Vacation: what worked and what didn't

Things that worked

• ~Our Kelty Gunnison 4. We bought it three years ago for our pre-baby trip to Canada. In Ontario, we woke up on our last morning, surprised to see a puddle that ended under our tent. We were perfectly dry. Throughout this trip of intermittent thunder showers, the tent continued its tradition of weatherproof-ness, though it still tends to be a little stuffy for an afternoon nap. It's a cozy tent for nights in the Smokies, though.
• ~A Kaufman Kamp Koncert. Good music, a dancing toddler who quietly handed out popcorn to everybody, and my mom keeping Bubby's loud self entertained outside of the auditorium. In New Daddy's words, my mom is "a saint."
• ~Sleeping outside. We actually went to bed at a decent hour and woke up feeling rested!
• ~Water. Bubby squawked and squealed his way through our wading session on the Little Pigeon River. It looks like New Daddy will have a fishing buddy in a few short years (and he did catch several trout on this trip!).
• ~The whole family. My brother and his family were able to join us this time around. It was wonderful! And it was a little quieter and a little emptier-feeling after they left.

Things that didn't work

• ~Hiking Abrams Falls trail-- 5 miles of rough trail with fifty extra pounds of children to pack. The next time such a trek will be attempted will be after the children can hike it themselves. The reward for the hike was the busiest Swimmin' Hole of the South, with a waterfall off somewhere in the corner past all of the folks. My bones and my eyes are still hurting.
• ~The bike trailer and Bubby. He screamed and stewed about halfway around the Loop Road. When we got to the rest area, I nursed him to sleep and he stayed asleep in my arms for about twenty minutes. Several people saw me holding him and asked if he was the baby who was wailing around the Loop earlier. I was forced to sheepishly confirm.
  When we tried to lay him in the trailer to continue his nap and the trip, his senses kicked in, and he started wailing again. But, shortly after another stop and a nursing session on the upper level of a cantilever barn, he decided that the trailer wasn't so bad, after all. The little booger actually started liking it and yelling staccato sentences as we ended the trip.
• ~Cars on the Loop. We didn't get started until 9:00, and the road opened to cars at 10:00. With a screaming baby who needed to exit the bike trailer at regular intervals, we were losing the race against the advent of cars. By the end of the trip, we realized that it was better to walk up hills instead of stopping and waiting for all of the cars to pass. If we stopped, we immediately became the Baby Jam (instead of a Bear Jam), with sweet grandmas stopping to wave at our Adorable Children.

Things that sort of worked

• ~Ripley's Aquarium. The kids had a nice time. Bubby loved, of course, the waterfall. Precious loved the fish and getting to climb on the displays that were climb-able. We were tired, though.
• ~Plans. It's good to have plans, but not good to feel compelled to carry them out just because you have them. Next year, maybe we can recreate the spontaneous, vacation-y feeling that we had last year, but didn't quite achieve this year. We felt slightly ragged from all of the things to do. We definitely need an evening to vegetate around the campfire. Isn't that a requirement for a camping trip? Unfortunately, we bypassed this rite.

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