woke up to forecasts of rain for most of the next three days. We were scheduled to do some white water kayaking today before we camped at our last stop for three days in north Georgia. The predictions for the path of the storm were just east of where we would be but I was a little nervous of tornadoes spinning off.  Not good news in a tent.

I got to work canceling our reservations and making new ones west. Only problem was there weren't any open spots because it was Labor Day weekend! I inched further and further west until I found us a spot in Alabama where we started our trip the year before. So after a hotel breakfast that my kids adore and a load of laundry containing all our wet stuff from the night before, we got on the road to our kayak outfitters.

Way back on our way through North Carolina we'd seen white water rafting boats splashing down the river next to our highway and the kids would not stop asking me if we could do it until I convinced them we should wait to do it with Dave on the way home. He made us some reservations for kayaks on the Green River in South Carolina. I was a little nervous about kayaks with the kids' limited experience, but knew we would have fun and our guide would take care of us.

Tim was from Australia on work visa for 6 months as a guide. We were so lucky to have him as he was very funny, knowledgeable, and related to the kids so very well. Ryan jumped into a solo kayak while I hopped into a double with Laney and Dave in double with Brayden and before we knew it we were braving our first rapid!

Our guide would generally tell us to follow him and watch the line he took, but we all really ended up just figuring it out on our own. He had a little camera I spotted at each rapid for embarrassing or fun pictures of us. On the second or third rapid I looked back to check on the boats behind me and noticed a guy had already fallen out of his boat. Then I realized that guy was Dave! And Brayden was hanging out of the boat heading toward me! I'm not sure what happened, but hearing Dave's scream about the water temperature was extra motivation for me to stay in my boat for sure.

That is until the splashing started. The guide started by splashing Ryan. Then Laney. Then it was an all our war between everyone for the next 5 minutes until everyone was screaming about how cold the water was. Brayden had some splashing issues with his paddle so it was extra fun punishing him with water.

Laney and I got stuck on rocks a few times, but generally made it through all right. We stayed in our boat at least!  After about an hour we paddled up to a rope swing and all took turns jumping in. That was when we all experienced the coldest of cold water and had to get back to paddling just to get warm.

After one more rapid were reached the take out spot and were surprised with lovely PBR in a cooler. We were freezing cold, but it tasted so good. Lucky for us the van had a fantastic heater for our ride back to the office.  Once we changed and watched our pictures and videos we grabbed a Subway dinner and got on the road to our spot in Alabama. We had a four hour drive ahead of us and were hoping to make it there before dark. That was one thing I had successfully avoided in my five years of trips - setting up tents in the dark.

And we probably would have been find had we not been within a 100 mile radius of Atlanta. On a Friday evening. At one point I counted eight traffic accidents on our route alone. So we ended up at our campground at dark setting up tents by headlights.

But we were dry. And together. And going home two days early. So we were all content and looking foward to home.

Day 2

This morning began bright and early as I started to write about the day before before the kids got up.  About 20 minutes in I was greeted by this kid.  What a great good mornings I get!

After I finished writing, she helped me pick out the pictures and edit them before we heard the other two rolling around.  That's when I got out and caught this guy sneaking over to let the air out his sister's sleep mat.  Such an innocent smile that always means he is up to no good!

After a quick breakfast we hit the road first to the nature center at the park.  The kids found out there was a junior ranger program and that's all it took!  

There were some local animals on display, then we stumbled upon the live animal section!  I wouldn't be surprised if this guy just happened to be found in one of the kids' backpacks as we were leaving. He was a big show off and obviously enjoyed the attention!

The only was I was able to tear the kids away was to promise we would come back again tomorrow to see him and say goodbye!  The kids named him Ninja for all his acrobatic climbing he was showing them.

Next up was Desoto Falls.  We weren't expecting much since it was summer and so much of the water is gone.  

 

We were expecting a little more of a hike though!  There was no way the kids were up for hiking down to the bottom of the falls, so I suggested we hike to a few places in their junior ranger books.  It was a very hot, but beautiful day!

    

Once it hit about 98 degrees we opted for some much needed pool time.  This was to be the hottest part of the day so spending it in the pool would be so nice.  Little did we know this pool had a legit diving board.  The kids have been swimming like fish practically since they were born, but right then I realized they had never jumped off one!  After some very slow and reluctant jumps they were doing flips and belly flops like nobody's business.

Once our fingers were raisins and their eyes were red from diving for coins, we hopped back into the car and headed into the little town close by.  We love driving and walking through the tiny towns with their adorable local shops and cafes!  Today's stop was for some very necessary ice cream and a table in the air conditioning.  We savored every drop and were actually a little chilly by the time we left, but within steps from walking out the door we all felt the wall of heat and decided to head to our next stop.

I'd read a little bit about Little River Canyon when I was planning the trip, so I had it on our list of possible stops.  We all weren't up for much hiking in the heat but I remembered there was a scenic overlook drive about 20 miles long so we opted for that.  First stop was the visitor's center where the kids spotted more junior ranger books so they sat right down to work on them.  We took a few minutes to watch the movie about the park as well.

One of the overlooks is called Hawk's Glide as it seems to be the perfect spot for spotting hawks circling in the currents.  We were disappointed not to see a single bird.  At the next stop I asked the kids to turn around for a boring landscape picture and they spotted about 13 right when I was taking it!

The views on the drive were very nice, but the driving was spectacular.  The canyon was hidden by the lush summer trees and the river was reduced to the size of a creek, but the winding roads along the ridge were so fun!  I even got screams out of the kids on a few of the hills.  

After what felt like a long rollercoaster we pulled over to put our feet in at a small waterfall.  The girls loved watching the kids jump in from the cliffs all around the swimming hole.

    

And after a few minutes chasing sticks down the tiny rapids we headed to the canyon mouth for the swimming and an impromptu picnic dinner.  The kids were building thrones and talking about taking over the world.  Some of the best plans are made this way right?!

Laney spotted this squirrel from 100 yards away digging into our neighbor's picnic dessert.  Probably the best thing he's eaten in awhile!

The kids were very happy to hear we would not be returning via the way we came.  The GPS took us around the other side of the canyon so we headed back into town to play on a pretty big playground we'd spotted the day before.  The kids quickly made up a Ninja Warrior course and came away with blister to show for it.  

We collapsed on our sleeping bags listening to the cicada lullaby, too tired to take showers saying barely a good night.  That's when you know you've had a full day!