The Smokies!

Maliana ~

Right now I’m giving you a big standing ovation/round of applause for what an excellent little traveler you are! We could not have as thoroughly enjoyed our road trip to the Smoky Mountains this week without your stupendous job in the car…so thank you. I will get to this big Appalachian adventure in a minute, but first to wrap up the pre-vacation happenings.


Daddy took both Monday and Tuesday off work to use up some excess vacation time and get ready for the trip. You still went to school but he surprised you on Tuesday by coming to watch you play soccer and then taking you home early and out to lunch, about which you were very excited. As we packed and got everything together on Monday, you went to see the Szwabinsky’s and pulled a “Daddy” on them by ringing their doorbell and asking them what they were doing. When they told you they were fixing dinner you said, “Mmmmm” and put on your hungriest face, which they cannot resist feeding. It’s funny because that is exactly what Daddy does too…like father like daughter I guess. Jenny joked later that you always seem to know when she is cooking somehow. You little mooch.

By Tuesday, we were nearly ready to leave the next morning, so we decided to go out to eat for dinner and then pick up some last minute stuff for the road. This little excursion was hysterical, with you being in rare form. For example, upon taking the shopping cart back into World Market, you paused at the door and yelled, “Bye everybody!”…then once in the parking lot a man stopped us for directions, and you decided to lean around Daddy and be ever so helpful by parroting everything he said and did to this poor man. (I have no idea if he ever made it to his destination). You were happy as a clam to have us all together, and probably the loudest child in any restaurant and store we went in. We laughed so hard at your antics; we could hardly breathe. I have no idea how so much noise can come out of such a tiny person! 

testing Halloween masks at World Market



along with wrapping up the errands and packing for our trip,
you still managed to con Daddy into a bike ride!

Wednesday morning, we loaded up the car and headed off on our great adventure…destination Gatlinburg, TN – the heart of the Smokies!

breakfast with Memaw and Papaw before hitting the road

Once we finally made it to the mountains, actually just the foothills, your first glimpse of them triggered a “Wow! They’re huge!” As we wound our way up to the cabin, we sang along with the Lemonade Mouth soundtrack (your current passion right now), our car full of excited squeals as we began our weekend long search for bears. The Yersaviches made it to the cabin a few hours later, and we all settled in together, glad that everyone made it safely.

The next morning we all ate a big breakfast and headed off to hike the Laurel Falls trail.

trying to figure out the best trails to hike

Our search for bears didn’t take long, as we came upon a young black bear as we hiked back down from the falls to our car. It was really exciting, and a little scary too. Couldn’t get a good photo, and I wasn’t about to wait for the perfectly clear shot either. We high-tailed it pretty quickly.

our fearless hikers

1st bear sighting

all of us at Laurel Falls

got your hiking stick and ready to get moving

gorgeous views

didn't get a picture of the bear, but this is where we spotted him

The next day was my birthday, so I headed off on a morning shopping trip with Aunt Tina while you kids stayed with the Dads. Once home, we all piled into the car and headed through Gatlinburg and did the Motor Nature Trail, stopping at an old mountain farm homestead and ending up creekin’. Uncle Joe, Sam, and Erin were all about salamanders, and finally found a big meaty guy under a rock. You kids were so excited and took turns holding (and dropping) him. Luckily, he was still alive and moving when he was placed back in the creek bed.

That afternoon we headed back into Gatlinburg where we split up for a bit. You, Daddy, and I headed down to exchange a sweatshirt for Daddy and then strolled up and down the street, stopping at the Mirror Maze and even took you putt-putting for the first time ever. You had a blast with both!

you both chose new sweatshirts...except, oddly enough yours says 'Cape Cod' ~ go figure!
guess we have to go there next

crazy mirror maze

black light golf

don't we look like pros?

We met back up with everyone at Bubba Gump’s for dinner, where the server was wonderful and since you seemed the most interested of all of us, he told you all the specials for dinner. You responded just like a grown-up, thoughtfully looking at him and nodding. It was hilarious! Daddy told them it was my birthday, so I drug you up with me on a chair, where they made me “shake for my birthday cake” while everyone sang. (How embarrassing!) But you kids had fun at dinner and then wanted to all ride back to the cabin with us, having a blast being silly and telling each other ghost stories the whole way.

mmmm...lemonade! just what you kids needed, more SUGAR!

feeling the effects of the lemonade on the way home

We beat Uncle Joe and Aunt Tina back to the cabin so we all leaped out of the car to hide in the darkness of the porch, then jumped out and scared them when they pulled up. We got them GOOD too! And I have to say it was quite an accomplishment. Do you realize how tricky it is to keep an excitedly squealing 3, 6, and 10 year old completely quiet while hiding? No easy feat!


On our last full day in the Smokies, we woke up to play and do some crafts before attempting to hike to Clingman’s Dome. We had no idea how cold it would be as we neared the top of the mountain, (30 degrees F!) It was so frosty and foggy that we decided not to hike to the tippy top and instead ended up snapping a quick and shivering group photo in the parking lot before heading back down the mountain.

wake up Shawn! it's our last day in the Smokies!

Brrrrrr....

Daddy and I had you kids with us, and unfortunately our cars got split up, so we lost Joe and Tina halfway down the mountain. However, the five of us stopped at another clearer (and a tad, but not much, warmer) viewing area and got a few good pictures.

look at all that love!

we found the Appalachian Trail ~ only 1,972 miles to Maine

more gorgeous views

And we had an absolute blast screaming in every single tunnel we went through too! A tradition that Lao Lao began a long, long time ago.

We met up with Joe and Tina at another small trail towards the base of the mountain and hiked around the remains of a small mining town, bordered on one side by a beautiful creek.

We made tacos and nachos for our final dinner in the Smokies and then headed out to play some football in the driveway and make s’mores around a campfire.

football!

marshmallows!

s'mores!

it was 'monkey see, monkey do' all weekend with you and Sam ~ so cute!

Here was our final group photo taken on the front steps of our home away from home in Appalachia.

sweet

silly

As I put you to bed that night, you smelled like a mixture of campfire, fresh air, and just a hint of that great “sweaty kid” scent. You smelled like a kid who has had a truly fun time in the great outdoors. You had SUCH an amazing time playing with both Sam and Erin, adoring them both. It was awesome to spend our vacation with this great group of people. I couldn’t think of anyone better to have joined us on this grand adventure than these four folks. It seemed like we’d just begun by the time we were packing up the car to head back to Ohio.


We hit one of the zillion pancake houses for breakfast before heading out of town, where breakfast was good except for one tiny thing. You had quite the meltdown before leaving (unfortunately, one that resulted in my having to haul you out to Daddy, kicking and screaming, (which did wonders for my multiple strained back muscles from all of our hiking and running), and then exasperatedly heading back to the bathroom, loudly grumbling “G_ _ Dammit!” in the middle of all kinds of “Jesus Loves You” paraphernalia. Whoops! Sorry to the ‘Big Guy’ upstairs on that one ~ definitely not one of my proudest moments). I actually do understand your meltdowns towards the end of the trip though, given the combination of being out of your routine and then getting much less sleep than normal. Additional evidence being the incident the night before where you had gotten in trouble for not listening or cooperating. When I asked you to put your listening ears back on, you told me that you couldn’t. Unfortunately, informing me you had left them back at home with Abby. (Ha ha!)

So anyway, back to the morning of our departure ~ as we left the pancake house (after aforementioned meltdown), out of the blue you turned and told me not to worry because you will remember to bring your listening ears next time, when you, Lao Lao, Uncle Forge, and I go on our trip to New York in November. (Well, ok. Thanks for the reassurance, babe!) And I promise not to offensively take the Lord’s name in vain in the middle of the Bible Belt again. Deal!

you kept telling people you were Spidey

So, all in all, meltdowns and forgotten listening ears aside, this trip was wonderful. And as spectacular as it was, there is something so remarkably comforting about coming home too. As we neared Columbus, and could glimpse our familiar skyline, I pointed it out to you. You squealed and got so excited, happy that you would see Abby soon and proudly exclaiming, “See that Mom? That says ‘Ohio’!”

We were all still wired once home. In trying to cling to those last feelings of being on vacation, I let you crash on the couch with Daddy and me. You slept soundly on my chest until I headed up to bed at about 11:15pm, with you still smelling ever so slightly of campfire as we snuggled in for the night.

Love,
Mama