A week off

I finally got a vacation (one week) which was much needed. Not because I don't love my job (I do), but because it is nice to remind the kids who I am! It is not that bad really. But this past week has been great. I could not have timed it better. I was able to watch the Sox win and enjoy it without missing innings while sewing up lacerations in the ER. Then, with all the time off, we decided to go on a vacation to the Smoky Mountain National Park. We drove up to Gatlinburg, which if you have not been there is kind of like a redneck Vegas of sorts. It was fun and we camped in the park for two nights. We went on mini-hikes and we saw old chapels and cabins that were used in the early to late 1800s. As far as wildlife goes, we saw deer and black bears, which as exciting for JJ and me as it was for the kids. It rained just as we packed the tent into the car, which was perfect, because it made it easy to explain to Brooks why we had to leave as he is now at the "why" stage of the terrible twos. Otherwise, the weather was great all week: blue skies with the very occasional cloud. We left the park and drove on the blue ridge mountain scenic highway to Maggie Valley and then on to Ashville, NC. We were on empty for a lot of the way which made things tense on the uphills as the gauge would actually dip below the empty line. We put it in neutral and coasted in to the gas station in Maggie Valley (just for the story's sake not because we were actually out of gas). And then headed past Ashville and on to Greenville SC where we saw the old cross country course at Furman University (FU, for those in the know) where I ran at nationals in 2001. It was quite nostalgic, but enough of the glory days, I had two cranky kids in the back seat that reminded me of the current reality of 2007 so we headed on down to the ATL. We stayed a night in Atlanta and visited the aquarium (compliments of Grandma--she did know in advance) this morning. It was awesome. We beat the crowds and the kids were able to pet starfish and rays. We saw all kinds of fishes (it is a word if you are talking about different species) and whales and sharks and penguins. The family favorite were the beluga whales. We also saw the 4-D movie there where it sprays water and shoots bubbles at the right moments. It was really fun to watch Aiden reach for the 3-D images and to jump when they came out of the screen. She is still convinced that she was able to touch some of the characters. We were worn out and cruised home and picked up Moose (the dog), and are still unpacking the Civic. I never knew so much could fit in such a small car. 900 miles later we are back where we started with a handful of memories and pictures that made the trip worthwhile.