(this is going to be a (really) long one. buckle up!)
memorial weekend 2013
this trip started just like any other... with starbucks. because is a road trip really a road trip without starbucks?! our first day consisted of packing up the car with a million and one items and heading down to nashville to meet up with the rest of the family at my parent's house.
i should have written down the details ... because more than a year later, my brain is working extra hard to try and remember all of the little things ;)
from what i remember... jackson was pretty good in the car. he's a pretty good little traveler. give him an ipad and some "shows" and he's pretty dang content!
once we arrived in nashville, we rested for the night and then it was time to pack up the caravan and make the trip from nashville to gatlinburg! my parents rented this giant van and they all packed in. we followed close behind!
jackson's cute little crossed feet...in our car...
and my cutie nephews in the big van...
my mom was pretty smart when it came to packing. check out the "chocolate and strawberry milk station" she created for the boys! really smart idea considering we'd be in the car for quite a few hours!
after driving for a bit, we made a lunch stop at mcdonalds. the kids enjoyed their happy meals and burnt off some energy in the play place. it was jackson's first time trying one of those. i think he liked it!
after lunch it was back in the car to continue our drive. things got a little silly.
silly...until he fell asleep. :)
after a long drive (with quite a bit of time stuck in traffic... thanks a lot pigeon forge!!) we arrived! off to the lodge!
here's the room we stayed in. it was gigantic. big enough for us to put the pack-n-play in it's own area to allow jackson to have his own space for naps and bedtime. it worked out perfectly!
after settling in a little... it was time for dinner. spaghetti for everyone!
i'm pretty sure it was early to bed for everyone that evening. traveling really takes it toll on you. as crazy as that seems.. sitting in the car is hard! ;)
the next morning we walked to breakfast.
that was a delicious breakfast. we weren't messing around! we needed to fuel up for the rest of the days adventures!
after breakfast, we packed up and went on our first hike. to laurel falls.
such pretty views. so different than any view in indiana!
well we got a good picture of todd and i with my nephew, landen. too bad jackson isn't really visible. oops.
#selfie at the waterfall!
that's better! :) i love those boys!
after coming back to the lodge, nonnie gave jackson his first popsicle! he was a big fan.
that afternoon (after nap time of course!) granny, todd, jackson and i did a little exploring through downtown gatlinburg. i cannot get over how busy it is! so much to see, so many people and honestly so much traffic! i am really glad we were within walking distance from all of the downtown sights!
gosh. i just love that crazy kid.
once back at the lodge... time for mexican food with the whole family!
after dinner, it was time for a bath. it was basically a swimming pool for jackson. he would have played in there all night. and then it was off to bed for the littles.
and the grownups enjoyed some quiet time playing video games (all weekend long!) and enjoying the evenings together. this lodge is pretty much the perfect place to do that! we could even play games and laugh and talk as loud as we wanted. i'm pretty sure that the closest sleeping kid was two floors away. thank goodness for video baby monitors!
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one our last full day, we got up and hung out for awhile and decided to (once the rains stopped if i remember correctly!) take another hike. this time with just my parents, jackson, todd and i.
unfortunately, i think we were cutting it a little too close to nap time because jackson was not having any part of this hike. the trail was a little harder than any of us had anticipated and jackson wanted to be down the whole time. that wasn't really possible and he was having no part of being in the hiking backpack... the trails were too much to just hold him normally... so i carried a kicking and screaming baby for a quarter of a mile back to the car. back at the car, we both cried...lol... he was tired and i was stressed. my arms were from trying to contain him on those trails. and you had to love the looks you got from all of the passing hikers ;) "we've all been there!" was one of my favorite comments. thank you total strangers. those kinds of comments always help in stressful situations!
just before we made it to the car (the only time he was semi-calm) he and nonnie found a little creek to play in. that boy loves the water. and his nonnie!
after lunch and a good nap... we tried part two of our day! (which was much more successful!)
we walked down to the main strip to check out ober gatlinburg.
it looks like someone was a little sleepy on the walk down!
jackson did amazingly well standing in line while we waited. such a different attitude than in the morning. food and naps really do help a guy out!
pretty amazing views on the way up!
once at the top, it was almost like a mini-amusement park. so we played!
after a few rides on the carrousel and a slushie... it was time to take a ride back down the mountain. once we started walking back towards the lodge, we stopped for ....you guessed it... mexican food!
oh those silly boys!!
after dinner we finished our walk back to the lodge. i'm sure we did something fun... oh. probably relaxed in the hot tub. no photos of that though... and then went to bed. had to rest up for our ride home. little did we know it would be quite an adventure all on its own!
so our family friends gave us a tip to keep us from hitting so much traffic on the way home. there was a way to drive through the state park and get around the traffic of pigeon forge. the idea was pretty amazing because just a couple days prior, we had spent so much extra time trying to get through all of that traffic. it was kind of ridiculous really.
so we got out our trusty map and set out on our way. and since we were using a tourist attractions map, we weren't aware that all streets weren't marked. so. we are driving right along for a good hour through the beautiful state park (while jackson napped) when we realized that the hour we just spent driving, was completely in the opposite direction of where we should be driving. oops.
all of the lovely mountain view photos were taken while driving in the wrong direction. it was the most scenic mistake we've ever driven!
once we finally got turned around and out of the state park (see the line of cars above all trying to get out of the park...) we were literally right back at where we started. 2 hours in the trip and we were just a mile away from the lodge. :) yay.
so we drove for awhile and stopped for lunch. someone was tired and a little silly after sitting in the car for awhile already!
back in the car we went. and we drove..
and we drove...
and jackson talked to nemo on the phone. while we drove...
and drove...and hit more traffic... and drove some more...
eventually we stopped for snacks and a restroom break at some cvs after sitting in stopped traffic. that was our last major stop before finishing the rest of the drive. after that stop we were in the car for six.more.hours.
it took my parents and the boys a long time to get home too. probably because when we all left... we all went in the wrong direction. and since we were up in the mountains...no cell reception.... it took a long time to get in touch with them to get them turned around. it was kind of a mess!
it was kind of the "light at the end of the tunnel" when we finally saw signs that said "indianapolis" we were so ready to get home!
i had finished out all of my snacks :)
can i just tell you that of our TEN HOUR DRIVE home from gatlinburg... jackson only slept for one hour. that one hour happened while we were driving in the wrong direction. by the time we got turned around in the right direction, he was already awake. so for nine solid hours, he was the best.kid.ever. he never complained. he never cried. he was such a trooper being strapped in that car seat. we were being watched over that day, i have no doubt. considering how over it we were, the day couldn't have gone smoother. we didn't let stress get the best of us. by the end, we were all smiles.
once we arrived home, it was already bedtime for the little guy but it was a quick bath and then we let him run around the house. literally. run. as long as he wanted. stretch his little body out!
i think we were all asleep pretty early that night. the trip was so much fun and so exhausting all at the same time. i'd do it all again in a heartbeat.
so my family, when is our next family road trip? maybe next time we'll come a little more prepared! ;)
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