Family Vacation

I can't type that title w/o the National Lampoon's Vacation music (by Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac fame, no less) echoing in my head. While we did have our inevitable Griswold family moments (like walking 1/2 a mile uphill through fog in FREEZING temps to a "scenic outlook" where we couldn't see 5 feet in front of us, much less the two states and panoramic view promised), the fun far outweighed the not-so-fun.

The bulk of our adventures preceeded the trip. 72 hours before our departure, Chase came home from a playdate sobbing and holding his arm. He fell off a rock wall in the waning light of dusk. He could wiggle his fingers, but my mommy sense told me that my baby's arm was broken. We headed to the ER (note to self: no more bragging that we haven't needed an ER visit for over 300 days when questioned about our "fast pass" status) and my suspicions were confirmed. He has a buckle fracture on his left arm/wrist. We visited Dad's orthopedic the next day, so he's rocking a green cast and the envy of his friends.

We spent some time at my sisters right before we left. She blogged about it, so I'll just link you to that. http://www.hodgefamilyhappenings.blogspot.com/

I spent all of Saturday morning doing laundry and packing and we left right at 1. We made it to Harriman, TN just outside of Knoxville. Sunday morning we had a short, rainy drive to Gatlinburg. First up was Ober Gatlinburg. We had lunch and played a bit, but couldn't do the outside stuff because of the rain. So we headed down the mountain and hit the aquarium and touristy museums. Monday we ventured into the park and did Cades Cove. That took about 1/2 the day--we spent the rest of the day back at Ober Gatlinburg (the boys rode the chair lift to the top of the mountain) and in town exploring. Tuesday saw us climbing Clingman's Dome (it was cold and foggy), exploring Cherokee, NC (not impressed), and visiting Newfoundland Gap. Then we headed to another entrance to the park that my Dad recommended and did some nature walks--that was probably our favorite part of the trip. A quick trip back into town for a trip up the space needle and a fabulous dinner at the Peddler. I didn't really want to come back Wednesday--which is surely the sign of a good vacation!

From top: Dancing at Ober Gatlinburg, outside the aquarium, in the park in front of the Smokies, on the outlook at Clingman's Dome, the view from Newfoundland Gap, playing in a stream in the park.

We got home Wednesday night. Thursday found me catching up on laundry (while Chase caught up with his friends) and Friday we headed to the Pumpkin Patch to celebrate the last day of cycle break!

Tomorrow Chase heads back to school with his actual third grade teacher (who went on maternity leave the third day of school) and Cass heads back to dance class, which she missed very much last week. I've enjoyed the last three weeks with the kids, but am looking forward to getting back to our normal routine. My volunteer activities are kicking up, so 7 hours a week of "kid-free" time is appreciated! I have a call scheduled during dance class tomorrow, but Tuesday morning, I'm hitting the nail salon for a fill and pedi. It's been too long!