We just returned from a family vacation. For one week we were in Tennessee with one of our sons and his wife and 2 children. We like to go to Tennessee, stay in a cabin and rest. We personally are not big shoppers, do not do a lot of touristy things, but we do enjoy sight seeing what GOD has made! So mountains are something to do that we enjoy.
For years, we use to go once a year to the mountains with out the children. We would go for a few days up to a week. We would drive our large 15 passenger van, and have no set plans -just head south.
We stayed in stay our van (having removed most of the seats and placing a mattress down, along with camping gear. ) I made curtains for the windows, during the day they were open, but we could close them at night. This gave nice privacy.
We used a camp stove, along with a few pots, and a good cast iron skillet we were set! We loaded up a cooler-brought along some home canned meats, and vegs, to make traveling with meat easy---that was it.
We often would drive somewhere on the blue ridge parkway-from one state to another. We stayed in the van, sleeping inside of it., parked on the blue ridge or in some parking lot somewhere each night. We only had one problem all those years, once we heard someone out side the van and woke up without hubcaps. They were cheap ones, so no big deal really--we figured it was teens ---no damage to the van---that was most important!
IT was important for us to do things together, without the children as they were growing up. After all, soon they would be grown and out of the house-and it would just be us again-so this time together was very important. Usually the last night we were gone, we would stay at a cabin in the smokeys. This gave us a chance to take a shower (all week it was washing up in the van with a bucket!)
We enjoyed the cabins so would often bring the children down on vacation about every other year.
So now, here we were going down again, only with one of the grown children and his family!
We left Friday early morning, about 3-3:30 am. Nathan and his family came to our home and spent the night, so we could all leave easily in the morning.
We planned to drive straight thru...stopping only to fill up the car and occasionally at a rest stop...
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| at a rest stop, after the little ones awoke for the morning |
we had a snack breakfast on the road of trail mix, and fruit, but decided to stop in Kentucky at a restaurant. The food was not good, really (at a well known restaurant) and the service was awful. Food was cold when it arrived, and refills for the drinks never came. A few of us ended up getting a bit ill from the food -so never eating at that chain of well known restaurants again! The manager did give us a discount, but really- after we became ill, I think the state inspectors should check the place out!
Then its back on the road again!
We arrived at the cabin in the late afternoon. We had only one night here (hidden mountain west) then we would leave and go to the East side tomorrow.
There is a pool table in this cabin! I showed the children how to play pool with out using the pool sticks (safer that way)
"mom" helping find something for the children, grampa is in the back ground ---looking confused about something!
The view from the deck
The kitchen
outside the cabin
The next day (Sabbath-aka Saturday) we left in the morning and headed to the mountains. We went to the Aquarium today, since we could not check into the other location until 4 pm, we decided to sight see!~
me and my honey
amazed by the things they were seeing
yes, its a shark
fun pushing buttons learning things about how GOD designed a fish
I cant believe people eat these---yuk
digging for bones
digging for bones
looking at the dinosaurs
happy its not real~
inside the observation tube to see the penguins
and the final thing they were able to see----
more later on day 3 thru 8
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