The Great Smoky Mountains

Instead of driving straight back to Macon, we decided to drive west to the mountains and down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Great Smoky National Park. Here are some of our favorite pictures.

We finally found cool air, as it got down to the mid-70's on a misty afternoon on the spine of the Appalachians. We also drove through 21 tunnels in one day!!!

Great Smoky Mountain National Park was super neat. We went on a short hike the afternoon we arrived, and dipped our toes in a mountain stream (it was cold enough to make our feet ache after a few minutes . . . just what we were hoping for).


We weren't sure where to spend the night in Gatlinburg, but finally found a place on the river. It was kind of shabby, but Evan (in defense of his father's choice) insisted "river view . . . pretty awesome!" Much better than the hotel was the discoery of Davy Crockett Mini Golf. Alex's reaction was "I want to GO there." We did, and played 36 holes. Ani made the boys sing the Davy Crockett theme at the pro shop until they gave us something free (two golf balls--score!).

We also had fun in Pigeon Forge, finding a great restaurant as well as the place where Bapa and Gramie honeymooned.
We took a long hike to Laurel Falls on Friday morning (after Alex--wearing a Bear mask--tried to scare everyone at the visiter center). It was a beautiful hike, though a little too steep and hot for comfort.
All in all, we covered 1578 miles on this trip and collected over a dozen national park stamps along the way. The boys had a blast, and learned a lot about our county's history and natural beauty. They are really great travelers.

Colonial Williamsburg, Day 2

Day two in Williamsburg was no cooler, but most of the living history folks seemed to be in a better mood. We visited gardens, a printer's shop, the magazine, the blacksmith, a shoemaker, the courthouse, and the gunsmith. We also played colonial games like rings and shut-box.


Seeing the British arrive in town was a little scary (Evan was glad he wasn't wearing a patriot's three-corner hat). We had great seats to see Benedict Arnold ride into town, but he then shouted at us for 20 minutes or so. If the boys needed any help figuring out who the bad guys were, Arnold clinched it.



The boys learned how to clean wool . . . or at least how to stick their fingers in poop-water.

Playing with toy soldiers. Evan said "I'll be George Washington and the Patriots." Alex responded, "I'll be General Cornwallis." The other parents in the room wandered if their 5th graders had learned this.

After we left Williamsburg, we made the decision to take an extra day and drive home through the Great Smoky Mountains--in search of cooler weather.

Some pictures of our second Williamsburg day:

Colonial Williamsburg, day 1

Today opened ominously when we noticed that the eggs at the hotel's breakfast bar were being prepared in a simple fry-pan held over the parking-lot asphalt. The heat index would reach 110 by midday, though we suspect this measurement must have been taken in the shade.

We began the first of two days at Colonial Williamsburg. What really made the day fun was watching Evan and Alex try to piece together all of the bits of history. We started at the beautiful Colonial Governor's palace (with a fabulous garden maze), where the domestics were preparing for a party that night, but worried about the growing discontent of the town's inhabitants. This observation proved prescient in several ways. First, the citizens in the street were indeed riled up about the governor's seizure of gunpowder and were threatening to storm the palace. Evan (apparently paying attention) was extremely concerned that this would upset the party!

What was less enjoyable than these revolutionary theatrics was the apparently genuine unpleasantness of the town's inhabitants. We aren't sure if it was the heat and humidity or some deep method acting, but almost all of the costumed denizens were abrupt and appeared to be put out with having to talk to us. We weren't even asking dumb questions (yet). The city was charming, but the attitude of the "living history" folks made us glad we live in the present.


Just when it seemed our spirits were starting to flag, Ani signed us up for an hour long monologue by George Washington, followed by 75 minutes of Q&A. The guy was really very good, but even Will started to get antsy during the second hour. The highlight was when Alex raised his hand during the Q&A, and the father of our country, more than 100 feet away in a theater crammed with 300 sweaty tourists, called on our baby boy. Afraid that Alex would ask something along the lines of "when do we get to make pinch pots," Ani and Will practically fell out of their seats trying to cover his mouth and pull down his hand. George Washington, ever a vindicator of the rights of man (and boys), sternly rebuked the parents: "does he not have a question, or do you just not want him to ask it? Let him ask." Struck dumb by this (facsimile of a) great man, Ani and Will could do nothing but silently and shamefully shake their heads.

These are the indeed the times that try men's souls! Back out in the sunshine, these patriots were relieved to escape Washington's awful gaze and gratefully returned to the snarly artisans.

Did I say it was hot?

Pics of the day:

Jamestowne & Yorktown, VA

Today we spent most of the day in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. We don't know much about global warming, but it seemed to us that Virginia was just as hot (maybe even hotter) in the seventeenth century! The heat was oppressive . . . luckily for those early colonists they had AC at the visitor's center!


One of the highlights of Jamestowne was the Junior Ranger scavenger hunt at the archaeology museum. The boys were each given a small picture of an artifact they then had to find in the museum. We don't know what kind of training they gave to the seemingly kind old lady at the front desk, but her sense of humor (or was it her judgment?) left a bit to be desired. After warning us that it might be a bit much for the boys to go into the "death room" with the full skeletons and whatnot, where do you think we found Alex's artifact? You guessed it . . . right beside the leering skulls. What was the artifact, you ask? Something fun for all little girls and boys . . . a brass ear picker/toot pick combo with a dainty spoon on one side and a gnarly spike on the other. Now, which end goes where? Oh well, we're sure most three year-olds figure it out just fine. On the plus side, he earned a reward (a neato Jamestown tatoo) for being a good sport.

After filling out all 327 activities in the 52 page junior ranger books (only a slight exaggeration!), we headed out of the heat and back to the visitor's center. For a minute there it seemed like our spirits were flagging, but luckily Ani found us a 90 minute ranger-led program on native culture that pepped us all right up. Evan was selected to grind corn, Alex was selected to be an Appomattox chief, and Will was lucky enough to be a beautiful growing corn stalk. Strange, but somehow Ani was not selected for a role. Fifty minutes in, Alex raised his hand and asked "when do we get to make pinch pots." Here it is:

"Are you having fun daddy?"

After a really cool (except in temperature) trip to the glassblowing house, we headed along the colonial parkway to the Yorktown Battlefield.

The highlight here was going into the Thomas Nelson house. Evan and Alex dressed up in revolutionary-era garb in the house of a signer of the Declaration of Independence!


The boys had a great time spotting the cannonballs lodged in the side of the house, which was caught in the crossfire during the siege of the city.

We topped off the day by eating in Williamsburg in an eighteenth century tavern. The boys enjoyed a well-deserved root beer. Evan dominated the family sitting next to us in some 18th century version of craps.

More pictures:

Congaree National Park & Camden

Before our summer comes to an abrupt end with Evan's first day of kindergarten, we decided to take a short family trip to Virginia (including Jamestown and Colonial Williamsburg). Perhaps we also hoped that higher latitudes would bring relief from the oppressive summer heat in Macon. . .

Out first real stop was Congaree National Park in South Carolina. Sure it was 97 degrees with 95% humidity, but at least the "mosquitometer" read "moderate" when we arrived at the park. (According to the rangers, "moderate" means that the critters are not plentiful enough to carry away children or pets weighing over 68 pounds).

After strapping ankle weights to the boys and dousing them in OFF, we set out on a 2.4 mile hike through the tallest old growth forest in the eastern US.

We spotted deer, turtles, an abandoned moonshine still, and enjoyed the beautiful old bald cypress trees.

Will and the boys also completed their Junior Ranger workbooks, earning badges and patches.


Actually, the mosquitoes were not bad at all, and the shade of the great trees made for a pleasant walk.

Our next stop was an hour north at the Camden Battlefield. It seems fitting on a trip that will take us as far as Yorktown, the site of Lord Cornwallis' ultimate defeat, that we began our revolutionary war tour at his first headquarters of the southern campaign. There is not a great deal to see at this stop, but Evan and Alex are starting to get a feel for some of the history and the basic idea of the revolution . . . despite their father's latent Toryism.

Here are some more pictures of a great first day that will take us as far as Emporia, Virginia (where we beat the heat at the Hampton Inn pool).

Vacation Bible School: SonRock Rainforest

We had a great week at VBS this summer! Ani team-taught 22 first and second graders, while Alex participated with the other preschoolers and Evan joined the Kindergarten group. One highlight was this evening's musical performance and ice cream bar!

Evan & Alex -- waiting for their turn on stage!

Evan is ready to sing!

Alex, front and center, surrounded by "gur-ruls"

The Canoe Trip Mistake

After two successful trips down the Ocmulgee and noticing that "Ocmulgee Expeditions" runs trips beginning at Power's Ferry, some 10 miles upriver, we decided to get more adventurous with our paddling.

Will and the boys set out at 9:00am. It ended up being fortuitous that Ani didn't go on trip. Will later told her that it would have been "one of the worst days of your life."

The river was certainly beautiful in this section, but part of its beauty, unfortunately, lay in its shoals, rapids, and waterfalls. The first roar the boys heard was barely half a mile from the put-in at Pope's Ferry. Will later recalled, "that was when I knew we were in trouble." After successfully navigating "Dead Man's Chute," the intrepid canoeists ran in the next four hours "Little Dead Man's Chute," "Wildcat Falls," "Elevator Drop," The Screaming Meemy," "Island Falls," "Dante's Plunge," "White Knuckle Shoals," "Turn Back Falls," and finally, the scariest of all, "Little Niagara."

Other than a few (ed: many) scratches on the canoe from submerged rocks and a wet cell phone, they made it none the worse for wear. The boys were very brave for most of it, and in the worst sections Will jumped out of the canoe and physically maneuvered the canoe through the rapids (he said the water was rarely over his waist, and only a couple of times over his head!).

It is a commonplace that Macon lies on the "fall line," the highest navigable point, on the Ocmulgee River, but it didn't quite sink in what this really means . . . IT FALLS!

We've come to discover that the trips people take down this section are in maneuverable sport kayaks, not 16ft canoes.

I guess (hope) next time we'll do a bit more homework.

It turns out google earth could have shown us something . . . you can see "Little Niagara" from space!!

4th of July Weekend

The Fourth of July has long been my favorite holiday... but it just isn't the same down here. I miss being able to walk to the neighborhood parade, see the fireworks over Lake Michigan, and listen to the live patriotic music. When we are in Macon for the 4th, I wallow in self-pity; it is ridiculous, but seemingly unavoidable.

In an effort to combat my gloom, we invited one of Evan's friends and her family over for a barbecue on the 2nd. We spent the 3rd with friends on the lake. In all, it was a good weekend and I slowly climbed out of my funk....

Below are a few pictures: