Day 2

We all had a pretty tough night of sleep with all the rain and our lovely neighbors returning with plans to now put a rain fly on their tent. There wasn't much teamwork happening as flashlights were moving around like searchlights through the woods. At one point after angrily asking for help for the 4th time, one of the guys gave up and suggested they just go home. Shortly thereafter 4 doors closed. I assumed they were going to somehow sleep in the car until I was jolted awake about an hour later with tires spinning in the muddy gravel campsite driveway. Gladly, they figured out how to get out so we could have some peace for at least this night!

The rain was pretty constant with rushes from the water held in the trees every once in a while. Around midnight it stopped and we all were still and sound asleep. The rain started again a few hours later but we were all pretty successful with putting sleeping bags over our heads to keep the noise low and the light out. My suction-cup-cuddling child (Ryan) slept more attached to me than next to me all night. She woke up shortly after I did wanting to play games since it was still raining.

The rain had slowed to a drizzle so we took the opportunity to race to the bathrooms and grab a breakfast snack. We brought fruit and bars back to the tent and tried to decide what to do.

Laney and Brayden opted to read while Ryan and I played a few games of teeny tiny Connect Four.

I noticed I had a signal on my phone so I quickly tried to check the weather. In our area it wasn't supposed to rain again until the afternoon so we wiggled out of the tent, hopped in the car, and headed to the small town of Ellijay. We'd been through this town several times and Brayden was happy to finally get the opportunity to stop.

Our first mission was to find some local breakfast and that we did! We stopped at Mr. P's with the promise of the best homemade biscuits. The kids opted instead for giant cinnamon rolls slathered with the richest icing I'd ever tasted. I had to try a famous biscuit though!

Many of the shops weren't quite open so we browsed through the ones that were pointing out all the cute and funny treasures. There was so much stuff crammed in some of these stores I was overwhelmed and couldn't even focus to see it all!  

Next we headed to the library for some wifi and discovery of new graphic novels for everyone. The kids checked their email but with this being only day 2 they didn't have much to check!  The kids were very excited to find new graphic novels and others our library doesn't have so I didn't hear a peep from them for more than an hour. It was drizzling pretty good once we left the library so we decided to take the movie back and figure out something for lunch.

Brayden spotted a pizza buffet and I just couldn't talk them out of it. I'm not necessarily a pizza snob but I am completely grossed out by buffet germs. So I just made sure to get the first pieces of pizza fresh from the oven. I've definitely had better but I've also had worse. The kids were thrilled to try all kinds of different pizza,  especially the dessert pizza!

Waiting for fresh pizza afforded us a little down time so Ryan asked if she could try the Saltine Challenge with crackers from the salad bar. All three joined in and the results were hilarious. They did finish the crackers but it was in a little over 2 minutes. The only saltine sprayer was Laney when Brayden started laughing but luckily she kept it contained to her plate.



I checked the weather during lunch and the forecast didn't look good. It was oddly sunny outside but the prediction was for rain for at least the next 18 hours with possibly a break at 8am the next morning. We decided to head back to the campsite and see how it looked to decide what to do next. We drove by the ice cream place we'd talked about stopping earlier in the day and I laughed as the kids claimed they still had a small amount of room. They even tried to pull the but-we-always-get-ice-cream-on-our-trips trick but there was no way I was going to have sick kids today too.

Once we got back Ryan suggested we try to play campball as it wasn't raining at all. I'd remembered from the forecast the heaviest rain was to be at 5pm and it was 4:45. We decided to go to the field to take a better look and see how slippery a game would be. By the time we got there the rain already started. We raced back to the tent for 3Up 3Down - our latest favorite card game.

After playing a couple rounds of cards, tempers flaring, and rain stopping we decided to get back outside. We took a walk the other direction on the lake loop trail to discover a few more spots for Pooh Sticks. Soon after, Brayden wanted to head back so Laney and I headed to the showers. I knew I was going to get messy and muddy packing the tent up the next day but I've learned over the years to take showers when you can!






Once we got back it was still clear weather so we grabbed the football and soccer balls to play on the beach. Ryan marked off the field and we decided to play football first since there were some kids nearby that probably wouldn't appreciate being hit by a soccer ball. Ryan and I took on Laney and Brayden easily beating them 21-7.



The whole time we were playing the temperature would drop and the wind would pick up. Ryan would notice me look toward our campsite which was a good 10 minute walk back from the beach. She would tell me the all the dark clouds are moving fast and to not worry about it.  She said she would take the blame if we got soaked. There were so many dark clouds and the wind picked up so many times that I finally took a picture for proof.





Next up was soccer. After some hilarious battles in the sand, Ryan and I once again beat them 5-2. Against my advice, we then switched teams for soccer with Laney and me against Brayden and Ryan. I thought we would be destroyed but Laney ended up showing up and muscling her way to the goal a few times for a 5-3 win.

Once we got back to the site the weather still looked okay so I started a quick fire for the kids to roast a few marshmallows. We would be leaving the state the next day so we needed to have a fire now if we were going to use the wood we'd bought. The kindling around us was soaked so the fire didn't last terribly long but it was good enough for a quick dessert!

After a little prepping to leave in the morning we all got tucked in for the last chapter of our book. I was getting pretty sleepy during this everlasting chapter so I convinced the kids that even though it was 8:30 our time when we finished, we all didn't sleep well the night before so it would be smart for us to sleep now. We were all snoring within 2 minutes!

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!

Our Next Adventure

We our days away from our next adventure with friends in the mountains! Usually I post about our next trip in the spring while planning, but this year has slipped through my fingers. To say we have been busy is a huge understatement!

We will be leaving very soon for the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina along the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP from now on!). This year Dave will be finishing the trip with us and we will be joining friends a few days in from Virginia for about a month of the trip. My kids are excited because there will be an extra kid to play with!

Usually I have reservations made and a trip completely planned by February, but it didn't happen this year.  This year's trip was inspired by my backpacking trip a few months ago in Ocala National Forest. We were hiking in the woods for 4 days and I still didn't want to leave! We will be spending a large portion of this trip in the woods without electricity or showers (p.u.!) but rest assured we will have running water and flush toilets!

I have some wonderful hikes planned and lots of little side trips along the way. We won't be driving through very many big cities this time around, but tons of very small ones - our favorite!

The annoying tropical storm Alberto in the Gulf has me a little concerned with what weather we will be getting the first week or so. There have been a lot of times in the past where it rained for days, so I'm hoping we have our rain routine down to a science so it's not too disappointing.

Now on to preparations!!

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 44

We forget once we're in the south that putting four bodies in one tent might be a little warm. Gone are the extra blankets. Gone are the sleep pants and sleeping bags. We were definitely back in the heat and humidity even at night.

I got up before the sun this morning to edit pictures and write as I knew once we got home I would have zero time for such things (I was right!!). We had no big museums left and no awesome attractions to hurry to get on the road to see. We had one of those rare days where we could be spontaneous and do whatever the kids wanted. Of course after breakfast the kids wanted to play campball. This was quite possibly our last game so we wanted it to be a good one. While we were waiting on Grammie, Dave and Ryan decided to have a campball duel. It didn't end well for either of them!

We picked teams - Brayden, Laney, and me against Dave, Grammie and Ryan. We'd had trouble the entire trip trying to make the teams somewhat even. The adults sometimes ran a little extra slow to help with that, but these darn kids are so competitive sometimes it didn't matter what we did (or didn't!)!

All the players were finally connecting with the ball and the game was heated. Team Grammie was beating us pretty bad so I was trying to relax the rules a little bit for Laney but Ryan called me on it. We had to forge ahead and attempt to win fair and square.

Team Grammie ended up winning in a big way so we practiced being good sports and shook hands when we all really just wanted to go throw them in the lake.  These pictures crack me up today as both of these boys are no longer furry!

On our way out of the park, we stopped by the visitor's center because I'd noticed a discovery center next door. The kids were excited to explore and they ended up learning quite a bit about the Trail of Tears. We also learned about many of the plants and animals native to the area as well as the geology from the past million years or so.










Once the kids got their buttons for finishing their ranger books we got on the road for our last long drive. Our drive was about 6 hours and we only stopped for gas. It wasn't as bad of a drive as Oklahoma or northern Montana, but I was more than thrilled it was the last one of the trip. We arrived at our next spot at dusk to set up one more time and have dinner. We were situated on a lake once more with a nice view of jumping fish!

I spent some time reorganizing a few things in the car we had haphazardly stuffed in unstrategic places. We settled down in our tents with countdowns from the kids. They were down to how many hours it would be until we got home.

Day 43

It's been awhile I know. Rest assured we are not stuck without communications in St Louis. We have been home for a few weeks but I'm just getting a few minutes to breathe and write. Sadly some of what we experienced has slipped my old mind, but thanks to some notes I'll still be able to include most of what we did.

We were up early this day and eating cereal for breakfast to get on the road early once again. We didn't have a terribly long drive, but we had a must-stop museum in Memphis - the Civil Rights Museum. We'd studied the Civil Rights Movement during our modern history year last year so the kids were familiar with it. I'd actually been to this museum about 15 years ago so I knew they would really enjoy and learn a bunch. Dave wouldn't be able to join us this day as he would be working at a coffee shop around the corner.

This museum is actually housed partially in the hotel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was staying when he was shot. Immediately as I walked into the museum I knew things had changed drastically. The tour I remember issued each person an audio player that guided them through the museum but apparently the museum had been updated since then. We first went into a room with photographs taken at the 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom in Washington D.C. Sadly, this room of photographs was never allowed to be published into recently.

We began our tour learning about how slaves were brought to the country and who benefited from their labor. We'd spent a lot of time on this subject in our studies and I was glad the kids recognized and remembered much of what we'd learned.  Next we went to a movie about the Jim Crow laws to learn more about life in the 1950s and 1960s.  As we walked out Grammie began to talk to the kids about her experiences growing up in that time frame. The kids couldn't believe some of what they were reading and hearing.

The museum was now set up in a way to provide a full history building up to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. There were many events I'd never even heard of that played big parts in the movement. The kids were especially interested in the integration of the schools and how the children were treated.

We spent the next few hours reading and learning all about the events and what it was like to grow up in this time of prejudice, hate, and violence. There aren't really words to describe the shock and sadness I felt going through this museum. I don't think the kids felt it quite as much as they were skimming the exhibits in the rooms after about halfway. 

The end of the museum details the last day in Martin Luther King, Jr's life and you are led to a display of the actual rooms where he was staying when he was shot. Everyone was silent as they read the timeline of the day hour by hour and looked into the room where they'd been sitting there talking and joking that day.

We exited the museum to another area with exhibits of current day issues and displays of winners of the Civil Rights Museum's Freedom Awards. We didn't spend too much time here as we were already over our time I'd told Dave we would take.  I took a quick picture of the outside of the museum showing the hotel rooms and original cars parked there.

We all grabbed a quick snack and hopped back into the car for our hour drive to our next campsite. We were back in Arkansas for a night before making our way closer to home.  We arrived to a mostly empty campground and set up pretty quickly. There was quite a bit of mud around our spot so we decided to just set up one tent on the gravel so we would be sleeping with two stinky girls.

We were nestled high up off of a lake in our own private little loop. After a quick dinner we played about 4 minutes of camp ball before it just got too dark. We promised the kids we would play in the morning as we didn't have much of a rush to get anywhere for the rest of the trip.

We decided instead to play some cards for a little while on the picnic table. At one point I thought Lola had fallen off the edge of the small cliff until I saw instead she'd treed a raccoon that was now peering at me halfway up the tree. The kids sung their "awwwwws" and we retired to the RV to get away from the bugs. After a few more rounds of cards we retired to the tent with the girls for the night.