Our Mountain Vacation

We just returned from our first vacation as a family of four...and we lived to tell about it. ;) With moving last year and Claire's birth, we hadn't taken a vacation in awhile and were all excited to go to the mountains. Avery had been asking for the past month when we were going to the mountains and wanted to be sure that we could drive and walk through them. Although there was no hiking involved, I think we were able to see quite a bit of the mountains.

We made the drive to Greenville, SC in about 9 hours. The kids did really well except for an Avery potty tantrum at Wendy's for lunch, where we were lucky no one called CPS with all the commotion he was creating in the bathroom. One place we decided to stop to break up the trip was Bass Pro Shop ("the big fish or Washington store," as Avery calls it) outside of Atlanta. 

We all enjoyed stretching our legs and trying a few big toys on for size. 

Our first morning in Greenville was spent with my college roommate, Sarah, and her sweet girls at their beautiful home in Taylors. I wish I had taken more pictures, but with both of us juggling two kids now, I'm thankful for the few Phil got on his phone.

Avery and Elizabeth got along very well. Katherine slept almost the whole time. Claire was a fuss bucket but refused to nap...afraid to miss out on any of the action. I so wish we lived closer for regular playdates!

The next stop was Furman's campus...beautiful as always. I do miss it there, but I don't miss the school work, that's for sure. 

 There are even more fountains than when I graduated 7 (!) years ago, which Avery enjoyed checking out.

 This is how Claire rode around...so lady like. ;) 

The bell tower!

We walked around the lake...

and illegally fed the ducks (and turtles!). I don't remember this being a no-no as a student, and we didn't see the sign until we had finished up and reached the other side of the lake. oops. Avery sure did have fun though! 

Claire looks on, less than impressed.

 We spotted the elusive black swan. I can't remember how much Furman was rumored to have paid for this thing...

After Furman, we headed over to Aunt Shelley's new place near downtown (so cute!) and, along with mom and dad, helped her move in.  Well, Phil helped, and I chased the kids and pointed. ;)

So excited to see her (and Mimi and Grandpa, too!) and excited we'll get to visit her in Greenville now!

The next day we explored Reedy River Park...

and ate lunch at my favorite- Barley's!

Avery helped move us out of the hotel to head up to Black Mountain for Katie's wedding (see previous post!)...

We took the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville to Gatlinburg after the wedding weekend. It was BEAUTIFUL....but took longer than we were expecting. The 35 mph speed limit may have had something to do with that. So, we crossed it off our bucket list and know to take the interstate next time. ;)

Our cabin in the mountains was literally at the top of the mountain. So glad we didn't plan this for the wintertime and that Phil was doing the driving.

Our view from the hot tub on the top deck...and why they call them the Smokey Mountains.

 I only had two things on our must-do list, Parrot Mountain was the first, then Ripley's Aquarium. Avery and I had come to Gatlinburg with my parents when he was just 5 months old- check it out here http://www.lindseyandphil.blogspot.com/2010/11/gatlinburg.html.

We love Parrot Mountain! He did much better with the birds this time...and they still loved my head. At least I didn't get pooped on, like Phil. :)

Claire wasn't a bit afraid of the birds, but she didn't seem too incredibly interested, either.

Avery was very courageous and fed several birds, but he did get pretty upset when one decided to keep munching on his fingers after the food was gone. Poor guy. He didn't let it ruin his experience though.

Happy for a break from the stroller...smelling the flowers with giraffe.

After all the excitement of the day, Avery liked having a king size bed all to himself. He even invited a  friend.

Yes, fast asleep with the lights on...

Avery really wanted to see a bear, and this was as close as he got. 

Acting like a bear!

 Look! Another bear!

 

 The last day was at the aquarium, and it didn't disappoint!

They had a dinosaur exhibit this time, and although Avery was excited about it at first, he insisted that we hurry through before they could bite us. So...no picture of Avery with dinosaurs. Even after we told him they weren't real, he was still worried about them "pretend biting us."

The drive home was long but uneventful. We ate and killed some time at a Cracker Barrel while waiting on traffic to clear, and Claire tested out the rocking chairs while Avery played with the checkers. 

The mountains were beautiful and a welcome change from mostly flat Florida. We fit a lot into our week vacation and loved seeing some of our favorite people at the same time. It sure is nice to be back and all unpacked though!