It was time for a family getaway.
Usually, what happens at our April anniversary is that Jon and I leave the kids with family during "spring break" (in the first week of March) and go spend one quick night away together, then rush back to relieve the sitter. This year, we decided to try something different.
Jon has been wanting to go the Smoky Mountains National Park to hike for years. When we decided to take a family mini-break instead of a couple's getaway, I stipulated that we could visit the park, but I wanted to sleep in a hotel, thankyouverymuch. Off we went to Camp Compromise.
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| Road trip selfie |
The kids cheered when we made it over the border into Tennessee. They noticed the giant guitar.
I noticed the confederate flag within five minutes. Unfortunately, I noticed it out loud, and Miles was on it like a hawk on prey and we found ourselves having to explain the whole Civil War in the car. Oh brother.
The best part, though, was when we asked him what he already knew about the Civil War, and he said, "That's when Virginia said to England, 'we want to be a country' and we fought a war and we won so we got to go to America."
We had a lot of 'splainin to do.
Meanwhile, we were getting into Pigeon Forge. If you haven't been to Dolly Parton's hometown before, I really can't fully explain. You will just have to experience it for yourself.
It's kind of like... Disneyworld and Los Vegas had a baby and it grew up in Tennessee.
I just stopped taking pictures in Gatlinburg because it was more fun to just gawk and point with the kids and enjoy their thrilled exclamations.
The weather was looking rainy for Saturday, so we decided to make our main hiking expedition on Friday. We drove straight to the park, ate our packed lunch at the visitors' center, and drove out to Clingman's Dome, Jon's priority hike.
The neon spring green on all the foliage was stunning.
The elevation at Clingman's Dome is in the 6000s ft above sea level. It's the kind of air that doesn't feel cold on your skin but feels cold when you breathe it in. The deciduous trees don't even have leaves yet, up there.
It was exhilarating.
This was the beginning of the final climb, which I understand brought us to the highest point in the state of Tennessee.
Adele started in the carrier...
...then demanded to be allowed to walk. She hit a wall, and lay down for a while. But once I got her to the observation tower, she could see Jon and Miles, and Adele broke into a triumphant run.
She was thrilled to be reunited with them after 10 long minutes. :-)
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| Guys... the view... |
Miles loved that he could stand in North Carolina with one foot and Tennessee with another.
He must have explained this to Adele about 50 times before he moved on to explaining it to every passerby.
I had to drag him away. He will be giving tours at some historical place someday.
After that hike, Jon saw a sign for the Appalachian Trail. It was just half a mile away. Though we were all tired, we decided we'd go for it. Jon's always wanted to hike a portion of the trail.
They trotted along like little goats. I think it was the air. It may also have been the view? Or, possibly, the proximity to God.
And who is a rock besides our God?—
the God who girded me with strength, and made my way safe.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer, and set me secure on the heights.
Psalm 18
A kind passerby took our family photo.
At long last, we finally made it to the AT. We may have hiked it for half a mile?
The glory of that day! Alas, did not cause our kids to fall asleep quickly and easily as we'd hoped. The ice cream seemed to have been more powerful than the exertion.
Still, it was good ice cream.
Thank you God, for 13 years together, 9 years married, 5 3/4 years as parents. It's been a mighty fine trip, and the company's been even better.
