First Vacation

Last Friday, we all went to Gatlinburg, TN to stay in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains with my parents and my brother's family. Click here to see our cabin. I would definitely recommend the place. Our cabin was a 4 bedroom/4 bath cabin that had 3 decks, a hot tub, pool table, air hockey, Pac-Man and Golden Tee.

On Friday, we left as soon as Maya fell asleep and went about half-way to Clarksville, TN. We made one stop in Metropolis, IL so Lezlie could do her Supergirl pose. For those of you who don't know, Metropolis is the home of Superman. Anyway, Maya slept the whole way. Upon getting there around 11:30, we played for a little bit, but then fed her and she quickly went back to sleep. On Saturday, off to the smokies we went.

The first day we got groceries, ate, and then went to play miniature golf per Jocelyn's (my niece) direction. Lezlie got one hole-in-one but I still whooped her butt. After that, we all had a craving for ice cream so we went down to the strip and filled our face with sundaes.

The next day we went out to the mountains to picnic and look for bears. Unfortunately, there were no sitings. Actually, on one of our hikes a guy made the comment that he thought Vinnie was a bear as he came around a corner.

As you can see, the Smokies are very scenic. I've always told Lezlie that when we retire we'll have to buy a cabin there. But, we definitely won't buy the one we stayed in. A few around us were for sale and we asked the front desk what they go for. The lady said that the 1 bedrooms start at $490,000. So, I'm guessing a 3 bedroom goes for almost a cool million. I guess I'll have to find somewhere else to retire. Either that or buy 0.05 acres and build a shack...

During the evenings, we spent most of our time in the game room playing pool, air hockey, and video games. I was quite funny watching Olivia playing Ms. Pac Man/Frogger. Every time Ms. Pac Man got caught by a ghost or Frogger was ran over by a truck, she made an evil laugh:) You better watch out, Jason and Susan. Lezlie challenged me to a game of air hockey and was up 9-5 but I came back to win 10-9. Jocelyn was amazed at how hard we were hitting the puck as it flew off about every 10 seconds. Let's just say we play for blood.

In the midst of all the coming and going, Maya was passed around a lot. And, she did her share of scooting across the floor. It's funny--as soon as she transitions from carpet to hardwood, her technique changes drastically. It's as if she loses feeling in one of her legs because she drags one while she steps with the other one. In addition to crawling, she got a lot of attention from Josie and Olivia. She definitely loves her cousins.

Maya did have a bad cough through the whole vacation but was still able to have fun during the day. The nights--not so much. She continued to hack up stuff and her pack-n-play wasn't cutting it as a comfortable bed. So, she cuddled between us in bed. Since returning, I have taken her to the doctor and she was diagnosed with a sinus infection and given...can you guess???...antibiotics. I'm beginning to wonder if they sell the stuff in 5 gallon buckets. At least it wasn't an ear infection.

On Monday, we went to the Ripley's Aquarium. It was very satisfying to see Maya soak in everything. As you can see, she was amazed by the bright tropical fish. Most people would think that we're crazy to drive over 500 miles with an 8 month old but this definitely showed us that she needs vacations too.

On Tuesday, we went on another hike and then did a little shopping. I know, I know, we can shop anywhere but it seems like the money was burning a hole in our pocket since Mom and Dad paid for the cabin. Thanks again, Mom and Dad. That being said, we didn't buy much and if we did it was for Vinnie or Maya. Late Tuesday afternoon, we gave Maya a bath, fed her and then headed back home since Lezlie had to work on Wednesday. We made it half-way before Maya woke up. So, we stopped and played with her for awhile and then went back on the road where she slept until St. Louis at 2am. Then, amazingly she ate and then slept until morning. In total, if you count day care, she slept 17 hours in a 24 hour period. She definitely was tuckered out.

Anyway, that was our trip in a nutshell.