Great Smoky Mountain Rail Road

Ever since Kristi told me about taking the kids on a train in Korea, I've been on the hunt to find a train ride for us. We tried Amtrak, but to get to Atlanta, we would have had to go through DC first and it would have taken 18 hrs versus the 2 1/2 hr drive. How ridiculous is that?

Luckily, a couple of months ago, I stumbled across the web-site for the Great Smoky Mountain Rail Road (http://www.gsmr.com/). Ever since then, Will asked almost every day to look at the photos on the site and we decided to plan a trip.




Because of our schedules, we picked Oct. for our train ride - the most expensive month due to the color change in the trees (remember "leafers"?) Since we booked the trip, Will has been asking when we were going on "Tober" and where we were going. I didn't want him to be upset that we weren't going to be on the steam engine he's seen in the pictures (and on TV) so we made sure he understood we were going on the diesel engine. He did, and got even more excited when he saw more pictures - he even started telling people in the pick-up line at school and his coaches on sports night. It's been so cute!

So, Friday after Brent drove back from TN, we took off for Cherokee, NC. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive from Greenville and 20 minutes from Bryson City, NC where the train was. Since the train left at 9 am and wanted everyone there around 8 am, we figured a night in the hotel was a good idea.

Sofia had other ideas. They were excited to be in a hotel (they now understand a little more about "vacation") and we tried to get them calmed down around 10, telling Will we had to get up early for the train.

Sofia would not go to sleep for anything. I gave her food, extra milk, held her, rocked her . . . anything! But, she wanted to play and would scream bloody murder if we tried to contain her. Poor Will even put his fingers in his ears and said," Why won't she let me go to sleep?" I felt so badly for him and the people next to us. Finally, a little after midnight, she grabbed the blanket off our bed and laid down on the floor. I let her because I was pretty tired at this point and a 6 am wake-up call was not looking pretty. She was asleep in a few minutes and we put her in the Pack-N-Play and headed to sleep.

We all rolled out pretty early - Will did not want to wake-up until we reminded him about the train. Then, he jumped out of bed and demanded to get dressed. We got to Bryson City with no issue (and even found a better way to get to Cherokee - a little longer but with less harrowing curves to navigate) and grabbed our tickets. While we were waiting, a bluegrass band played music that we enjoyed and reminded Brent of his Seattle washboard days.


From there, we noticed people walking towards their coaches (we were in the Cherokee coach) and we decided to be lemmings and join in. Unfortunately, they were very, very poorly organized and we waited and waited and waited. Will held up really well, but I was holding Fi and she really, really wanted down. They finally let us through the ropes and we made a break for the coach. Since there was no assigned seating, I wanted to make sure we got 4 together, facing each other. We did and got all organized while others got on the train. Then, I did my good deed of the month - a family was split up on the train (2 groups of 4) and asked if we would trade so they could sit together. We said Ok and ended up sitting across the aisle from an Indian family from Florida. Their little girl, Lakena (lac-ah-nuh - not sure if I'm spelling it right - help, Reshma!), was 3 and ended up joining us for about half the ride. The kids played well together and, although a little annoying due to the extra kid watching, it was fun.

The train ride through the mountains was beautiful. It was a little cloudy, but the fog effect on the top of the mountains was so nice. The leaves were starting to turn (I'm sure it'll be even better in the next 2 weeks or so) and it just had such a great fall feel to it all. The mountains, the river, the forests, the clickety-clack of the train - it was great! The kids looked out the windows for a good portion of the ride, which was gratifying.

It was a straight track, so we got to the end and then they switched power to the other engine. Will was very interested in this idea and we kept explaining to him that we weren't really going backwards. I'm sure it gave him some more fun ideas for his own train routes at home.

We stopped for lunch at the Natahala Gorge Nature Center, but we only had an hour and we promised Will we would eat in the dining car. So, we got off the train, walked down (they had to split it in two so we didn't block the intersection for an hour - Will really liked that), and got back on the train in the dining car. We timed it well as we just sat down and then they were full. The food was Ok (we didn't have high hopes) but Will was loving it. They put the train back together and blew the all aboard whistle while we were eating. After we were done, I held Fi and Brent held Will's hand as we walked through the moving train back to our coach. Will liked doing this too.

Unfortunately, we lost our seats and the coach was pretty full. We found 2 seats across the aisle from one another and, after asking the people sitting by the windows, we sat down. I understand that people want to be by the windows - it's beautiful and they paid the same amount of money we did. But, I feel that as a family (key word here - family) of 4 with small children, one of the couples should have antied up and moved for us. Oh well. It was a short trip back (the stop is after the half-way point) and Will was sleeping for most of it. Again, Sofia was a rock star and just wanted to walk around and play.

We got back to the station and woke Will up by reminding him of the train museum - I knew that if we got in the car and he woke up and we hadn't gone to the museum (he's also seen it on-line and was excited to go), we would be in for a huge screaming fit. He perked up as soon as he remembered the museum and was ready to go.

The museum was pretty cool. They have walls and walls of different Lionel trains (most with price tags next to them) and train tables set-up. There were 2 small ones with buttons for the kids to push. Will liked this until he saw the giant train table -- it took up most of the room and had like 8 tracks going, all with different trains. When he first saw it, he said, "OH MY GOD!!" There were tunnels, a city, construction, bridges, a shed, a turntable -- I'm sure it matches Will's dreams of trains and was very cool. We met up with our little friend again here and they all wandered around together looking at different parts.

We ended in the gift shop (we did not buy any trains - I'm very proud; we did buy an ink stamp set with trains and other vehicles for him though) and then headed home. Sofia zonked out almost immediately but Will stayed awake. He chatted with us, sang us songs from school, told us about stories they read at school, and then played pretend for a little while. We ended the day at home with really good Chinese and then the kids and I were all in bed by 9 (so exhausted!).

If anyone in the area wants a great activity, I totally recommend this and can't wait to take the kids again.

Great Girls Weekend

Let me just say that we had a wonderful, fabulous time on our cruise to the Bahamas! I can't wait for the next time!

As you know, I had an early start on Friday. This unfortunately meant that Brent and the kids had an early start as well - we dragged the poor things out of bed a little before 6 am. I hoped they would stay asleep, but that hope was dashed as Fi raised her head off my shoulder, and with the cutest grin, said "Hi." Aah! Will chatted all the way to the airport as well. Good luck, Brent!




I arrived on time in Miami (I had good flights with no issues or crazy people) and found Ann waiting for me. We had a quick lunch at the airport (since the boat paperwork said we weren't to show up before 2) and then headed to the boat. Once aboard, we wandered around for awhile, FINALLY got a drink (it's like we were invisible at the bar for awhile - it was ridiculous!), and watched the boat sail away.

We headed to dinner, wondering who our table-mates might be (we had signed up for a 6-10 person table). We were a little amazed when we got there to see a 4 seater table. We (and the wait staff) realized later it should have been a 6 seater when another couple came up looking for our table number and there was no where for them to sit. The couple we sat with were an odd match; the guy was very chatty and the woman was not, at all. We didn't see them again for the rest of the trip. (Wonder what that says about us. . . .)





After dinner, we were exhausted. But, it was only 8:15 and we really didn't think we should head to bed just yet. So, we went to play Disco name that tune (we only got 6/20 - not so good) and watch a very crazy battle of the sexes, which the men ended up winning after an extremely funny game of balloon breaking. With all that, we managed to make it until 10 when we felt it was acceptable to crash.

And, crash we did! Poor Ann woke up in the middle of the night feeling claustrophobic (no wonder in our little cabin with no lights at all) but we still managed to sleep until 11:30. Awesome!

So, we had lunch (breakfast was done at 11:30) and headed over to Coco Cay for our couples massage. It felt so good - although the masseur told me afterwards that my muscles were still very tense and I should have a hot stone massage. Hmmm . . what did I just pay for if I was still tense? I was so relaxed that I really didn't care. We had a drink on the beach and enjoyed the beautiful day. We also laughed at our reading materials - In Touch for me (Sex and the City 2 issue) and Pottery Barn for Ann. Figures, right? :)

We had a little time before dinner so we played Bingo. I haven't played in years and was shocked at the price (seriously, I know we were trapped on that boat, but still!) and how smart the idea of folding down the numbers was. We played 4 games with 6 cards each time - I really hate the 4 corners game. The Bingo gods were not with us and we did not win. It was still fun though.

We got dolled up after that for "formal" night and waited to see who would be eating with us and what table we'd be at. We did get a 6 seater that night and about 45 minutes into our meal, another couple sat down, introduced themselves, and proceeded to ignore us. I guess we're just winners at dinner! :)

After dinner, I did karaoke to Sin Wagon by the Dixie Chicks (I love karaoke!); we saw the juggling show and the newlywed game (very funny); and we stayed up for the party under the stars at the pool where we danced for quite a while (I so love to dance). It was after 1 and we were off to bed! I woke up in the middle of the night, sea sick. I thought I would make it through this cruise without anything, but not so much. Ann, being the prepared traveler and good mom that she is, worried over me and gave me some drugs.

We got up Sunday at 10:30 with the help of a wake-up call. Man, sleep is such a good thing! We were still too late for breakfast, so we grabbed lunch and headed out to Nassau for our tour. There isn't really much on Nassau except a couple of forts and the Atlantis resort. But, now we can say we've seen it. There was a couple in our tour group that really just should have stayed in their room. Aside from their constant touching and kissing, they were interesting because he was wearing a dive shirt as a t-shirt with tightly belted jean shorts. Not a good look for anyone. And, we really had to laugh later when we caught them at dinner that night and he had a black dive shirt for formal wear (picture below). Too funny!

After our tour, we went shopping in the straw market and got straw purses for our girls - Fi got one with a pink flower and Sylvia got one with a pink butterfly. I also picked up a wooden flute for Will.

Back on the boat, we played another round of Bingo before dinner. Again, no luck although Ann was close a couple of times. We ate our last dinner alone and then headed off to see the Boogie Wonderland show. We really couldn't stay up much later than that as we had to be up bright and early for me to catch my flight.

We laughed as we packed up our luggage - we both overpacked (me way more than Ann did) and you could tell whose was whose based not only on the luggage (Ann's was smaller) but on the toiletries (I probably had 4 times the amount she did). We should have taken a picture of it. Ann, Brent would travel with you anytime as he's all about the carry-on luggage. :)

I had an uneventful flight back, except for multiple delays on the flight from Atlanta to Greenville. I was supposed to land in Greenville at 1:40 and didn't get in until 4. Unfortunately, Brent had to leave almost immediately for Tennessee for work. It was a very abrupt end to my vacation.

Despite that, I had a wonderful time reconnecting with Ann. We talked about anything and everything, laughed, read books, relaxed, and just had a thoroughly enjoyable time. It was hard to say good-bye, even though I'll see her in Nov and Dec. I hope we do it again and look forward to a next time.

Weekend in Atlanta

This past weekend (the one before the long Labor Day weekend) we decided to take a long weekend and head to Atlanta for our trip a month plan. We left Thursday night after nap time and made the easy drive. It was only 2 and half hours, so it was much shorter than the drive to the beach. We got to our hotel (thanks, Marriott points) and were happily upgraded to a two-bedroom suite with a little kitchen. This was optimal for getting the kids to bed - I hope we can do this in the future. After a late, quick dinner of McDonald's (surprise, surprise) we hit the hay as we had 10 am tickets for the aquarium.

True to form, the kids woke us up around 7:30. It was pouring outside, but since we had an inside day planned, it was no big deal. Until I went back into our room and the roof was leaking - awesome! You could see the bad patch work where the leak was - guess this happened before. Great! We immediately called down to the front desk and they sent someone up.





He told us we were getting a new room (duh!) so we started frantically packing to try to move to the new room and still leave before 9:30. They didn't get the room ready in time, but the woman at the front desk said it wouldn't be a problem to keep both room keys. So, we headed off to the aquarium.

We got there and actually met two sisters from Farmington Hill - the one sister lived in Atlanta and the other was visiting with her family. Funny thing - they both went to North Farmington High School and one of them had Jerry for a teacher. They both remembered Jerry - too funny! Just makes you think what a small world it really turns out to be.

The Georgia Aquarium is the largest one in the world. After going through it, I totally believe it. And, I have to say it is totally awesome! They have several different galleries, all off a central node so that you always come back out where you started (very good plan).

We started with the Georgia waters section - there was a great touch pool, a turtle window, and a great play area with a slide that ended in a whale's mouth. From there, we went to the Asian waters area. The coolest part of this exhibit were the fish and trees above you - they were just swimming all over. And, there was a really cool crocodile section too (they could have been alligators - I don't know how to tell the difference).

Then, we went to the Cold water area. Sofia got really brave here - we let her out of the stroller for a bit and she barged in front of some people to sit right in front of the kelp window. It was hilarious. She kept touching the glass every time a fish came near her. Then we saw giant crabs, beluga whales (they were playing - it was awesome), sea horses, and otters. A very fun gallery! We headed down for some lunch before the movie.

We went to a 3-D animated movie (the kids and my first one) all about fish and the sea (think Finding Nemo here). It had a very, very green message (a little overly so for their young audience in my opinion) but the 3-D effects (bubbles, strings, and air) were really cool and so was all the singing. Will didn't like the 3-D so much but he liked the dancing after we took his glasses off.

After the movie was the real fun - the coral reef gallery and the open ocean gallery. Too cool! Most of you know that I love scuba diving, so this was the best part for me. The largest exhibit in the coral reef was a giant reef with a wave - Will loved waiting for the wave and Fi really liked watching the fish. The open ocean gallery had the largest salt water tank anywhere, complete with a huge manta ray (that liked to do loop-de-loops) and two whale sharks. They wisely had a moving walkway around the majority of the tank and then a huge auditorium on the other majority. We sat for awhile and just watched all the animals swim around. It's so peaceful. But, I have to say, the coral reef was my favorite with all the color.

The kids actually lasted 4 and a half hours before Sofia just had it. It was an awesome experience and I totally recommend it to anyone.


The next day, we went back downtown to the Children's Museum. It was a great set-up - a huge open floor plans with different areas. This actually made it easier to get Will from place to place because he could see everything. We started out with the trains (of course) - there were two tables and they had holes in the middle to make some of the tracks easier to reach. We thought this was a good idea. Right next to the trains was basically a giant erector set - all kinds of building stuff capped off by a giant crane that the kids could work. I think this was his favorite part.

Then, we went to the farm section. Both kids drove the John Deere tractor, which would have made Great-Grandpa Booth proud I think. Sofia actually couldn't get enough of it. The farm fed into a grocery store that had a truck with a conveyor belt. Will got to work the fork-lift to put things onto the conveyor - it was pretty cool.






Then, we went fishing. The poles and the fish both had magnets on them - very cool! Will got to catch several whopper while Sofia played in the toddler area. We left the water to play in a giant tree house - lots of netting. A different little boy was running around chasing Will with some foam branches and Will was laughing like a loon - it was so funny!

This was at the back so we worked our way back to the front again. We played with the moon sand, but then Fi started to eat the sand so she and I went and tap danced. They had little tap shoes that fit her AND some for me - it was pretty cool. Will didn't want to try it though - he said it was too loud. We went back to the building area and the train table one more time before we left.







The kids were still game and it wasn't close to nap time, so we headed across the street to Centennial Olympic Park from the '96 Olympics. They had two really nice playground areas that the kids enjoyed. But it was getting hot and I had read about a splash area, so we went to find it. It was at the other end of the park, but it wasn't a long walk at all. Will and Fi both were gung-ho to get in the Olympic Ring Fountain even though I didn't have swim suits for them. I did, however, have an extra pair of shorts and diapers. So, we tried to strip them down and let them have at it. Will was running all over (and started showing some plumber butt as he was wearing a pull-up; didn't want to take a chance out on vacation with real underwear) and having a blast. Fi just ran up to the water and then ran back to us, laughing the whole time.



After wearing them out, they both took great naps back at the hotel - Fi didn't even make it to the car before she zonked out. That evening, we decided to take Will on a subway train since there was a station close to us with free parking. He had a blast! We only went 3 stops before we turned around, but he loved every part of it!

We had dinner that night in the little town of Norcross, right outside of Atlanta. It has a great downtown - there's a huge park that we'll have to check out next time - and our dinner was awesome. We plan to explore there some more when we go back.


Sunday, we decided to check out Stone Mountain park. It's kind of like Mt. Rushmore for Civil War guys - Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis are carved into the mountain and it's actually larger than Mt. Rushmore. (Side note - I can now say I've been to Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, and Stone Mountain. I think I got 'em all.) When we got to Stone Mountain, it was overcast. But, we hoped the rain would hold off while we took a trip on a train around the mountain. Will was really excited (of course). Fi was not into it - until we started moving and then she liked looking around.





We got done with that and had planned on taking the tram to the top of the mountain. But, the weather was against us. It was raining just a bit but they weren't taking the tram up. So, we got a refund on our tickets (thank goodness - it was very expensive to do stuff there and I don't know if I'd pay again) and high tailed it back to the car. About 3 minutes after we hit the road, it started pouring. It rained all the way back to Greenville.

We had a fun trip and I look forward to exploring Atlanta some more in the future.

At the Seashore

Since we've moved South, I've decided we should do a trip a month in order to explore the area, which is a totally new region of the country for me. Last month, we went to Cherokee, NC for a day. This month, we decided to do a long weekend at the beach. I wanted to avoid the tourist traps and just have a low-key vacation, so I randomly picked Litchfield on the map. It's a really quaint town about 20/30 minutes south of Myrtle Beach. Now, when I picked Litchfield, I didn't realize there was no straight shot drive and that it would take us 4 - 4 1/2 hrs to get there. Oops.




It was very odd Wednesday night and Thursday as we got ready for this trip - Brent and I both realized this was our first "real" family vacation with just the 4 of us. Brent and I have (luckily) vacationed alone once year since we've had kids, and we went to Tampa, FL for spring training with Will and Brent's parents. Brent started laughing about trying to find Wally World and I was having flashbacks to all our family car-trips as I packed up the kids and cooler. (Random tip for those living in warm climates - do NOT leave your video camera or digital camera in the back of your car when driving for a long time - this messed up our video camera at Cherokee but it's fine now.)

So, we hit the road Thursday afternoon for our long drive. We thought the timing would work out as it was Sofia's nap time and, as Will hadn't napped in 2 days, he should have dropped too. Nope! No sleeping for our little boy! And, he decided Sofia shouldn't sleep either; after she had been asleep for about 20 minutes or so, he started yelling, "Sofia! Wake up! I want to play - wake up!" Good times. Luckily, I had planned ahead and had lots of car snacks and juice to keep them occupied.




About halfway through our drive, Will starts getting upset and saying, "My butt hurts." He keeps saying it louder and louder. We ask him if he has to poop - he says no. I'm not totally sure what's going on, so we decide to stop at the McD potty. He gets in there and pees like he hasn't gone in 3 days (he must have drank more juice than I thought). I asked him again if he needed to poop and he says, "No - I'm all done." Works for me - I was just so proud that his pull-up was still dry (he usually wears regular underwear, but I wasn't taking chances in the car) and that he kind of asked to pee. He was rewarded with a milkshake.

The rest of the drive was uneventful and we arrived in Litchfield about 8. We got checked in, unpacked, and tried to get everyone settled to go to bed. Although they should have been exhausted, especially with no naps, they both didn't fall asleep until after 10 . . . Oh well.

They slept until 9 the next day. We headed down for our free breakfast and ran back up to our room to get ready for the beach. As anyone with children knows, it takes a lot to get ready for anything. And, I had to laugh as I managed to get myself and both kids in swimsuits, complete with sunscreen, in the same time it took Brent to get himself ready. We drove a short distance to the public beach access and unloaded. We were quite the site walking up the stairs and over the planks to the beach - I was carrying Fi and two bags, Will was carrying his basket of sand toys and his ring, and Brent was carrying the cooler with the towels on top. I wish I could have taken a picture or video, but we were pushing it as it was.

We had a beautiful day at the beach - the sun was shining, a breeze was blowing, and the waves were crashing . . . I love the beach! Will wanted to head to the water right away, so Brent and Fi played in the sand while Will and I played in the surf. He liked sitting on the sand and having the tide go in and out. Sofia started to get a little fussy, so we traded kids - I got her to sleep and just hung out watching my boys build sandcastles, with Will laughing every time a wave wrecked it. We ate some lunch on the beach and played some more in the sand after Fi woke up. We headed back to the hotel, and after much work, everyone (but me) took a nap. I read a book - which was great (it's one of the things I miss about my pre-kid life - getting up before Brent on a weekend and sitting with my coffee and reading all by myself.) We went to a local restaurant for dinner, which was challenging to say the least. Will was overtired, despite the nap, and didn't want to eat or sit for anything or anyone - and, the waiter screwed up our order so it took even longer than necessary. After dinner, we played in the pool which calmed Will down but didn't tire him out. It was another late night for the kids and us.

Saturday was another great day - breakfast, getting ready, beach. Fi wanted to spend more time in the water Saturday. I got to wrangle both of them in the water - what a good work-out! Sofia sat in the water and would crack up, kick and splash when the tide came in and again when the tide went out. Then, she found seashells and kept walking deeper and deeper in the water to look at them. I held onto her and she laughed each time the waves came - she even went under a couple of times but each time I picked her up, she laughed and tried to go deeper. She got mad everytime I'd take her further up the beach, away from the water. Will spent time in the sand, in the surf. Before we left, I took him out where the water was chest deep (he was in his ring) and pushed him on the top of the waves before the broke. He loved it!

We had dinner that night at a great restaurant right down the street from the hotel. It had a little boardwalk around a man-made lagoon. Around the fence, there were signs that said, "Please do not feed the alligator." I thought this was a joke and asked our waitress. She just said, "Well, it's only a little 3-4 footer. He's really just a baby." Oh-kay . . . Will loved going to see the alligator and feeding the fish and turtles - it was great to keep him occupied and we managed to have a nice dinner. We finished up our time in Litchfield with another late night swim and late night bedtime.

The drive home was much like the drive there - Will not wanting to sleep (but letting Fi sleep this time) and telling us his butt hurt again so that he could pee. I'm glad he's telling us something, but the butt thing doesn't make any sense to me. I know - he's 3 and his mind works in different ways . . . Maybe it's just a road trip ploy to get McD milkshake . . . hmm . . .

All in all, the first Maxwell family vacation was wonderful! I would recommend Litchfield to anyone and we plan on heading to the beach next month too (but a different location so I can continue to explore). Thanks for letting me tell you all about it - I hope you enjoyed reading about it.

Cherokee

This past Saturday, we took a day trip to Cherokee, NC with our friend, Barbara. Barbara used to work with Brent (she worked for a supplier) and has just found a new job (which we're really excited about). Barb is 1/4 Cherokee and she was really excited to show the reservation to us. She's goes to the pow-wows and everything (I can't wait to see her all dressed up in her gear). Brent actually has some Native American in him (Cherokee and Choctaw - which, unfortunately, makes me start to sing the country song "Indian Outlaw" every time I hear it or say it), plus with his love of history, this was right up his alley.

The drive up there was beautiful - I just can't get over the mountains and how green everything is - it's just so pretty. The kids did really well in the car, with me wedged between them, but when we got there, they were more than ready to get out.

We drove up to "the strip" (as Barb called it) which was a whole lot of tourist trap stuff (I know, we were tourists too) and very commercial. We thought Will might want a break from the car, but the minute he got out, all he wanted to do was get back in the car and get to the river. We had told him before that there was a river at Cherokee where he could go fishing (we bought him a little "Cars" fishing pole) and he was super geeked to use it.

So, we all piled back in the car (Barb took the middle of the backseat this time) and we found the river (not more than 5 minutes from Cherokee commercial central). It was gorgeous (see picture) - it had all these great shallow areas for playing and sitting. So, we got out with our picnic and found a nice spot for lunch and some fishing.


Will, of course, was not interested in food at all. So, after getting everyone set-up with some food, we stripped him down and put on his swimsuit (it's so great that he's still little enough that we don't have to worry about finding somewhere private to change clothes yet). He ran down the riverbank, found some good rocks to sit on, and started casting away (well, trying at least). He kept saying, "I'm gonna catch a whopper, Momma." (We can thank the 'Yardigans for the whopper and fishing reference - it really is my favorite show for kids.) He did a great job reeling the line back in (no hook for now) and splashing the rod in the water.

After having a ton of fun fishing, he decided to explore the river. He hopped off the rock and found that he could stand up and walk around on the rocks - good fun! I left my watch post to finish my lunch and sit with Fi (who'd been with Brent and stuck in the stroller, eating) and Barb took over. She's got 4 grandkids in LA and one on the way here in Greenville, so we figured she could handle Will. Well, my charming boy convinced her to let him walk to a different spot in the river, over some slippery rocks. He didn't care that the water was a bit chilly - he was loving every minute of it. And, she let him throw rocks (only in the water), which he thought was great. She was wearing jeans and they sure got wet! What a trooper!


Sofia didn't want to be left out of the action. After she finished her lunch, I took her down to the river (fully dressed) and put her down. Since she doesn't like the feel of grass on her bare feet, I wasn't sure how she'd like the feel of river mud. She loved it! And, she headed straight for the water. So, I took her back to the picnic blanket to change her. I didn't think it would be worth it for the full swim gear, so we just went with a swim diaper (again, thank goodness she's young enough to get away with that). She loved the river! She kept squatting down so that she could drink the river (we thought it was probably clean enough) and trying to follow Will and splashing - it was great!

While Will, Fi, Barb, and I were playing in the river, Brent was documenting the experience. Two teenager girls (young - like 13 each) were tubing down the river and didn't jump when they were told to - so they freaked out and got stuck in the middle of the river, right where we were standing. Their dad jumped in to help them get up, but he couldn't hold onto the girls and the tube. So, Barb (since she wasn't wet enough from helping/playing with Will) got into the middle of the river and held the tube while the dad helps the girls get to the shallows. Now, from the looks of it (based on Barb's legs) the water wasn't even knee deep in the middle. So, the rocks must have either been really slippery or the current was strong there. We just really couldn't figure out why the girls were having so much trouble. In any case, Barb helped save the day.

After our fun at the river, we went to the museum and village. The museum was Ok - we didn't get to see as much because the kids weren't in the mood for it and the statues of Indians kept weirding Will out. He kept asking, "Who are they?" and "What do they do?" He just didn't get it and didn't want us to stop at all. Fi was almost as bad - it was close to naptime and anytime the stroller stopped, she got upset. Now, I'm sure the museum was full of good information that people without a 3 and 1 year old get to stop, read, discuss, and appreciate. Maybe some other time.

After the museum, we went to the village, Oconaluftee. It's a replica of a village from 1759 and they have different crafts and buildings to explore. When we got there, they were about to do the War Dance. So, we staked out a place where I could make a quick escape with the kids and waited for the show to begin. Four beautifully painted Indians stood on the sand while a different Indian with a nice voice began to tell the history of the dance. Then, the Indian standing closest to us started screaming at the top of his lungs - Will then started screaming at the top of his lungs. The other Indians started screaming - I made a hasty retreat with the stroller in one hand and Will in my other arm. The poor guy was so upset that by the time I found a place to sit away from the noise (with a nice little waterfall from a small stream to distract him - he loves to throw pennies in the water), he had given himself a bloody nose. Poor little guy! From the pictures Brent took, it looks like it was a nice dance but we probably should have saved the village for another time. Barb did make Will forget the screaming by getting him a pop-gun from the gift shop; she got Fi a great book of Cherokee legends which I've really been enjoying.

We packed it all up and headed for home. Barb was nice enough to take the middle of the backseat for the ride home. We ended our day with some milkshakes and we look forward to going back sometime soon.