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We are back from our vacation. We've actually been back for a week but I haven't had time to update the blog until now . . . Vacation was great. We left on Saturday, June 12th and was back on Friday, June 18th. The drive was very scenic and gorgeous. David and I drove my Honda Element and the in-laws drove Susan's Chevy Equinox. We each have a car seat so we would switch Sophie back and forth at some stops. She did so great! We drove 7 hours the first day and she was such a little trooper! I know the portable DVD player that Grandma and Grandpa bought her was the main factor in her smooth car ride. She watched her signing DVDs over and over and over and . . . .
We made several stops along the way, I must admit more were for me than Sophie! Those who know me dearly know that I can't hold it too long and I'm not a good travel partner!
I think one of the most memorable was the stop we made to Loretta Lynn's Kitchen in Waverly, Tennessee. First it was a memory to me as I stopped there with Tracy, Lara (my cousin), Mimi and Granda (my mom's parents) when we were about 12 as we were headed to Opryland for a vacation. It looks much different now and I can't say that I really remember the food back then but after this visit I can tell you that it's not memorable -- yuck! There was a huge buffalo outside that Sophie just loved. She tried to say buffalo and it came out "la-lo". As we left she cried, literally, saying "la-lo, la-lo, la-lo" as if she was leaving behind a good friend.
We stayed in Memphis that first night but got in so late that we were all tired and didn't go out or anything that night. Then we arrived on Sunday evening around 8pm at our cabin. We had to drive through the city of Pigeon Forge to get to our cabin. Wow, have you ever been there? It's rather interesting. Reminds me of Vegas, only more family friendly. Loads of lights and bright crazy stuff everywhere!
Our cabin was around the bend up in the mountains, not too high, just high enough to have a great view and great privacy. The cabin was 100% log cabin. All wood floors, walls, ceiling, everything. It was 3 stories with the main level having the kitchen, living room, bedroom with private bath and then a half bath off of the staircase. The upper level had a bedroom and bathroom with a balcony off of it with a view. Downstairs was a huge game room with a pool table, air hockey, slot machine, darts and a full-sized Atari game. It also had a sauna, bedroom, bathroom, and media room with a 50" flat screen TV, DVD player and Nintendo Wii (which we never could get to work).
Sophie slept in the media room downstairs (she does better in her own room). I brought the baby monitor so we could hear her upstairs. She did great. She slept every night all night without a peep and until 8-9 am in the mornings. She also looooved watching her signing DVDs on that huge TV! She would sit on the cushy sofa and just stare at the screen. I do her hair when she's watching those, just like my mom used to do with Tracy and I!
On Monday David's cousin, Angela and her sweet 2 1/2 year old daughter Abbie, met us in Gatlinburg at the Ripley's Aquarium. That was the greatest aquarium; I felt like I was in Disneyworld! It was great! Sophie absolutely loved it. They had a tunnel you walked through and sharks would swim over you and around you. They also had sea turtles, sting rays, really just about every sea life except whales and dolphins! That night Angela and Abbie then came back and stayed with us at the cabin. We all stayed in and had homemade spaghetti for dinner. The girls loved it and we all had a good time.
The next day Angela and Abbie went back home (they live about 3 hours from there) and David and I went horseback riding. Don and Susan watched Sophie and took her to the petting zoo they had at the horse stables.
On Wednesday we went to the National Park and hiked. We actually went to Bryson City, North Carolina for the hike but had a beautiful scenic drive through the Smokies to get there. Sophie absolutely loved the hike and Daddy showed her what mountain streams and waterfalls are like. I think she now loves water. We couldn't get her away from it after that!
We headed back on Thursday and spent the night again in Memphis. This time we stayed downtown after getting a great deal on a hotel on hotwire.com in downtown. We went and ate some famous ribs on Beale Street at a cafe that a scene in the movie "The Firm" was filmed, called "Blues City Cafe". Then we walked around the streets for a bit. They had tons of horse drawn carriages and Sophie absolutely loved the horses. She calls a horse a "nay", as in the sound a horse makes. She touched several horses' noses and wasn't one bit afraid. Maybe a Great Dane at home keeps her from being afraid of large animals -- haha.
We made it home late on Friday, again with a great little travel buddy. We did make a detour back to Loretta Lynn's Kitchen as we had left Sophie's diaper backpack there on our way up. Luckily mom is smart and put a name tag with a phone number on it. We got a phone call and they said they'd hold it for us until we came back through. We picked it up and it was all intact, rotten milk sippy and all. Sophie was ecstatic to see the la-lo again!
Here are the videos and photos. Enjoy.
We are back from our vacation. We've actually been back for a week but I haven't had time to update the blog until now . . . Vacation was great. We left on Saturday, June 12th and was back on Friday, June 18th. The drive was very scenic and gorgeous. David and I drove my Honda Element and the in-laws drove Susan's Chevy Equinox. We each have a car seat so we would switch Sophie back and forth at some stops. She did so great! We drove 7 hours the first day and she was such a little trooper! I know the portable DVD player that Grandma and Grandpa bought her was the main factor in her smooth car ride. She watched her signing DVDs over and over and over and . . . .
We made several stops along the way, I must admit more were for me than Sophie! Those who know me dearly know that I can't hold it too long and I'm not a good travel partner!
I think one of the most memorable was the stop we made to Loretta Lynn's Kitchen in Waverly, Tennessee. First it was a memory to me as I stopped there with Tracy, Lara (my cousin), Mimi and Granda (my mom's parents) when we were about 12 as we were headed to Opryland for a vacation. It looks much different now and I can't say that I really remember the food back then but after this visit I can tell you that it's not memorable -- yuck! There was a huge buffalo outside that Sophie just loved. She tried to say buffalo and it came out "la-lo". As we left she cried, literally, saying "la-lo, la-lo, la-lo" as if she was leaving behind a good friend.
We stayed in Memphis that first night but got in so late that we were all tired and didn't go out or anything that night. Then we arrived on Sunday evening around 8pm at our cabin. We had to drive through the city of Pigeon Forge to get to our cabin. Wow, have you ever been there? It's rather interesting. Reminds me of Vegas, only more family friendly. Loads of lights and bright crazy stuff everywhere!
Our cabin was around the bend up in the mountains, not too high, just high enough to have a great view and great privacy. The cabin was 100% log cabin. All wood floors, walls, ceiling, everything. It was 3 stories with the main level having the kitchen, living room, bedroom with private bath and then a half bath off of the staircase. The upper level had a bedroom and bathroom with a balcony off of it with a view. Downstairs was a huge game room with a pool table, air hockey, slot machine, darts and a full-sized Atari game. It also had a sauna, bedroom, bathroom, and media room with a 50" flat screen TV, DVD player and Nintendo Wii (which we never could get to work).
Sophie slept in the media room downstairs (she does better in her own room). I brought the baby monitor so we could hear her upstairs. She did great. She slept every night all night without a peep and until 8-9 am in the mornings. She also looooved watching her signing DVDs on that huge TV! She would sit on the cushy sofa and just stare at the screen. I do her hair when she's watching those, just like my mom used to do with Tracy and I!
On Monday David's cousin, Angela and her sweet 2 1/2 year old daughter Abbie, met us in Gatlinburg at the Ripley's Aquarium. That was the greatest aquarium; I felt like I was in Disneyworld! It was great! Sophie absolutely loved it. They had a tunnel you walked through and sharks would swim over you and around you. They also had sea turtles, sting rays, really just about every sea life except whales and dolphins! That night Angela and Abbie then came back and stayed with us at the cabin. We all stayed in and had homemade spaghetti for dinner. The girls loved it and we all had a good time.
The next day Angela and Abbie went back home (they live about 3 hours from there) and David and I went horseback riding. Don and Susan watched Sophie and took her to the petting zoo they had at the horse stables.
On Wednesday we went to the National Park and hiked. We actually went to Bryson City, North Carolina for the hike but had a beautiful scenic drive through the Smokies to get there. Sophie absolutely loved the hike and Daddy showed her what mountain streams and waterfalls are like. I think she now loves water. We couldn't get her away from it after that!
We headed back on Thursday and spent the night again in Memphis. This time we stayed downtown after getting a great deal on a hotel on hotwire.com in downtown. We went and ate some famous ribs on Beale Street at a cafe that a scene in the movie "The Firm" was filmed, called "Blues City Cafe". Then we walked around the streets for a bit. They had tons of horse drawn carriages and Sophie absolutely loved the horses. She calls a horse a "nay", as in the sound a horse makes. She touched several horses' noses and wasn't one bit afraid. Maybe a Great Dane at home keeps her from being afraid of large animals -- haha.
We made it home late on Friday, again with a great little travel buddy. We did make a detour back to Loretta Lynn's Kitchen as we had left Sophie's diaper backpack there on our way up. Luckily mom is smart and put a name tag with a phone number on it. We got a phone call and they said they'd hold it for us until we came back through. We picked it up and it was all intact, rotten milk sippy and all. Sophie was ecstatic to see the la-lo again!
Here are the videos and photos. Enjoy.
This is a tour of our cabin:
This is Sophie saying "uh oh" because those two birds just got into a little scuffle.
This was Sophie completely ecstatic one night. She was wild!
Sophie was laughing at Grandma on the way to our hike in North Carolina. She's saying "please" which sounds like "B" when she wants Susan to do it again.
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