Blog – Page 9 – Nic of Time

Great Smoky Mountains Summer Vacation 7/25/2021-7/30/2021

The original place we wanted to book for our summer vacation was full (I actually tried to book the location months in advance but it was already full). Blake and I didn’t have a back up location for a trip, which lead me to making a list of possible places. A few of the places I listed, we both agreed it wasn’t the right time for that location. We agreed upon the Great Smoky Mountains. They kids love going on hikes and they love going to amusement parks (they are spoiled with Busch Gardens being 15 minutes from us), which made this seemed like a good last minutes destination. I scoured priceline.com, booking.com, hotwire.com, etc. and was unable to find a place that jumped out at me. I decided to try Airbnb. I looked a bunch of different properties and found one that was perfect. It was a house on a quiet street nestled back in the woods right out side of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. What made this location even better is that it is 5 minutes from Pigeon Forge and 5 minutes from Gatlinburg.

The house booked through Airbnb is called “Willow House” located off of Beech Branch Road in Gatlinburg. 3 bedrooms, 1 full bath and 2 half baths, nice size kitchen and living room, huge foyer with washer and dryer. Fenced front and back yard, full kitchen necessities, bathroom towels, linens etc. The house is also connected to a smaller house for larger group needs. It was the perfect space for us. The host, Holly is amazing and is available to answer any questions that arise.

July 25, 2021

Blake and I went to pick Nick up from his mom around 8am and then met my ex at Bojangles to get my kids. We all had breakfast at the picnic tables outside of the restaurant vs inside my car. Once we finished breakfast, we hit the road on our 7 hour road trip to TN. I made all of the kids travel books, bough travel bingo, coloring books, made sure their electronics were fully charged, etc. We wanted to have a painless as possible car ride.

The kids were all excited about their “travel essentials” for a few hours and then the boredom kicked in. Some fell asleep, some fought, Ethan and Nick talked the entire time, and when I say entire time that is what I mean, they never stopped. I’m not sure who had more fun with the license plate and car type game – Ethan and Nick or Blake and I. We made a lunch stop at a McDonalds in a travel stop. This gave everyone time to stretch their feet, use the bathroom and grab a snack for the house. Shortly before 3pm we saw the welcome to TN sign!!!

The TN line to our house was about 2 hours give or take a little depending on traffic, plus we are unfamiliar with the area.

We made it to the house and everyone was very happy to be “home” and out of the car. The first thing Blake noticed when we got to the house was the Bear trashcans. As it turns out, we would soon find out why. (Yes we know bears are in the area, but seeing the bear trashcans outside of where you are staying has a different feel to it”.

During our drive, Blake and I talked about a few places to eat for dinner and we decided on Margaritaville. My dad’s favorite song is “It’s 5 o’clock Somewhere” and I really wanted to go to Margaritaville to get him a shirt. This was the perfect restaurant for dinner. Margaritaville is located in Pigeon Forge at The Island. We arrived at The Island and found a place to park. It is free to park and there is a tram to ride if you chose not to walk. For us, we walked, it wasn’t a bad walk at all. We head straight to Margaritaville to get on the wait list. We were told it would be about a 2 hour wait. The wait is what we expected, especially arriving around 6:30. Thankfully for us, The Island has a ton of things to do and some of the things we wanted to do in Pigeon Forge are located here.

The Island

We started walking around and saw a Carousel in front of the fountain. We didn’t really know much about The Island in terms of activities, tickets, etc. We went to the ticket center and decided to purchased the Unlimited Ride Pass for $35 a person.

The Unlimited Ride Pass includes (good for 48 hours from purchase):

The Great Smoky Mountain Wheel
Thunder Dome
The Flying Horse Carousel
Lil’ Ribbits
Funny Cars
Happy Swing
Island Express
Twist N’ Shout
Spinning Parrots
Reverse Time

The kids (Blake and I included) had a ton of fun on the rides. We wanted to do The Great Smoky Mountain Wheel but it was very overcast and on the verge of storming and we wanted to make sure we had mountain views from the wheel.

The first ride the kids went on was the Lil’ Ribbits. This is a ride that resembles a frog hopping. We had a great time watching Ethan on it. He was a little on the bigger side for the ride but there was no max height restriction.

The best ride in our opinion was the Spinning Parrots. The Spinning Parrots is a roller coaster style ride that operates in both directions while each individual cart spins on its own. We rode the ride over 5 times this day.

Blake, Ethan, Nick and Isabella all rode Reverse Time, Arianna and Austin couldn’t ride it because the height requirement is 48″ and up.

Reverse Time

Arianna and Austin rode a few rides while the others were riding Reverse time. These rides did not give much of a thrill at all and you could see it in their faces.

Everyone was thirsty after these rides and I went into Auntie Anne’s Pretzel Shop to get everyone a drink, while the kids got in line for Twist ‘N Shout. Due to the line, I was able to get back in time to see them on the ride.

We were still waiting for the phone to ring that our table for dinner was ready. Blake and I did a tasting at Bootleggers Winery Ole Smoky Mountain Moonshine. The kids played right outside the door. We were able to see them them the entire time. Bootleggers Winery offers free tastings of 4 of their wines (you choose your own wines). Being from Eastern Virginia and very close to Charlottesville, VA we did not like the flavors of the wines. They were very sweet and fruity. Not for us but definitely for others. Ole Smoky Mountain Moonshine is in The Barn at the Island. Each tasting was $5.00 and it came with a $5.00 coupon to use in the store. Everyone got to try the same flavors and the last tasting was a piece of Pineapple in moonshine. That was quite delicious! As we were on our last sample, my phone rang and our table was ready at Margaritaville.

We arrive at Margaritaville and immediately we can feel the fun, upbeat vibe.

My Dad loves Jimmy Buffet and his favorite song is “It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere” so needless to say I HAD to order the It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere cocktail in his honor.

I went to the gift shop with Arianna while we were waiting on our food. I got my dad a few things and it is rare that we find anything with Arianna’s name on it and they had a street sign. I got that for her. Once I was done, Blake went to see if they had anything he thought his dad may like.

Our server was amazing, she was on top of everything! She handled the spilled drink without blinking an eye. We were very well taken care of during our dinner. We received our food quickly and everything was delicious and SO MUCH FOOD!!!!! We generously tipped our server and went to take a picture of the kids in the big beach chair out front.

I stopped to take a picture of The Wheel while on the way back to our car. The Wheel had color changing lights and lit up the nearby fountain show.

We got back to the house and got everyone in bed and ending day 1 on our TN adventure. Blake and I sat up after everyone went to bed discussing plans for the next day. Intermittent rain was in the forecast for the next day which is the day we planned to take the kids to Dollywood. I told Blake that we should go and just give it our best shot. If it is anything like Busch Gardens back at home, if the rain gets really bad, a lot of people will leave and the ride lines would be significantly reduced. We decided that would be the best plan and I went ahead and purchased tickets using the code on our McDonald’s cup.

A 1 day ticket to Dollywood is

Adult: 10-61 $84/person
Child: 4-9 $74/person (under 3 – free)
Senior: 62+ $74/person

In the morning as we were getting ready to head to Dollywood, Blake starts yelling for me to look out the window. I look out the window and there stands a black bear in our front yard. Hence the reason for the Bearproof trashcans. It was such a neat sight to see right out of the window. The bear eventually continued down the road and went on it’s way.

We got to Dollywood and we were all very excited. We took the tram to the entrance of the park as the park was already very crowd when we arrived. We got inside the park and got a park map to help navigate. The first thing we did was purchase sunscreen because of course, we left out 5 bottles we brought with us at the house.

The first ride we went on is one of Dollywood‘s originals – Blazing Furry. All of the kids except Taylor were tall enough to ride. I sat with Taylor while the others rode and then I rode when they got off. We strongly encouraged the kids to ride all of the rides the were tall enough for because who knows if and when they would be back.

We started checking off the rides one by one. Austin and Ari were not tall enough for the Tennessee Tornado so while the others went on that we played the games nearby and won a bunch of prizes. Tennessee Tornado is an oldie but goodie. It was a lot of fun.

We made it to Fire Chaser Express, the line was long but it was fine. We did the parent swap in order for everyone to ride. Austin said he did not want to ride it again but we were proud of him for riding it.

Blake, Ethan and Nick all went on The Wild Eagle, Izzy missed the high cut off by 1/2 inch. She was very disappointed but understood.

Blake and the kids that could ride the ride Mystery Mine got in line and the rest of us waited in the parent swap area. Ethan, Isabella and Nick all said it was their favorite ride. They got to ride again because of the parent swap.

We knew the weather was going to get bad soon so Blake took our prizes to the car and while doing so he was able to move the car and get up close parking. While he was doing that I took the kids around and got some pictures.

We met up with Blake and the kids rode the Whistle Punk Coaster. It was a small coaster so of course Ethan and Nick were bored, but cute for the younger ones.

It was time to grab some lunch. Apparently everyone else had the same idea. Blake got in line for Till and Harvest Food Hall and I took the kids on Tree Top Tower which is located next to the restaurant.

When we got off the ride, Blake had not moved in the extremely long line. I told him that while on the ride I saw a restaurant called Lumber Jack’s Pizza and it didn’t appear to have a long line. We went over there and walked right up and got pizza. While we were getting our pizza the sky fell out and it was a massive storm. The covered seating was full of people trying to take shelter, we were just trying to find a place to sit and eat. We found 2 tables under umbrellas and stayed fairly dry. The storm went on and the kids decided to run around and play in the rain. They were drenched and cold because they were drenched. I ran through the rain to a gift shop close by and Got the kids a sweatshirt. I told them they better wear them forever and their kids better wear them because they were so expensive. Once the storm passed the kids were hot and we put their sweaters under the stroller.

The next ride was Drop Line. I was shocked the kids wanted to ride.

Blake, Ethan, Nick and Izzy on Drop Line

Next we went to the area Wild Wood Grove. The first ride the kids rode was the Black Bear Trail. It was super cute and really funny to see Ethan on it. He just went with it.

The kids took a picture with the Black Bear (social distance protocols).

We all got in line for the new ride, Dragonflier. It is a rollercoaster designed for younger kids to ride, yet still considered a thrill. The parent swap for this ride didn’t go well at all and was quite frustrating. But eventually we all got to ride.

We purchased Cinnamon Bread a little earlier from the Grist Mill and ate it while it was still warm right after finishing on Dragonflier. Cinnamon Bread = Delicious!!!

Next up was Frogs and Fireflies followed by The Mad Mockingbird. Taylor was excited because she was able to ride Frogs and Fireflies.

Arianna, Isabella and Taylor got their pictures with the Fairy.

Blake, Ethan, Nick and Izzy rode Thunderhead – Dollywood’s wooden Roller coaster.

I stayed with Taylor while everyone else got on Smoky Mountain River Rampage. We did parent swap for this ride also. The entire time I was on the ride the kids told me I was going to get soaked. Haha to them, I only got a couple of drops of water on me.

We got to the Country Fair area just before 7:00 and we didn’t realize that the area closed at 7:00. I took Arianna, Austin and Taylor on the Busy Bees and Blake went with Ethan, Nick and Isabella on the Dizzy Disk.

After we left the County Fair area, we ate at Dogs N Taters for dinner. Everyone got Corndogs and tater tots. The last ride we went on was Lightning Rod. Blake went first with Ethan, Nick and Izzy. I could not believe that Izzy wanted to ride it. She got off and was so excited. She rode it with me when I went on it. The roller coaster was AWESOME! Very exciting. I couldn’t believe Izzy actually rode it. I told her how proud I was of her.

Blake and the kids stopped at the main entrance at the Dollywood sign while I went to guest relations to surprise the kids with a second day at Dollywood. I wanted them to be able to ride the rides we didn’t get to ride. Especially for Arianna and Austin, I really wanted them to be able to ride the rides in the County Fair area.

We made it back to Wild Wood Grove just in time to for the Fireworks and Drone show. Such an awesome show and a great way to end the day.

Thanks to Blake moving the car, we didn’t have to walk far and got out of the park very quickly.

July 27, 2021

After breakfast, we went back to The Island to ride the Great Smoky Mountain Wheel. This time we had fantastic weather, bright and sunny. We didn’t have to wait in line long and the kids were very excited to see the views.

Once we got off the Wheel, the kids rode a few more rides and we had lunch at Mellow Mushroom. It is about the cheapest meal we could find for our entire family plus it was connected to Dude’s Daiquiris and I was able to get one. The Daiquiri came in a coloring changing cup and the kids loved that.

The kids asked if we could ride more rides, we told them no because we had a surprise for them that would be a lot better than the rides here at The Island.

We didn’t tell the kids that we got them a second day at Dollywood and as soon as we turned into the parking lot they all yelled with excitement. We told them that it wasn’t fair that the younger kids didn’t get to ride many rides yesterday and that we missed some of the other rides and we wanted them to have a chance to ride everything they wanted to ride.

The first thing we did was head back to the County Fair. The rules for the kiddie rides varied and some required a parent to ride and some did not. For the Lucky Ducky ride, I had to ride it with Taylor and I…….did…….not…….fit! Blake thought it would be funny to take a bunch of pictures with me struggling.

Taylor got to ride Busy Bees by herself and she was so proud of herself and very happy.

Busy Bees

All of the kids opted to ride the Piggy Parade with Taylor and she loved having them on the ride with her.

Piggy Parade

Taylor wasn’t tall enough for Sky Rider, Blake and I took turns holding her while the other rode it.

I stayed with Taylor while everyone else rode the Demolition Derby (Bumper Cars).

The next ride up was Granny’s Garden, a flying Elephant ride.

Ethan, Nick and Isabella rode the Dizzy Disk, While Blake, Arianna, Austin, Taylor and I went on the Lemon Twist.

We did Parent Swap for the Barnstormer, a ride we didn’t get to ride the day before. We only had to wait about 20 minutes to get on the ride. The kids that could not ride, played on the playground next to the ride.

We stopped by the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary and admired all of the Bald Eagles.

After seeing the Eagles, we started to ride all of the rides we rode the day before.

We finished the night riding Lightning Rod and Rockin Roadway.

We did not stay for the fireworks and drone show since we saw it the night before, however when we got to the car the show just started and we were able to watch it from the car and jump in a leave immediately after.

We stopped at Arby’s on the way back to the house. The line was out to the street and we were hoping it would go fast but it didn’t. We waited about an hour to get our food. They were making food to order.

July 28th 2021

We got up and got our hiking gear together and set out for The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Our main goal for the day was to hike Clingmans Dome (TN’s Highpoint).

We reached the area of Clingmans Dome and it was extremely busy. We had to park 1/2 mile from the parking lot. We made it to the parking lot and set off on the hike up to the summit.

Clingmans Dome Observation Tower Trail

Distance: 2.53 Miles
Trail Type: Out and Back
Average Pace: 33:03
Elevation Gain: 423 Feet
Summit: 6643 feet

Located at the top of the Observation Tower are many informational signs and signs labeling the nearby mountains.

Blake and Taylor stayed at the observation tower for a little bit longer to get a few more pictures and got one of us heading down.

We of course had to step food on the Appalachian Trail in TN.

We found a benchmark on a rock at the bottom of the observation tower. Not sure if this is the actual high point trail marker because a lot of the wording had been rubbed off.

Blake and I waited in the line for the gift shop while the kids ran around. We had to get mask from the workers because beginning today the area went to a severe COVID location and mask were required again.

We took one more picture before heading back to the car.

The kids loved the hike and very happy to check off their first state highpoint.

Laurel Falls

Distance: 3.59 Miles
Trail Type: Out and Back
Average Pace: 34:25
Elevation Gain: 541

Our next hike in the park and last for the day was Laurel Falls. An 80 foot tall waterfall with small slides and pools for the kids to play in/on.

The hike to the falls was along a paved (although had seen better days) trail that had gradual elevation and you didn’t even feel like you were ascending. Once we made it to the falls, the kids immediately took off for the water.

Taylor wanted to have her time in the falls as well.

Blake couldn’t pass up the opportunity to put his head in the falls.

The kids went down a very small “slip n slide” as they called it.

Laurel Falls

After lots of fun, we began our hike back to the trailhead. We stopped at the sign to take our end of hike pictures.

We head out of the park and head towards the Tourist area of Gatlinburg. We paid $7 to park and began walking around the crowded area.

We wanted to see if there was anything for the kids to do that wasn’t cheesy but most of the attractions were closed or way too overpriced for the experience you would receive. We decided to try to find somewhere to eat dinner. We again ran into places either being closed or way too long of a wait. I told Blake in Pigeon Forget there is a Texas Roadhouse and I called them to put us on their call head seating. It would going to be about 1.5 hours which was fine. This gave us time to get to the house and everyone was able to shower and get things ready for the next day before heading to dinner. We had a great dinner and got back to the house and went to bed.

July 29th 2021

We head back into the park for our first hike of the day. A very short out and back hike to nearby Cataract Falls, a 25 foot tall Waterfall. The hike begins in the parking lot of the visitor center.

Cataract Falls

Distance: 0.34 miles
Trail Type: Out and Back
Total time: 11:15
Elevation Gain: 10 feet

Grotto Falls

Our second hike of the day is Grotto Falls. A 25 foot tall waterfall in which part of the trail goes behind the falls. This is very exciting to me since I have always wanted to hike behind a waterfall.

Distance: 3.49 Miles
Trail Type: Out and Back
Average Pace: 34:46
Elevation Gain: 673 Feet

The kids enjoyed hiking behind the falls as well and they couldn’t wait to get into the water. The falls were very crowded and you could tell people wanted to go in the pool and under the falls but they were all just standing around. Blake and the kids didn’t waste anytime and they went right in. Blake took each kid under the waterfall and they all greatly enjoyed it.

Taylor and I hung out on the surrounding rocks.

On the hike out we passed a few small falls. We also passed a group of people that were hiking without shoes. Very impressive!

We made it back to to the trailhead. But not without passing some wildlife in the process. A family coming from the other direction told us that they saw a momma bear and 2 cubs about 2/10th of a mile from where we were. This was very nerve wracking. We never saw the bears, sort of bittersweet. It would have been really neat to see the bears but also frightening at the same time.

We did spot a Rattlesnake.

We got back in the car and drove around to find a pull off to put out our blanket and have some lunch. The spot we found was by a small ADA access trail and the kids hiked around on the trail as soon as they finished their lunch.

We passed more streams, small waterfalls and an old homestead site on the way out of the park.

We made it to the Visitor Information Center that was located across the street from the house we were staying in before it closed and everyone picked out their pins to add to their boards at home.

Our next stop, Goats on the Roof Mountain Coaster. Taylor was too small to ride and only Ethan was tall enough to ride by himself or have another rider with him. Blake and I took turns getting all the kids on the coaster. They all loved it and wanted to go again, but we had dinner reservations at Mama’s Farmhouse and the reservation was quickly approaching.

We arrived at Mama’s Farmhouse a few minutes before our reservation time and they kids played on the playground they have on site.

When you have enough kids to take up the entire picture

Mama’s Farmhouse was delicious and sooooo much food. It is a table buffet style meal. You get, biscuits, salad or soup, 2-3 main meat dishes, 4 sides (more if you request it) and dessert. The food however is unlimited and you can request more if you run out of something, but trust me, the first round is plenty. We felt bad that we weren’t able to finish all of the food. Everyone left with full bellies.

We surprised the kids after dinner and went back to Goats on the Roof for a night ride on the mountain coaster. Needless to say, they were very excited. The coaster was fantastic and it was fun to see the goats as well.

We got back to the house and packed up as much as we could and did the remainder of the laundry. The kids were sad the vacation was coming to an end.

July 30, 2021

Once we all got up, we finished backing and loading then car, we did the checkout checklist for our Airbnb and hit the road. We drove into Pigeon Forge to have breakfast at the Frizzle Chicken. They had a short wait when we arrived which was fine. We put our name on the list and went to the Moon Pie General Store close by while we waited. The kids all got a moon pie to eat later and we got Blake’s brother the “Southern 6-Pack” which contained 4 moon pies and 2 RC Colas.

The Frizzle Chicken was a fun spot for breakfast. It has singing and dancing chickens all with a play on words for their names. We all had a delicious breakfast and I don’t think anyone left any food on their plates. We had fun going around and seeing all of the names of the chickens (check them out below).

On the way out of Pigeon Forge we stopped by Smoky Mountain Knife Works since it is one of the stores that my Dad orders from all the time and we wanted to get him something from there. We got him a hat and shirt. Our next stop was at one of the fireworks stores.

Since we were fairly close, we took the kids to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park to hike the Tri-State Peak Trail. Unfortunately the visitor center was already closed for the day, we were not able to get our passport cancellation stamp or pins but were were still there and that is all that mattered. We may our way through town to the Tri-State Peak Trailhead.

Tri-State Peak

Distance: 2.59 Miles
Trail Type: Out and Back
Average Pace: 30:47
Elevation Gain: 663 Feet

The trail begins on the Tennessee Road trail and then connects with the Wilderness trail and eventually the Tri State Peak Trail. The trail follows an old Civil War roadbed and also known as Daniel Boone’s Trail.

You come across a small side trail that takes to to the edge of a small cliff and you look into the makings of a cave.

We all made it to the Tri-Peak point where Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee all meet. The kids thought it was awesome to be in 3 states at once.

All the kids laid in the 3 states at once.

Blake was able to capture a pano picture of all 3 states despite there being other families.

Before going back to the car, we stopped at the Iron Furnace along the trail.

We all go back in the car and were headed home on the 6 hour drive back. The kids slept for a lot of the way. We got back around midnight. I felt bad for Blake because he had to work the next day. We had a fantastic trip and first long family vacation together.

Yellowstone/Grand Teton 6/10/2021-6/13/2021

Blake has his 5 day break this week and since we are not getting a weekend together in August around our anniversary, I took off Thursday and Friday to give us a long weekend. We planned to hike one or 2 days and take the boat to the Eastern Shore on one of the days. We checked the weather out on Wednesday 6/9 and the weather where we wanted to go was going to be horrible. I sent Blake a text a couple of hours later and said “Let’s go to Yellowstone”. Blake agreed and I began to hunt for tickets. Blake worked Wednesday and doesn’t get off until the morning and have to keep that in mind for flight times. I sent his mom (Teri) a text to see if she could watch the dog while we were gone and thought that maybe she would like to join us also and she decided she wanted to go on one of our unplanned, crazy, last minute adventures. I booked the plane tickets before I knew his mom was coming and she ended up having to go on a different flight but we took off and landed within 10 minutes of each other and it worked out perfectly. I tried to get fights into Bozeman, MT and Cody, WY but no rental cars were available at the airports. Mostly due to the used car shortage. When I called these locations, most of their rental cars have been sold off. We ended up flying into Billings, MT.

Blake’s mom got to my house around 4:30 AM and we left to drive to Richmond, VA to pick up Blake from work. The next thing we know, we are on a plane that was booked about 18 hours ago. We flew American Airlines and Teri flew United Airlines.

We had 1 layover and both flights were around 2.5 hours. Taylor was not the best and we felt bad but she didn’t do horrible. She just wanted down and wanted to walk around.

We arrived in Billings, MT shortly before 1 PM about 10 minutes before Blake’s mom and we looked around the airport. The airport had a bunch of artifacts and signs to read. I got a bunch of travel guides. Once we met up with Teri, we found our rental car and hit the road.

Blake and I love taking the scenic route when on vacation, especially in places we have never been before. Instead of taking the 2 main highways into Yellowstone, we take Highway 212 that runs more through the mountains and we can take in more views.

We make our first stop at the entrance to Custer National Forest.

Driving along we come across the Rock Creek Vista Point overlook. We stop and walk to the overlook platform. We pass tons and tons of chipmunks along the path and at the viewpoint.

The views from the overlook was incredible and incredibly windy.

We get back in the car and head towards Shoshone National Forest. Not long after entering, we come across snow everywhere. To include 12 foot snowbanks. Coming from Virginia, we were in t-shirts/shorts. What better way to see how cold the weather is, than to have a snowball fight.

We ran into a 1 lane road on the Beartooth Highway due to construction and come to a stop in front of Beartooth Lake. We jump out of the car to take pictures since we had some time to kill while we were sitting in traffic.

After about a 4.5 hour drive, we made it to YELLOWSTONE!!! We arrived at the Northeast Entrance of the park. The Northeast Entrance is 1 of 5 entrances to the park.

The first animal we come across is a Bison. The Bison was pretty far from the road and with the naked eye we thought it was a bear. We pulled over to get a closer look and it ended up being a Bison. When I say we pulled over to get a closer look, we were screaming like kids being told by their parents that they can get any toy they want in a toy store. We were so excited!!! We took lots of pictures of the Bison as this is the first animal we saw in the park. The bison was pretty far away which is why the picture is pixilated.

This is certainly not the only Bison we got to see. We saw 100s of Bison during our trip.

We came up on a field filled with Bison and 3 Antelope. The Antelope kept running back and forth across the road and had traffic stopped.

We pulled into the area to see the Petrified Tree and we got to see 2 more sights. 1. It was snowing, 2. We saw our first bear. This bear is a black bear and thankfully pretty far from the road. Spotting wildlife in Yellowstone is fairly easy. Just look for the cars that are pulled over in random spots. This is how we noticed the bear.

We head back out to the main road and the rain and snow stopped and I made a comment that it would be awesome if we could see a rainbow and I looked out the window and there was a rainbow.

The calm after the storm made for beautiful views.

Blake has been obsessing over seeing Elk ever since we got back from Colorado last year and he didn’t get to see any. I was looking out the window and told Blake to find a place to turn around because I think I spotted Elk. He reluctantly turned the car around and boy was he happy he did. It was an entire mountainside of Elk.

We see a pull off for Undine Falls. Undine Falls is a 3 tier waterfall approximately 60 feet tall and located just off the roadway and flows into Lava Creek.

Right around sunset, we finally made it to Mammoth Hot Springs. Thankfully the sunset out west is very late and we had plenty of light to see a lot of the Hot Springs. The temperature was also on the cooler side at the time and steam was actively flowing from the Hot Springs. Boardwalks surround the Hot Springs and visitors are to stay on these boardwalks. A lot of the boardwalks are ADA accessible. There are however a lot of stairs as well.

After viewing a lot of Mammoth Hot Springs we head to West Yellowstone and call it a night. We stayed a the Super 8 West Yellowstone for the night which is only located a few miles from the West Yellowstone entrance. It was a nice and clean hotel and I would stay here again.

In the morning, we go out to the car to head out and it is 27 degrees and the car is covered in frost. While the car was warming up, we take a couple of pictures at the campground next door.

After leaving the hotel, we stopped at the Book Peddler for hot chocolate and a breakfast sandwich. The stop took a little longer than we wanted but it was okay. We made it back to the West Yellowstone entrance. The entrance was busy but it didn’t take that long to get through. We passed a lot of bison and ducks on the way to Midway Geyser Basin.

We made it to the Midway Geyser Basin. The basin has warning signs up everywhere and throughout Yellowstone, warning visitors to stay on the boardwalk.

The temperature was in the 40s and it made for harder views of the geysers and slippery boardwalks. The walkway was one direction and this helped the foot traffic flow very well. The first Geyser we came to is the Excelsior Geyser Crater. We had to wait to get good pictures of the geyser. An employee was also standing on the other side of the walkway fishing out a hat. The wind was strong as well. When objects go into the geysers it can change their temperatures and that can change the colors.

We made it to the famous Grand Prismatic Spring. It was really hard to see the colors from the walkway. It was very beautiful and the colors you could see from ground level were incredible.

Our next stop is at Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin. We arrived at the end of the Old Faithful eruption and checked out the Upper Geyser Basin while we waited for the next eruption. Old Faithful erupts approximately every 90 minutes with a 10 minute window and the longer it takes to erupt the higher the eruption is.

We made our way around the Upper Geyser Basin checking out all of the geysers and pools. We took a lot of pictures and videos. Some of the small geysers would bubble or have small eruptions as we were walking by.

Boardwalks are everywhere and you must stay on the boardwalks. The geysers are around 190-200 degrees and can kill you. We were being a group and a girl in her 20s sat down in front of us on the boardwalk and said “I just have to know. I just have to touch it”. Everyone else around told her to get up and not touch the water but she did not listen and touched it anyways and quickly learned the reason for the endless warning signs.

All of the geysers are named and have signs next to them.

We came to a bridge across a stream from a geyser and on one side of the bridge stood a bison. Everyone was safely walking by the Bison. The couple in front of us pulled out bison jerky and waved it (jokingly) and next thing you know the Bison charges at them. We were on the bridge at the time and had to run to get out of harms way. Unfortunately we got separated from Teri and she had to wait about 10 minutes to get back to us. That was quite the experience. Thankfully we can look back on it and laugh but at the time it was terrifying

We got back in time to see the next eruption of Old Faithful. When we got there the entire viewing area was full of people. We did manage to find a free bench. We picked the right spot because we had a Yellowstone tour guide sitting right behind us and she gave us updates while we were waiting. We loved learning about the history of the geyser as well as learning about its eruption pattern. Taylor was also putting on quite the show while we were waiting. She was waiving at everyone and blowing kisses. We can safely say she stole the show. Old Faithful took longer than normal to erupt and we got to see quite the show. The eruption went on for almost 2 minutes and was higher than normal.

Old Faithful Eruption

After leaving Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin we head towards the South entrance of the park. We see signs for the Continental Divide.

We pass by Lewis Falls on the way out of the park. Lewis Falls can be seen from the road and also has a parking area. Lewis falls is one of the most photographed waterfalls in the park. We didn’t stop at the falls but did get a picture as we were passing by.

The John D. Rockefeller Jr. Memorial Parkway connects Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park. We leave Yellowstone and take the parkway into Grand Teton. We unfortunately didn’t have time to do any hiking in Grand Teton but we did get some really good views and pictures.

After driving the loop around Grand Teton we head back to the South entrance of Yellowstone.

We make our way back through the South entrance of Yellowstone and stop at the West Thumb Geyser Basin.

The West Thumb Geyser Basin has boardwalks for visitors to stay on and it takes you by all of the geysers. All of the geysers are named and have name placards.

As we continued our drive towards Yellowstone’s east entrance we see a lot of cars stopped on the side of the road. We drive to a side road and get out to see what everyone is looking at and it is a Mama and cub Grizzly Bear. The bears were down an long embankment from us and we had a very safe distance.

We make our way to the East entrance of Yellowstone to head to our hotel for the night. We pass a couple of roadside waterfalls and incredible mountain views.

We also stop to see the Firefighters Memorial.

We get to our hotel about 30 minutes before the restaurant closed for the night. We were very glad it was still open because there was nothing else around the hotel.

We stayed at the Yellowstone Valley Inn in Wapiti, WY. The Yellowstone Valley Inn also has a campground and cabin. Due to COVID most of the employees quit and at the time they only had 7 employees and were thinking about just keeping the campground open and closing the hotel and cabins. This would be very unfortunate because it was by far the best hotels I have ever stayed in. The hotel/motel sat next to the river and you had beautiful views from the balcony. The rooms were also extremely clean. The food at the restaurant is fantastic as well as the service. I am glad I was able to find this hotel the day of.

***I wanted to find a place to stay in Wapiti because it means Elk and it is a teaser for Blake since he is obsessed with seeing Elk***

The hotel had a grab and go breakfast which was perfect for us. We were able to eat on the go. We got to see more of the views coming from the East entrance of Yellowstone.

We were trying to get to the Mud Volcano area but got stopped on a bridge by a large Bison that was out just doing its Bison thing.

Once the Bison went on its way we made it to Mud Volcano and took in the geyser views. We met a park ranger that gave Taylor a Junior Ranger sticker and we asked him how many earthquakes Yellowstone has on average each year. The ranger informed us that there are around 2000 earthquakes per year. This means that we likely had some while we were there but thankfully didn’t feel them.

Churning Caldron

We left the Mud Volcano area and made our way to Canyon Village. Canyon Village is the site of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. Our first stop in Canyon Village was Uncle Tom’s Point a viewing platform off of South Rim Drive. This viewing platform gives views of the lower falls. The area is also where visitors would access the Uncle Tom’s trail to that takes you down hundreds of steps for a better view of the falls. Unfortunately this trail was closed when we visited.

Lower Falls

From the viewing platform, visitors can also take in views of Crystal Falls.

We continued down a trail from the viewing platform to Sunset Point for another view of the falls.

We got back in the car and continued down South Rim Drive to Artist Point. Artist point provides views of the 308 foot drop of the lower falls as well as the Yellowstone river as it travels through the canyon. Artist Point has a large parking area and only a 0.1 mile walk to the viewing area.

After leaving Artist Point we head to North Rim Drive and stop at the Brink of the upper falls. This overlook is at the top of the upper falls and provides a perspective of how fast the water is flowing.

Blake and I decided to hike down the Lower Falls trail which is a 0.7 mile out and back with 265 feet of elevation gain. The views from the overlook offered incredible views of the lower falls and you could feel the intensity of the falls.

After leaving the Brink of the Lower Falls, we made our way down North Rim Drive to Lookout Point. Lookout Point offers views of the Lower Falls. The viewing platform for lookout point is approximately 0.15 miles from the parking area. Also from the parking area you can take the Red Rock Trail to Red Rock Point. This trail give the closest views of the lower falls. The trail is 0.7 miles out and back with 259 feet of elevation gain. The hike is a series of switchbacks down to the falls. It is steep coming back up but the switchbacks do help.

Once leaving Lookout Point, we stopped at Grand View for another look of the falls and then continued to Inspiration Point. Inspiration Point offers a West, Mid and Lower Overlook. We did all 3 and each offered their own unique and spectacular views.

We found the sign talking about the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

We left the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and drove about an hour to the Fairy Falls Trailhead. Driving through the “drive through safari”. We did stop at one of the visitors centers and gift shop. We had lunch while we were stopped. In the gift shop I picked up a puzzle for the kids, hoodie for me, we got our lapel pins, my parents got a hat and shirt. I also picked up a bottle of wine to bring back with us. I wanted to get a red but opted for the with because the wine had to go in cargo on the plane and if the bottle broke it is far easier to get white wine out of clothes vs red wine. (the wine made it home in 1 piece). The wine also had symbolic meaning because it was called wolfpack white. We call the kids the wolfpack. The area is also known for Huckleberries. We have never tried huckleberries before and decided to get a chocolate bar that was made from huckleberries and I got the kids lollipops that were also made from huckleberries. The chocolate wasn’t bad, just not something I would eat on a regular basis.

From the Fairy Falls trailhead you could hike to the Grand Prismatic Overlook. The hike to the overlook and back is 1.1 miles with an elevation gain of 138 feet. The trail was very crowded but completely worth it. We made it to the overlook and had the most incredible views of Grand Prismatic!

On the way to the car we saw a girl extremely close to a Bison taking pictures. This is illegal and not to mention extremely dangerous.

A nickname we have for Taylor is Biscuit, it was only appropriate for us to stop at Biscuit Basin for her to have her picture.

We explored the geysers around Biscuit Basin and even got to see one erupt.

Geyser Eruption

We drove towards the North entrance and make a stop at Mammoth Hot Springs to see the top. This is the area we did not make it to on our first night.

After leaving Mammoth Hot Springs we stop at the Post Office to mail the kids post cards. They love getting post cards from our trip (even though it is after we have returned).

We spotted a male Elk on the drive out of the park. Blake was very excited!

Driving a little further, we see a lot of people pulled over on the side of the road and this is the indication of an animal. It was a bighorn sheep. Pretty excited to see the sheep since it was the first time we spotted one during our trip.

Along the drive we passed a sign and didn’t see what it was so we circled back around and it was the 45th Parallel of Latitude Halfway Between Equator and North Pole.

We made it to the North Entrance and Roosevelt Arch . We also saw a few female Elk wandering the fields.

Needing to eat, we stopped at The Corral for dinner. The Corral offers Elk and Bison Burgers. Blake tried the Elk burger and really liked it. I just had grilled cheese and tomato soup and Teri had a chicken salad. This was a perfect meal for the end of our trip.

We drove 2.5 hours to our hotel near the airport (My Place Hotel). We arrived at the hotel around 1 am. We had to get up at 4:30 am to get to the airport on time. The hotel was nice and clean and we were able to get a crib for Taylor to sleep in.

Our flight from Billings, MT departed at 6 am and we arrived in Dallas, TX at 9:46 am. Taylor did okay on the flight and slept most of the time.

The flight ended up being about 2.5 hours. Once in Dallas, we grabbed McDonalds for breakfast and waited for our next flight.

The flight from Dallas, TX to Richmond was close to 3 hours. It was 3 hours of misery. The plane didn’t have a properly functioning AC and the was HOT, very HOT. Everyone on the plane was extremely uncomfortable and this plane was full. I think it had 1 or 2 empty seats. Taylor was cranky because of the heat. We ended up having to undress her down to her diaper to keep her calm. She eventually fell asleep.

Once Taylor woke up, we didn’t have much time left until we landed in Richmond. She sat with Daddy and looked out the window for a few and then took my phone and started making faces at herself.

We arrived back in Richmond around 3 pm and only had to wait a few minutes until Teri arrived from her flight.

We had such an amazing time on our adventure to Yellowstone. It was awesome having Teri join us on our crazy unplanned adventure. She really enjoyed it and actually said she would join us again. It is just something about the unknown that gives me an adrenaline boost and excitement. Yellowstone was a major success and we created memories that will last a lifetime.

If you have any interest in going to Yellowstone, my personal recommendation is go around the time we went. Less crowded, all roads are open and hotels available just outside of the park.

Piney Camping Weekend 4/30/2021-5/2/2021

I take in all of the extra Taylor snuggles I can, this is going to be the first weekend away from her.

Blake and I stopped by his parents house before we left for our weekend of camping to pick up some firewood and while we were walking back to the shed we found a little box turtle.

On the way to Piney Blake and I stop by REI (I am trying to find a new pair of hiking boots and due to the shortage, my size is never in stock). We also stopped at the Charlottesville Wegmans for food and of course their chocolate chip cookies!!

We arrived at Piney River and took our mandatory pictures as we entered the George Washington National Forest.

We begin driving up and down the road looking for a campsite for the weekend. The campsites are first come, first serve. We had a couple of places in mind as to where we wanted to camp but unfortunately they had already been claimed. We found a spot Blake never camped at before and it was the perfect spot for what we needed. Blake’s brother Ty is also coming to camp with us for the weekend.

Blake and I set up our tent, got a fire started and took a couple of pictures of Gander.

Once we got settled, I started to cook dinner and realized that I forgot to get sour cream. We went to the little country store that is “close by” and thankfully they had a small container. We get back and I begin to cook again. We had kielbasa and pierogies, a dish we have about 2-3 times a month. It is one of the kids favorite meals and one that I can normally get everyone to eat without complaining that they don’t like it. Being cooked on a camp stove this time, it turned out really well and we will make note of this for the next camping trip.

A little bit later, Ty and his dog Kenny got to the campsite. Blake and I helped him get things ready for the weekend and heated him up some dinner. We sat around the campfire for a couple of hours and then went to bed.

In the morning, we sit around the fire and talk about plans for the day. The plan Blake and I had is to have Ty drop us off at The Priest trailhead and we hike the entire day along the Appalachian Trail and he would pick us up that evening near the campsite. It would have been our longest hike to date.

Prior to beginning our hike we stopped by Mac’s Country Store https://www.facebook.com/pages/Macs-Country-Store/107202059337334 for breakfast. Blake and I had hot chocolate and Ty had coffee. I was about halfway through my sandwich and Ty accidentally knocked his coffee all over my food and myself. He felt terrible and I thought it was funny. We cleaned up, finished breakfast and headed to the trailhead. Gander stayed with Ty during the hike since it is a busy hike and he is very hard to keep on a leash. He does 1000 times better off leash, plus he is harmless.

We arrived at the packed trailhead. Ty dropped up off and we began our hike. The starting elevation for the hike is about 970 feet with the summit of The Priest being 4026 feet. We captured a picture of The Priest before we began our hike.

I was already not feeling the best. I have been having some health issues going and but I wanted to try and push as far as I could. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it far at all and we turned around about 20 minutes into the hike and around 550 feet of elevation gain. I was disappointed in myself, okay extremely disappointed in myself because I know the only thing holding me back is what I have going on medically. Thankfully Blake is extremely understanding. We turn around and begin out descent back towards the parking lot. We had hope that maybe Ty would still be there knowing there was a possibility that we would be returning to the trailhead, however he was not there. We begin walking down Route 56 and hoping that we will hit an area quickly that has cell coverage all while knowing that if Ty is already back at the campsite he will have no service.

We just kept walking and walking and walking. I kept asking Blake what we were going to do and he said he didn’t have a plan yet and was thinking about what to do. A little big later he tells me to stick out my thumb. I said “to do what? Hitchhike?????” He said yes and that he hopes someone will pick up us and bring us to Mac’s Country Store where there is cell service and from there we can text Ty and when he heads out at some point he will receive the message. We keep on walking and put our thumb out every time we hear a car. No such luck so we keep on walking. We ended up walking about 3.5 miles and we see a silver sedan turn around and we laughed for a second thinking there is no way this car is really turning around for us, the car was really turning around for us! One thing that is known in the hiking community is Trail Magic which is basically acts of generosity. A female picked us up. She herself was actually coming from The Priest, she hikes it a couple of times a month for exercise. She asked where we were headed and we told her that we are camping at Piney River and that if she could just get us to the store we could get a ride from there or hopefully at some point Ty would see our text. She kept driving past the store and kept asking us where to turn to get to the campsite. She ended up driving us the entire way back to the campsite. We couldn’t believe it. This was definitely trail magic in full force. We were extremely grateful for the ride and conversation. We gave her money for the trouble and she went on her way and she also learned about a great camping location for the future.

Ty saw us pull up to the site and immediately got up and asked us what was going on. We told him the whole store and we all stood there and laughed and laughed and laughed. Never in my life did I ever think I would hitchhike let alone in the mountains with no cell service. It was an experience for sure and I am so happy it all worked out.

We sat with Ty and had lunch and the Blake and I went driving around. We tried to drive up the road leading to the towers on top of a mountain but that drive ended all too quickly when we came across a tree laying across the road.

With no way to move the tree we turned around and drove to Staton’s Creek Falls. We love these falls and since it had been raining the water level was up creating a more spectacular sight.

We stayed here for about 45 minutes and kept driving. We both spotted out of the corner of our eyes what looked like a waterfall we have never seen before. Blake turned around and we got out to explore the area. We did come across a roadside waterfall (unsure of the name). We took a couple of pictures.

While at the waterfall we found what we think are Conopholis Americana. If that is not correct, someone please help me out. We have never seen it before and this is the first time we have noticed it in the area and when we got back to the campsite, it was growing there too.

On the way back to the campsite, another thing goes wrong and Blake’s car turns off on its own and we cannot get it to start. Thankfully for us, we are descending the mountain back to camp and Blake puts it in neutral and the car coast down the mountain and stops right at the campsite. Again Ty meets us and we all engage in laughter.

Blake and Ty work on his car and eventually get it working. Later we have dinner and sit by the fire until we head to bed for the night.

We have pastries the next morning for breakfast and sit by the fire for a few before we pack up to head home. We had a great weekend and Taylor did great for her first weekend away from us. It was hard not being able to talk to her because of no cell service but well all survived. Taylor has amazing grandparents that took excellent care of her.

Colorado Springs 8/20/2020-8/23/2020

I am a 12 month employee with our local school system and during the summer we switch to 4 – 10 hour days and have every Friday off. I love having Fridays off and I feel I am much more productive working 10 hour days. Blake has a 5 day break this week and we planned to go hiking but we didn’t know where we wanted to go. I took off Thursday to give us a 4 day weekend together. A friend of mine took her son to Colorado Springs for a week and I enjoyed seeing all of her post on Facebook. Blake and I have talked about going out Colorado at some point but we didn’t know when we would go. Yes I know this is in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, however I researched locations with lower COVID rates and Colorado Springs was pretty low on the list. I started researching hotels and flights on Wednesday 8/19 while Blake was at work. I sent him a message around 10 am and said what do you think about going to Colorado for the weekend? He had hesitations just like I did because of COVID but we decided to go anyways. Because of the pandemic, prices were significantly low and we were able to get 2 round trip tickets, hotel and rental car for $700. The hotel occupancy was around 20%, the plane wasn’t even half full and plenty of rental cars to choose from.

The next morning, I drive to Blake’s brother’s apartment to meet up with Blake and we head to the Richmond airport. This was Taylor’s first time on a plane, she is 4 months old. We didn’t know what to expect with her. Blake wore her in her carrier and she did great.

Our plane to Dallas, TX departed Richmond at 7:30 am EST and landed at 9:36 amCDT. We spent about 3 hours on the first plane. We left Dallas at 10:45 am CDT and arrived in Denver at 11:57 MDT. During our layover in Dallas, we went to grab something to eat and Blake noticed that he didn’t have his license. Knowing he had it when we went through the TSA check in Richmond we knew it had to either still with with Richmond TSA or on the plane. I ran to the arrival gate and had the seat checked and no luck. I contacted Richmond International Airport and they said they only do a lost and found check around 8pm and would call me if they found it. I was panicked more than Blake.

Wearing a mask on the plane was a bit strange. It was also a strange experience to be handed a bag when we first boarded that contained a bottle of water, snack and wipe. Flight attendants were available if someone needed something, other than that they kept their distance. I had printed a bunch of things to do in Denver/Colorado Springs and we used the time on the plane to pick out some must do things.

Once we arrived in Denver, CO we took the bus to pick up our rental car. We mistakenly left Taylor’s car seat on the bus and an employee was able to locate us and we got the car seat. The line to get a rental car was out the door and not moving. Somehow, when we were pulled out of line to get the car seat we were sent to the front of the line and got our car quickly and were out the door.

We made it to Denver and found a police officer sitting in his car. I approached the officer and asked for his recommendation on places to eat and things to see in Denver. He told us there is nothing to see in Denver and just head straight to Colorado Springs.

We did eat while in Denver at Colorado Campfire. We were the only ones in the restaurant and it was delicious. We got the toasted marshmallows for dessert and Taylor got to have a taste of it.

Denver does have a Firefighters Museum and we decided to check it out before heading to Colorado Springs. I was able to find a Groupon for a buy one get one free admission. We really enjoyed exploring the museum and learning about the history of the Denver Fire Department. We picked up a couple of shirts for Blake and a challenge coin and went on our way.

We decide to take the scenic route to our hotel in Colorado Springs. We took I25 to Highway 85 and turned onto Highway 67 in Sedalia. We continued down Highway 67 through Pike National Forest turning onto Highway 24 and continued into Colorado Springs.

The route we took was gorgeous, we got to see deer, new growth forest from an old wild fire took out all the trees in the area, South Platte River Corridor where we stopped and put our feet in the water. Taylor snoozed most of the way.

We came to a pull off on the side of the road and figured it would be a good place to stop and feed Taylor. Blake looked around while I fed Taylor. Once I was done, he told me to come look and see what he found. What we saw was disturbing. Down the embankment there were tons of deer carcasses wrapped in barbed wire. We had no idea what we stumbled upon and didn’t know if we should call someone.

Nearing our hotel, we made a stop by Walmart because what trip wouldn’t be complete without a stop at a Walmart. We made it to our hotel – Fairfield Inn & Suites Colorado Springs Air Force Academy. We checked in and got to the room. I called in an order to Outback because it was in the same parking lot as the hotel and we could easily walk. I got Taylor fed and in bed and Blake went out to pick up our food. We had our Anniversary take out dinner in the hotel room. (Today is our Anniversary and what a way to spend it).

I got a call around 8pm from Richmond International Airport, they found Blake’s ID!!!!! I had them overnight it to the hotel…….that was NOT cheap, but it saved us a lot of trouble, so in the end it was worth it.

We got up around 6:45 the next morning. Taylor was happy and ready to go.

The hotel did a grab and go pastries for breakfast and this worked until we found a Starbucks and grabbed breakfast.

We make our way to Pikes Peak Highway and begin our 19 mile drive to the summit. The highway offers many pull offs for views. We drive the highway about a week before the Pikes Peak Race and got to see the set up. We saw a tiny bit of snow left on the mountain.

We made it to the summit. Unfortunately the Summit View House was under construction and heavy machinery was everywhere. It was also blocked off to see the bench mark. One of the construction workers did take my phone and got a closer picture for me.

We took our mandatory pictures from the Summit. It was freezing and very windy. We had to keep monitoring Taylor because of the elevation. Little ones have a harder time in that high of an elevation. Medic crews are on standby at the summit for any visitors that experience breathing problem.

Unfortunately during our visit, Colorado was experiencing the 2nd largest wildfire in their history making the views almost non existent. First thing in the morning the views would be okay and then quickly fade away. We stayed at the summit for about 45 minutes before beginning the drive down.

On our driving decent down the mountain we made a stop at the Devil’s Playground parking area. Elevation 12960 feet. Hiking trails are located in this area and we wanted to do a quick hike to see how we would do in that high of an elevation. We did a 0.5 mile hike and you could definitely tell the difference in breathing.

Pikes Peak highway is well marked with mile markers and elevation.

We stopped at the North Slope Recreation Area. We got to see a helicopter remove water from the lake to carry to the fire.

We made our way to Cave of the Winds to ride the Terror-dactyl ride. The ride provides a 150 foot free fall into Williams Canyon at around 100 MPH. The ride was awesome and definitely a thrill!!!! We got our video from the gift shop to show the kids when we got home.

Once we finished getting our thrills in, we headed to the town of Manitou Springs. Manitou Springs is known for its Natural Mineral Springs located throughout the town. We get a seat at the bar at The Keg Lounge and have a quick bite to eat before walking around the town and checking out the mineral springs.

We find a penny arcade and go inside to see what they have to offer. The penny arcade area is huge, both inside and outside.

We found most of the springs while walking around checking out the sights. A few of them were not in operation unfortunately. All the working ones we tried the water. Each spring had its own unique taste and it is a taste that is hard to describe. We would see people riding bikes and jogging stop at the springs to fill up their bottles of water.

At one of the entrance to Manitou Springs is Rainbow Falls. Rainbow Falls is a quick out and back hike. From the parking area it is approximately 0.25 miles to the falls. The trail runs alongside Fountain Creek and under a bridge.

Unfortunately vandals have taken to the area around the falls and bridge and covered the area with graffiti. Thankfully the rocks to the right and left of the falls are clear from graffiti. Despite the graffiti and trash, the falls are beautiful and worth the short hike.

Being that I love waterfalls we find another waterfall close by with a short hike. We drive to the Helen Hunt Falls visitors center which is located at the base of Helen Hunt Falls. We took a few pictures from the bottom of the falls and then took the 0.1 mile hike to the top of the falls for a different view. Helen Hunt Falls cascade 35 feet over rocks of the North Cheyenne Creek.

We leave Helen Hunt Fall and take the scenic route to Garden of the Gods. We drive Gold Camp Road to Bear Creek Road to Highway 24. Most of the road was dirt and rocks. We passed under 2, 1 way tunnels through the rocks.

We arrive at Garden of the Gods about the time their visitors center was closing but thankfully Blake was able to get a map. Upon arriving, we were blown away by the rock formations, they are breathtaking and unlike anything we have ever seen before.

We parked in the north parking lot off of Juniper Way Loop. We began walking on the Perkins Central Garden Trail to see the different formations. Right away we noticed the Kissing Camels. Sure enough it looks just like kissing camels.

We make our way around all of the rock formations and take lots and lots of pictures.

Deer frequent the area and don’t seem to mind that there are a lot of people around. We got up close and personal to them with no fault of our own. They weren’t scared off and casually walked by.

After getting back to the car we drive to the Siamese Twin Trail to take in more rock structures. The trail is a 0.5 mile loop trail with a little over 100 feet of elevation gain. We had to wait for the perfect time to get a picture. There was a couple sitting in the center of the rocks. I didn’t think about it at the time but the picture of this couple is incredible and I would have loved to share it with them.

It was getting pretty dark as we were finishing the loop and decided that we need to start heading back to the hotel. Garden of the Gods was very close to the hotel and we would be able to make a stop to see the rest of the rock formations before catching our plane home Sunday morning.

We did stop at Balanced rock before heading out of the park.

For dinner we went to Ivywild School. The school has been converted into a brewery and was recommended to us by the Denver police officer. We arrived around 8:30 and unfortunately the food truck was out of almost everything. The brewery did offer a couple of sandwiches. Blake got a sandwich and we went to Culvers afterwards and I got a butter burger.

One of the things Blake and I really wanted to do on our trip to Colorado Springs is The Incline. The Incline was closed for months due to COVID and opened up about a week before we arrived. We did not know at the time reservations were required. When we checked at the beginning of our trip all of the reservations for the entire time we were on vacation were full.

Fun facts about the incline……..

The incline ascends on the Eastern flank of Pikes Peak. It is the former site of a funicular railway. Unfortunately in 1990 the tracks were washed out during a rock slide.

Average Grade: 45% and gets as steep as 68%

Elevation Gain: 2,011 feet

Distance: 0.88 miles

Base elevation: 6,530 feet

Summit elevation: 8,550 feet

Advertised Steps: 2,744

Weather: HOT, 100 degrees (no humidity, thankfully)

When we woke up, I decided it wouldn’t hurt to check and see if anyone cancelled their reservations for the Incline and just my luck, we got a 9 am reservation. I tell Blake we need to head out and he asked why. I said we are going to hike The Incline. We were both nervous and very excited.

Since arriving in Colorado Springs, we kept seeing a scar on a mountain and wanted to know what it was well……..that would be The Incline.

We ran into a slight issue on the way out of the hotel. We left our keycard in the room and went to the front desk to get a new key and nobody was there. We waited for a few minutes and still nobody showed up. We called the number and nobody picked up. About 20 minutes later, a hotel guest comes downstairs that also works for the hotel and became very concerned. I told him that I checked all of the floors and could not locate anyone. He gave us a new key and we left. Prior to leaving, the missing employee was never found and we never heard anything else about it.

We arrive in the parking lot of Tahine Restaurant in Manitou Springs. This lot provides free parking for Incline hikers. There is minimal paid parking near the trailhead and it fills up very quickly. The walk to the parking lot is a little over a mile walk.

We arrive about 30 minutes late to the trailhead due to the incident at the hotel, we were told it was not a problem. We checked in and got our red wrist bands and read the signs at the start of the trail.

We begin the hike just after 9:30. The steps are labeled every 100 steps to let you know your progress. In the beginning this was very discouraging. Me met a bunch of people on the hike and everyone was encouraging each other. We made it to 1000 steps at 9:54. This was very encouraging.

Once we got to 1000 steps, the incline got steeper and steeper. We continue our ascent and keep looking back to see our progress.

We made it to the bailout trail. We cannot bailout, we have to make it to the top. Also at the bailout spot, there was a little area to rest. We took a short break, I also fed Taylor while we were stopped.

We made it to 2700 steps! Only 44 more to go right……..NOPE

The total number of steps ended up being 2768.

WE DID IT!!!! WE MADE IT!!!!!! This one of the most challenging things I have ever done. It took us 2 hours and 18 minutes and worth every second.

I was feeling very proud of myself. I finished an insanely hard hike 4 months post partum and stopping to nurse Taylor twice. Blake hiked the entire trail carrying Taylor. I am very proud of him as well. Taylor did great and enjoyed her ride.

Hiking back down The Incline is strongly discouraged. We did however pass a couple of people doing their descent down the trail. The best way and the way hikers are encouraged to go is to hike down the Barr Trail.

The hike from the top of the incline to the bottom using the Barr Trail is 4 miles. The hike is a series of switchback to the bottom with beautiful views of the mountains.

We made it to the end of the trail at 1:17. We finished the entire hike in under 4 hours. I will take that!

On the way back to the car we spot the Iron Spring. This is the only spring we were unable to locate the day before when we were exploring Manitou Springs.

We get back to the car and drive 1.5 hours to the Royal Gorge. We got to the Gorge a lot later than we wanted to and a lot of the attractions were closing for the day.

We took the Gondola ride across the Gorge and it offered amazing views.

Once across the Gorge we took in all the views and went to the Plaza Theater to learn about the history of the Gorge and Bridge. We learned all about the fire in 2013 which left 90% of the park burnt. Learning the history, especially learning about the fire and seeing how much progress had been made in 7 years made for a more enjoyable experience.

We made our way across the Royal Gorge Bridge shortly before the park closed.

Being able to capture the scenery at sunset made for incredible but hazy (due to the wildfire) photos. I just wish I had a better camera **Hint Hint Blake**

Once leaving the Royal Gorge, we needed to find a place for dinner. We stumbled upon Whitewater Bar & Grill. The restaurant actually had a table available. We enjoyed a table outside on the patio with live music.

We drove back to the hotel and got some sleep before heading out in the morning to fly back home.

In the morning, we stopped back by Garden of the Gods to get a few pictures of Balanced Rock and Steamboat Rock in the daylight.

After leaving Garden of the Gods, we said farewell to Colorado Springs and made our way back to the Denver airport. This time we took the interstate to get there on time. We boarded our plane and set off to Chicago.

Shortly after takeoff……….

Before getting off the plane, I asked the flight attendant if they still gave out first time flyer certificates. Unfortunately they did not have them but the pilot overheard and said I can do one better.

We got to take pictures with Taylor in the cockpit. Taylor would not look at the camera, she was focused on all of the lights. This was an awesome and unexpected experience.

In Chicago, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and then made our way to the opposite end of the airport to board our plane home. When I say opposite, I mean opposite. Our gate was the 2nd to last gate in the entire airport.

Taylor slept most of the way from Chicago to Richmond. We landed in Richmond and took an Uber back to Blake’s brother’s apartment to get our cars and drive home. So long Colorado!

Roanoke Waterfall Trip/Richmond Dominion Building Implosion 5/30/2020-6/1/2020

Blake, Taylor and I drove up to Richmond to Ty’s apartment to watch the Dominion building implosion. We also introduced Taylor to her uncle Ty (Taylor is named after her uncle). We arrived around 6:45 and had a hard time finding parking because of all the spectators in the area to watching the building implosion.

Dominion Building Implosion

After visiting for a little bit, we make our way to the mountains. But first we drive through downtown Richmond to see the aftermath of the Dominion building. The streets and cars that didn’t get moved were covered by debris.

We arrived in the mountains around 12:30 and about an hour later arrived at our first trail head.

Our first hike of the day: Apple Orchard Falls

Apple Orchard Falls

Location: Buchanan, VA
Distance: 2.5 miles
Trail Type: Out and back
Elevation Gain: 994 feet
Trail: Apple Orchard Falls Trail
Weather: Warm, sunny
Terrain: Rocks, roots, stream crossings, stairs (closer to the falls)

We began our hike at 1:26 and the trail to the falls was all downhill, a fairly steep downhill but manageable. Blake and I love seeing all that nature has to offer and we found a really awesome tree.

Gander came on our weekend adventure and really enjoyed the creek the trail followed and frequently would take water breaks.

The creek had many incredible views and lots of places you just want to stop and take it all in.

We came upon a waterfall, we knew it was not Apple Orchard Falls but it was a pretty wide waterfall.

We made it to the stairs and there are lots of stairs. It is completely worth it as the hike rewards you with a beautiful waterfall.

We have hiking chairs that Ty gave us for Christmas and we made use of them for lunch. These chairs are fantastic as they fold up and fit into our hiking packs. We sat at the base of the falls and enjoyed our sandwiches. Such a perfect location for a break and lunch and of course Taylor snuggles

Once we finished lunch we had a someone take family pictures of us in front of the waterfall.

We made our way back up the mountain….slowly. I was a lot slower than Blake but at least I had Gander to help pull me up. Those steps were rough going back up, I am not going to lie.

We made it back to the first waterfall and let Gander play around in the water for a bit.

We passed the intersection of the AT and of course had to make sure we had a picture.

After a long 1000 foot elevation gain, we made it back to the trail head.

After leaving Apple Orchard Falls, we head a little further down the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Fallingwater Cascades Overlook Parking lot. We got out of the car to get ready and like with all of our adventures, things are bound to happen and you never know what to expect. We saw a couple that seems to be having car trouble and what a horrible place for car trouble, a spot with no cell coverage. Blake went over to see if they needed help and they were very appreciative of the help. It turns out they had a flat tire and could not get the tire off. Blake was able to get the tire off and change it for them. The couple thanked Blake several times and then we began out hike.

Fallingwater Cascades trail can be hiked as a loop and typically we would do the full trail, except it was already after 5:15 when we started the hike and you know me, I love to stop and smell the roses (aka take pictures every few feet) and we still had to drive back home with an almost 2 month old. We opted to hike to the base of the falls where it crossed the creek and back out.

Gander of course loved that the trail followed the creek and he was able to take quite a few swims.

The cascades along the trail are breathtaking.

If you notice things about our waterfall hikes, you will see that there is a log/tree/etc. in front of every waterfall. This is something we have grown to laugh at.

We stopped on the way back to the car to feed Taylor and while I was feeding Taylor, Blake took his boots off and put his feet in the freezing water. I tried and I couldn’t last long. Blake however, kept his feet in the water for over 10 minutes.

We made it back to the car after such a gorgeous hike and take pictures with Taylor by the trailhead sign. Clearly she loves hiking already. Every picture of her during our hikes, she is asleep on her daddy’s chest in the carrier.

We got in our car and went on our way. We stopped by the Peaks of Otter area to see if the visitor center was open and we saw a bunch of people standing around looking at something.

Do you see it? Sure enough, there was a bear. I have never seen a bear in the wild before and this was really neat to see. *disclaimer* this picture was on full zoom, we were not close to the bear and could easily get back in the car.

After getting back in the car, we continued on our way and pulled out of the parking lot and saw a couple of cars parked on the side of the road. The occupants said the bear moved and was now on the trail. We pulled over to get better pictures. The crazy thing was, people were actively hiking this trail and would turn the corner and get a huge shock.

The bear ended up being approximately 6 feet. It was definitely not a baby.

We got a good shot of Peaks of Otter and a Doe before leaving the parkway.

Blake and I talked and we decided to to stay in Roanoke for the night instead of driving back home. This is also Taylor’s first time staying away from home (with the exception of the 1 night stay in the hospital after she was born). I found a room at the Best Western Plus – Valley View. The hotel happened to also be dog friendly which was a plus since we traveled with Gander. We did not have Taylor’s bed with us, which was fine. We ended up making a makeshift crib for her on one of the bed in the room.

We had a great night sleep and got ready to leave once Taylor woke up.

We decided to hike Roaring Run Falls and hoping if we got there early enough it wouldn’t be very crowded. The drive from the hotel took about 50 minutes and we arrived shortly before 10am and the parking lot only had about 4 cars. This was a great sign, especially since this is a very popular hike and the weather was perfect.

Roaring Run Falls

Location: Eagle Rock, VA
Distance: 1.7 Miles
Trail Type: Loop
Elevation Gain: 301 Feet
Trail: Roaring Run Loop Trail
Moving Time: 1:37
Weather: Warm and sunny

We began hiking right at 10:00am. The trail runs along Roaring Run all the way to the falls, making for beautiful views. Roaring run is a series of small falls until you reach the larger falls in about 3/4 of a mile with a gradual ascent. The hike to the falls can be an out and back or you could complete the entire loop trail. We opted for the loop trail.

The falls feature a natural waterfall slide. This is perfect for the warmer months. We did not do the slide because it was just a little too cool to get wet and we didn’t prepare for it.

Gander on the other hand did not have a problem with getting in the water and went in a much as he could.

The trail features lots of natural swimming pools as well.

We reached the part of the trail with views of the larger falls. This is also the part of the trail where you can turn and continue the loop.

Gander couldn’t get enough of the water and did not want to stop swimming.

Continue past this point and hike the rocks to get closer to the falls (this is still part of the trail).

We did in fact pick a great time to go because when we made it to the upper part of the fall only one other couple was there. We took their pictures and they took ours. This is always very much appreciative.

We would have loved to stay and view the falls longer but right behind us things picked up and the trail got very busy. We stayed for a few more minutes and hiked to the fork and turned left to continue the loop trail. The rest of the trail was through the woods with no real scenery, just a nice wooded shady hike.

At the end of the trail is the Roaring Run Furnace. Built around the year 1832 and listed on the National Register of Historical Places. I love that you can explore all around the furnace and it has many informational signs talking about the history.

The trail concludes with one more creek crossing (bridge crossing).

What a weekend! 3 waterfalls, Taylor’s first hotel stay and lots of memories.

Lewis Falls Hike – 5/26/2020

Taylor’s First Real Hike

Wanting to get Taylor out for her first real hike, we looked for a good waterfall hike and found Lewis Falls. This is also my first hike post-partum.

Gander kept a good watch on Taylor for us during the almost 3 hour drive to the Big Meadows Amphitheater. He stayed like this for the majority of the drive. I think it is safe to say that he loves “his” baby.

We pulled off at an overlook before arriving to the trail to get a couple of pictures of Taylor with the mountain background.

We finally arrived at the Big Meadows Amphitheater, put our boots on, got Taylor and Gander ready and it was time to hit the trail.

Lewis Falls

Location: Shenandoah National Park (Stanley, VA); Big Meadows Amphitheater
Distance: 3.3 mile
Trail type: Loop
Elevation Gain: 990 feet
Terrain: Rocky/rooty descent to the falls
Trail: Lewis Spring Falls Trail, Appalachian Trail

The trail begins with a hike down to a trail marker, turn left at this marker and it will take you to the Appalachian Trail, go right at the fork and this will be the Lewis Spring Falls Trail. The descent down to the falls is steep and very rocky.

We made it to the overlook for the falls and it wasn’t much of an overlook. We had to take turns scrambling down the side of the mountain to a small dirt platform to get any real views of the falls and it was still a view looking down over the top of the falls.

We got some pictures with Taylor and took more pictures around the top of the falls.

Family selfies

We took a couple of pictures from the overlook platform looking out over the mountains.

In the book we use (A Falcons Guide: Waterfall of Virginia), it said there is another viewing platform to see the falls but unfortunately we were unable to locate it. As we were getting ready to leave, another family showed up and we began talking with them and they have been to the falls before and knew the way to the other view platform. We followed them across the creek and made it to the overlook platform. This platform offered great views of the falls from a longer distance.

After feeding Taylor and taking in the views for a little bit, we make our way back across the creek and continue along the trail.

Ascending from the falls, the hike continues along Lewis Springs Falls trail until you reach an intersection with the Appalachian Trail, make a left to continue on the Appalachian Trail, back to the parking lot. The ascent is very steep with a series of switchback along the AT. We stopped to get a first picture of Taylor with the AT blaze.

We made it back to the trailhead and I felt a sense of accomplishment, completing my first hike post-partum and one with almost 1000 feet of elevation gain at that.

For dinner we ate at our usual mountain spot – Blue Mountain Brewery. We love taking in the sunset while we enjoy our dinner.

The scariest unplanned trip 2/3/2020

Something just doesn’t feel right. I have been sick for weeks. Coughing, no taste, extreme congestion to the point I couldn’t smell or breath out of my nose, chest tightness, complete fatigue. I kept going to my doctor and they would test me for Strep Throat and the Flu and both came back negative. The doctor’s didn’t want to do an X-ray because I am pregnant. I kept getting told I have a very bad upper respiratory infection.

2/3/2020, I finally broke down and went to Sentara ED because I was miserable, uncomfortable and kept leaking fluid. I was checked out in the ED and they called my OB doctor since I am 28 weeks pregnant and normally I would be sent to the maternity floor to be checked by the doctor. But the doctor dismissed my complaints and I was sent home. Blake left work to come take care of me and he could tell how miserable I was and that I knew something was wrong and he insisted I call the OB office and insist they do something to put my mind at ease. I finally got a call back from the office and was told that if I really felt the need to go to the Family Maternity Center at the hospital and Blake immediately took me.

Upon arriving, nobody was there and we had to wait for someone to let us back and get us checked in. We finally got back in triage and got to see a nurse. They brushed off my concerns at first and basically told me nothing was wrong. They did put me on the fetal monitor which showed I was having small contractions but nothing they were too worried about. We were there for over an hour before a doctor finally came in and dismissed my complaints as well. The doctor did do a fetal fibronectin test on me. The fetal fibronectin test to see if a patient is leaking any amniotic fluid. Well the results came back positive for amniotic fluid. I was both relieved and terrified. I knew I wasn’t going crazy and this confirmed that I knew something was wrong. I was told I needed to be transferred to a hospital with a NICU. Blake and I chose to go to VCU in Richmond. I waited for about 2 hours before being transported by ambulance to VCU.

I arrived at VCU and Blake was there waiting on me. We went straight to Triage and had an ultrasound. The ultrasound did indicate that my amniotic fluid level was indeed very low. A few hours later I was admitted and put in a room. The room was very small and hard to move around, however only temporary as we were moved to another room the next day.

I was given IV antibiotics and steroids to help with the cold and also to prevent infection and help the baby’s lungs develop faster. I am in tears at this point, worried about having a baby 12 weeks early and all of the complications of a preemie.

We took a tour of the NICU and it was heartbreaking. The doctors, nurses and staff were all wonderful and answered any questions we had. We sat in on rounds with the staff and saw the exceptional care given to these NICU babies. We met with the attending doctor and he reassured us but I was still an emotional disaster.

I received daily Ultrasounds and had lab work taken each day. It was extremely hard to get any rest. It’s a hospital and hospitals are not known for resting but having nurses and doctors coming into the room every hour made it very hard. I did have one night nurse that put a sign on my door saying no entry between 11pm-7am. I was very thankful for this. That was the first time I got some rest and it was day 5.

VCU sent art students to the room and they provided craft items, paint, markers, etc. to help pass the time.

During my stay, I had trouble breathing and received multiple breathing treatments. I also had to keep having my IV changed do to my veins blowing.

Blake kept me company for most of my stay. He did go to work and I told him I would call him if something major came up.

8 days after being admitted to the hospital, my fluid levels were improving, and I was feeling a little better. After a long talk with the doctor, she agreed to let me going home on bed rest and I was to have weekly visits with ultrasounds and fetal monitoring. I was also told to come back with any issues, any sight of blood etc. It was such a good feeling to be able to go home.

Once home, I took it easy. It was nice to be home, and a couple of weeks after being released, the schools shut down due to COVID. Everything from this point got really crazy.

I made a few more trips to the hospital with contractions and bleeding. The doctors and nurses were able to make everything slow down. The goal was to keep me pregnant as long as possible.

April 2, 2020 – I started having a lot of pain and contractions every 2 minutes. Of course Blake was at work. I didn’t want to bother him, so I didn’t tell him I was going to the hospital. I was hoping like the other times I would have them medicine to help stop the contractions and they would stop. The contractions didn’t stop, they got stronger and closer together. I called Blake after they told me that I was being put in a delivery room. While waiting for Blake, I received an epidural. The first attempt didn’t go so well, it hit a nerve and I almost came off the bed. The second attempt worked. It was nice to be able to get a couple of hours of rest. Blake got to the hospital a little after midnight 4/3/2020. We both got some sleep and I woke up when my water broke. 9:27 am, after 1 push we welcomed a baby girl into the world 4 weeks early. Still a preemie, she was very healthy and 6lbs even. We stayed in the hospital for the night and released the next afternoon.

Unfortunately, the day Taylor was born was the day VCU limited visitors and implemented their mask mandate on the maternity floor. Nobody got to come see us and the baby after she was born. We had to FaceTime with grandparents to show her off. Having a COVID baby was an incredibly strange experience and it was awful, just awful. Never did we expect that we would have a baby born during a global pandemic.

Both sets of grandparents came by once we were home and it was the hardest thing not letting them hold her because of COVID.

All of the kids got to meet their new sister when they got home.

Cole Mountain hike with kids 3/27/2020

35 weeks pregnant and little did I know this would be the last outing before we welcomed Taylor into the world.

We travel to Montebello, VA and arrived in the area of Hog Camp Gap located off Wiggins Spring Rd. This time we chose the correct trailhead for the Cole Mountain hike. Back in November 2019 Blake and I accidentally hiked the Henry Lanum Loop (I am still not 100% convinced that it was an “accident”).

Cole Mountain/AT Hike;

Elevation gain: approximately 500 feet

Distance: 4.6 miles

The kids were very excited for the hike despite the very cloudy weather. The ascent to Cole Mountain has an elevation gain of approximately 500 feet with limited switch backs.

We made it to the top of Cole Mountain! No complaints from the kids, I was feeling pretty good and Blake was fine. The kids did fantastic and we were so proud of them. To date this is the highest elevations gain they have hiked.

We located the benchmark – 4,033 feet above sea level. We explained to the kids all about benchmarks and answered any questions they had about the benchmarks.

We enjoyed snacks while at the summit of Cole mountain, took pictures and of course the kids needed to use the bathroom. We had to explain to them how to use the bathroom in the wilderness. The result was semi-successful and pretty funny. They came back and told us about their experiences haha. We explored the area a little more and began our descent down the mountain.

I posed in front of Mount Pleasant since we summited Mount Pleasant a couple months before.

Blake thought it would be funny for me to lay on my back for another picture since my belly looked like the mountain………. I complied and thought it was pretty funny.

We had fun on our descent down the mountain and the kids even stopped to assist in holding up a boulder….

We made it back to the car and concluded out hike. We were super proud of the kids for all completing the hike and not complaining. They told us how much they enjoyed it and asked to go hiking with us again.

Since we were in the area, Blake and I took the kids to Staton’s Creek Falls. This is the waterfall Blake has been going to since he was 13 years old. The falls have a natural waterslide and wadding area. The kids played in the river that leads to the falls and then Blake went down the falls and the kids thought it was awesome. I would have but it would not be the best decision as far along as I am.

Before leaving George Washington National Forest, Blake and I posed for an obligatory photo with the sign.

We grabbed dinner at the kids favorite – Blue Mountain Brewery on the way home.

We had a fantastic day hike with the kids!

Outer Banks 2/21/2020

Needing to get out of the house, we head to the Outer Banks for the day. Yes I know I am on bedrest or “limited activity” as told by the doctor, I took it very easy. In no way did I want to harm the baby.

On the way Blake told me to try to and find a couples massage. I called a bunch of places and nobody was able to do a couples massage but AQUA Spa https://aquaspaobx.com in Duck, NC was able to do massages at the same time. We settled for this because either way we would be relaxed. The spa overlooks the sound and the views are spectacular. I had a prenatal massage which was much needed. Such a stress relief during the last trimester of the whirlwind pregnancy I have been having. The massage therapist were fantastic and very professional. We both thoroughly enjoyed our massages and highly recommend the spa.

Sadly our massages had to come to an end. Being close to Corolla, we went to check out the Currituck Beach Lighthouse https://obcinc.org and information center. Unfortunately the lighthouse was closed to climbing for the season and under repair.

We had a place in mind for dinner. Blake ate there years ago and could not remember the name but he did remember the décor. I went to work on my phone trying to figure out the name of the restaurant while we drove back into Kitty Hawk. I finally figured it out, Basnight’s Lone Cedar Cafe https://lonecedarcafe.com and thankfully it was open. So many restaurants were closed for the season.

We found a public beach access and parking area and took Gander out to play in the water.

The weather was chilly and windy and felt like we were getting blown away. Well maybe not me, I am huge at this point.

We arrived for dinner and were seated immediately. For being the off season, the restaurant was fairly busy. We enjoyed appetizers and our entrees and had leftovers for later. We opted out of getting dessert and figured we would find a place with ice cream on the way home.

We snapped a quick picture of the sunset before heading out.

As we made our way home, we tried to stop for ice cream. The ice cream shop ended up being closed for the season despite the hours being listed on Google stating it was open. Oh well, we didn’t need it anyways.

We had a great and much needed day trip to the Outer Banks.

Richmond Tacky Light Tour/South River Falls and a Special Unplanned Announcement 12/13/2019-12/15/2019

As soon as I get home from work, Blake and I head up to Richmond for a date night. Our first stop of the night is at Green Top shooting range.

After shooting 100 rounds we head out to see some of the houses on Richmond’s Tacky Light tour. We did this last year and had a blast. This year we went to different houses than the year prior.

We drive back to Ty’s apartment for the night and get up the next morning and drive to Skyline Drive to hike South River Falls.

South River Falls

Distance: 3.3 mile loop

Elevation: 910 foot gain

South River falls offers 2 trails to take in the falls. The first one is Observation Point Hike which is 2.6 miles with 850 foot elevation gain and the second one takes hikes to the bottom of the falls. We chose to do the longer hike.

We stop at an overlook on Skyline Drive to get a picture of the clouds over the mountains.

We begin hiking around 12:30 and it is cold. The trail is also pretty wet due to snow melt. We come to the first creek crossing and cold or not Gander doesn’t mind and he goes for a swim.

Being winter, no leaves are on the tree and this provided views of the river the entire hike.

We reach the overlook at 1:13 and pause for a little bit to take in the views.

Of course we had to get a picture of our baby to be in front of the falls.

We make our way down to the base of the falls about 20 minutes later.

Going to the base of the falls provide a very different perspective vs the view from the overlook platform. From the overlook they don’t seem as big as they do when you are standing right next to them. Blake tried to rock hope to get to the falls but didn’t make it. The water was too deep and he didn’t want to top his boot.

We finished our hike a little after 4:00 pm and then headed back to Richmond for dinner.

We had dinner at Joe’s Inn and if you know anything about Joe’s Inn, then you know that the portion size is HUGE. Blake and I split our meal and had enough left over for 2-3 meals the following week.

Notice Blake’s outfit???? Last year we went to an ugly sweater party but unfortunately this year Blake had to work and we were unable to attend but that didn’t stop us from wearing our tacky Christmas clothes. We dressed up in our formal Christmas wear to have dinner. We love putting smiles on everyone’s faces. We even got smiles out of people that you could clearly tell were having a bad day.

Being dressed up, we make a stop at The Jefferson Hotel. If you are unfamiliar with The Jefferson, this hotel is very elegant 5-star hotel. Every year The Jefferson has a large Christmas tree and display. We enjoyed looking at all of the decorations as well as taking our picture in front of the tree. It appeared some sort of event was taking place but the tree was not blocked off. We got a mix of looks in The Jefferson but most people thought it was great and stopped to talk to us and people even offered to take our picture.

We head back to Ty’s apartment for the night and have Ty help us come up with a plan for our big announcement.

The next morning Blake and I head back to The Jefferson to take our announcement pictures. The announcement is for Facebook. Our family and close friends already know the news.

We said Santa is bring a special gift this Christmas that is not to be opened until April.

Introducing Baby “Nilakay” coming April 2020.

“Nilakay” because Ty said we had to have a couples name and he combined our names together. We did fool a couple of people by the “baby Nilakay” and they though that was really going to be the baby’s name.