Blog and blogger are back from vacation

We got home this evening from a wonderful week of camping at Cades Cove! We spent most of Monday packing and traveling, and arrived there around 7:00 in the evening. On the way to the Smokies, we passed Maryville (TN) College. New Daddy thought to himself "Hmm... That sounds familiar... Isn't that where Steve Kaufman has his flatpicking camp?" And then, voilà, he saw a sign advertising the camp and its nightly concerts this week and next week!

Tuesday night, we headed back to Maryville and heard two hours of great picking and bluegrass at Steve Kaufman's Kamp Koncert series. Precious loved the fast songs, and even clapped on beat from time to time. The only time that it rained at the campsite was Tuesday night, when we were happily dry inside Wilson Chapel listening to bluegrass! The rain cooled things down nicely for the rest of the week.

Wednesday morning, we biked the Cades Cove eleven-mile Loop Road. Wednesday and Saturday mornings are ideal for biking, because the road is closed to vehicles until 10:00 on those mornings. Precious was very content once we established that she had to wear a helmet to go on the bicycle with Daddy. She loves being on the bike, and she had a great morning nap in her Snugli strapped to New Daddy's back.

The most interesting part of the trip around the Loop for me was the spill I took when I tried to follow New Daddy down the gravel road to the Primitive Baptist Church. I started down the hill and realized that my water bottle was going to rattle loose from the cage on my handle bar. I grabbed it with one hand while I braked with the other. I went over and away from the bike with a glorious thud.

My left palm hit the gravel, and my right knee must have hit the bike frame, because I have some pretty neat bruises there. Bubby is fine; I had a little bit of lower ligament pain after I got up, but I feel great now. A little scratched up, but no worse for the wear. I made it around the Loop without any problems. Yes, I was walking up most of the hills near the end, too! I love my new bike; now, if I can just learn the basics of mountain biking! Rule #1: Forget the water bottle. It will come rolling down the hill after you.

Thursday, we ventured into Gatlinburg, the Loo of the South :D. This day, we were the most tired we'd been all week. And all we did was eat a fabulous lunch at No Way Jose's Cantina and take Precious to Ripley's Aquarium. She adored the tanks where she could walk up and see the fish in front of her face and pointed at the fish and exclaimed at them.

As we were exiting onto the plaza in front of Ripley's, Precious, taking great pride in toting her potty seat bag, set it down on the sidewalk. And then she proceeded to pull out the potty seat. And then the wipes, the spare diaper, the book, and the burp cloth. All strewn about the beautiful plaza of Ripley's Aquarium. We laughed until our sides ached while my mother followed her around, deftly picking up everything in her wake and quickly stuffing the objects back into the abandoned bag. Toddlers are busy people.

Thursday evening, we drove down Hwy. 441 to a pulloff before the Chimney Tops. We took a short trail down to the West Fork of the Pigeon River. It must be one of the best-kept secrets in the Smokies, because we didn't see anyone else there. New Daddy fished for trout and caught a few nice ones, and we climbed the rocks and enjoyed the small waterfalls. For the short walk and the incredible scenery, it was wonderful! It refreshed us mightily from the way Gatlinburg made us feel :).








Friday, we packed up camp while New daddy gave Precious her morning nap in the Snugli on the bike. She woke up when he started throwing the spider-infested firewood out of the truck after he had already loaded it. On our way out, we found a great Bar-B-que place in Townsend with awesome fried dill pickles and blackberry cobbler. Then, we drove home. Precious spluttered around the house after her lively bath, and we're getting ready to have our first showers in five days (yuck)!

Aunt R, me, New Daddy, Precious, Aunt Ma, Daddy, Mama


Princess on the porch of Little River Bar-B-que

Comments

Anonymous said…
Sounds like you had a great time! The Ripley's Aquarium is great place to take the kids. And well worth the cost.

Speaking of Aquariums, Alex and I are wanting to take the kids to the new one in Atlanta soon-when we can find the time. When we do, I will be sure to call you and maybe we can all meet up together.

Lord Bless!
New Mommy said…
Heather, yes, give us a call when you come to Atlanta! We haven't been to the aquarium here, and we'd love to see y'all!

The word, last I heard, was that you need to buy weekend tickets about three months out, so we should probably plan ahead. Keep me posted! Of course you all can stay with us, too!

Jennifer, you crack me up! When are you going to start a blog?