Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Ok, so there wasn't any lions or tigers (well, except me) on vacation. But, we did see a bear.

Its customary that during our retreat to the mountains, that we go experience nature. JJ used to call them nature adventures. We have a day hiking book and we usually scan the book to find a hike that suits our desires.

This year we chose a fairly easy trip. It was a paved path, 1.3 miles out to a waterfall and 1.3 miles back. The elevation wasn't so high, so we gave it a try.

The path was crowded, of course, but we forged onward. I was excited to see the Mountain Laurel was in bloom.

We made it to our destination without any problems. I am so happy to see that JJ has become more independent. Once we hit the waterfall, he asked if he could climb about. In the past, he's usually begged one of us to go somewhere with him, so he could see what he wanted.

We took a rest for a while. It wasn't too hot, so we weren't too bad. I managed to get JJ to sit still for a few minutes to take some photos. Most of them didn't turn out right because it was mid-day and the sun/shadows were fierce!

JJ loves taking pictures with the camera as well. I'm not hesistant to hand it over because he always takes good care. Plus, its all insured! :) He was able to get at least one good of Gene and I.



And Gene was able to get me a new Facebook profile photo when he took this one...



On the way back to the car, we saw a few fellow hikers had stop to look at something. When we got close, we realized it was a bear! A mid sized black bear was roaming around the mountainside. We watched for a minute. I was hesistant to stick around because I didn't want to be attacked. Everytime I took a photo, the shutter click would make enough noise for it to look at me.


On the way back to the car, we saw a few fellow hikers had stop to look at something. When we got close, we realized it was a bear! A mid sized black bear was roaming around the mountainside. We watched for a minute. I was hesistant to stick around because I didn't want to be attacked. Everytime I took a photo, the shutter click would make enough noise for it to look at me.

Finally, the bear crossed the path and I said we needed to hail tail out of there before we were dinner. Gene finally agreed and we left the bear alone.



Buh bye Bear!

So there you have it folks. Vacation in a nutshell. Ha... I stretched it out as long as I could. Hope you enjoyed, its now back to every day life.

Getting tired yet?

Are you tired of seeing vacation photos yet?!? I feel like that crazy uncle that makes you sit through the slide show of his trip to Wallyworld!!!!

Just a few more to go. I've been so slack about posting things, I feel good about catching up.

If we aren't playing Wiffleball, one of our favorite vacation past times is playing Putt-Putt. We've been so many times, we know which courses to play, which are worth the fee for fun ratio.

We have two favorites...

You can't go wrong at either of these two places. Old MacDonald's has three courses to choose from, and Davy Crocketts has two. We usually buy a multi-game pass so we can play several times while we are there. (Plus, the tickets are good for a year, so we know we will be back in that time, that gives us something to do when we do come back!)

Putt Putt is a very serious game

Well, at least for me its serious. The boys have fun with it. I tend to get uptight because I'm losing. Its hard when a 9 year old is beating you!

However, for once, I won! I really did win! I beat them both. And, it wasn't even a close game! Ha... take that suckers!



Ahh... putt putt really is therapuetic.

Do the vacay sway

Where have I been... on vacation! It was time to make our yearly mecca to the smokey mountains. I've got a boat load of photos to share, so I'm going to do it in phases, just so it doesn't take so long to load!

I can't say how much I enjoyed getting away for a little while. Work and life have been stressful and it was good to retreat to my happy place and not be constantly reminded of my daily life. We have a plan as you go attitude about vacations. We start with a general list of things we want to do, and then we decide each morning what we care to do that day. Not many activites follow a strict schedule (unless its things like a guided fishing trip!).

We were surprised when we arrived to see this....



We had heard that a treatment plant had an accident, but it was months ago. We would have thought it was clear by now. Gene asked and called around and found out from the Pigeon Forge City officals that it was safe, they just forgot to take the signs down.

You had me concerned...


We did still take precautions. We rinsed off and we didn't swim in it. Woody was bummed that he was only able to go in the river once. We had some bad storms mid week that caused the river to rise and move swiftly. We thought he would get another chance later in the week, but alas, it rained again. (sorry Woody, but we need the rain).

That's ok, just throw me that rock...


If I can't catch it, I'll dig for it...


Ahh... pure enjoyment!


So you made it through the first of many vacation posts. Wanna know what else is in store? The boys in the river, putt putt, bowling night, and bears.

Stay tuned...

I also want to apologize for not commenting on everyone elses blog posts. I've been having some difficulty with blogger lately and it won't let me, or I have to do it anonymously. Its really been a booger and I don't know what to do about it. I feel bad because I have great things to say, it just won't let me!

Vacation

This weeks theme at Trendy Treehouse is vacation! I love a great vacation. I think I'm just a little excited because we are taking a mini-vaca this weekend. I dug into the vacation files and found one of my favorites from our Costa Rican honeymoon.



This photo is Gene showing me his "boarding pass" for the puddle hopper we were taking back to San Jose. It's a laminated piece of paper. The stewardess/ticket agent/baggage lady instructed us that we would hand that back to her when we boarded.

I'm not an anxious traveller, but the site of this ticket.. plus being weighed in with my luggage made me a little skeptical. Gene and I were the only people on this flight! We had to make an alternative stop outside San Jose because the run way in San Jose was closed for a while. During our "lay over" we got to witness a baptism at the Airport Church.

We were a little ready to get home by then.