VACATION PICS

My camera lasted until Saturday. But died after that so I missed a lot of photo ops.

We left Wed June 23 at 5:15am. We made it 7.2 miles before the boys had to go to the bathroom so you can see how the trip went. My sister and parents had left at 5am in a different car. So we were in contact often and stayed at the same hotel the first night. The boys were very excited. I will be adding the beginning photos later as they were left on a laptop in NC.

Family reunion in KY was wonderful and my grand sons got to meet many cousins that they didn't know they had.



Each night bats would pour out of the metal gutters on the lodge and fill the sky and dance around us. The kids screamed and laughed as did we.

The boys and I took a LONG hike the last morning and found a rock wall with a large cave in it.

We left on Sunday and drove to NC to see my son. First time since coming back from the sand box. He sure looked good. Loved playing with the grand kids and they loved seeing their cousins.

My son lives at the edge of 400 acres of forest. His fence was loaded with huge blackberries. While the kids swam, we picked a large bowl to make a blackberry pie.

Then Tuesday we got up early and went to the beach in Wilmington. This was so much fun. The waves were just right for body surfing which we did all day as well as feeding the seagulls. The kids fed most of their lunches to the gulls. We brought home many shells. No one slept on the way back to my son's home. We were listening to my little grand daughter tell stories about a "baby pider" (spider)...it was so much fun.








Everyone was tired when we returned.






My daughter in law was ill while we were there so we didn't get to see much of her so I feel thaat we missed out on a lot.

Before we knew it, we were saying good byes in the front yard and heading to AR.



We stopped at Athens Pizza in Swannanoa NC for the best pizza I have ever eaten in my entire life. It had 5 cheeses.





While pumping gas we found an amazing cool moth!!




We had to stop overnight because I was too tired. We got good sleep though and finally made it to AR and got camp set up in time to take two classes on snakes and bats. Our site was beautiful and secluded and was on the lake.





The next day began 2 days of diamond hunting and swimming at the parks water park, visiting Indian villiages for artifacts and fake expensive toys, and we also met a wonderful woman selling snow cones in her front yard as well as ice blocks and home grown plants. She had relocated with Katrina and was very home sick. I praised her on her home business and wished her luck.






Sitting at the water park on Sunday evening, I was exhausted and the boys looked tired too. I asked them if they wanted to go home a day early. They did. I asked them what their favorite part of vacation was....it was anything with water. Cool water like the ocean and the water park. Not the lake which was as warm as bathwater.





Each day we cooked our food over the fire. Marinated basalmic/ginger chicken breasts with baked beans and corn on the cob, or smoked sausage with baked sweet potatos, ribs, green beans and corn bread. Yum.



And of course smores.




So now the kings of the mountain and I are home safely and I am unpacking while they watch movies. Tomorrow we are going to another water park. But we are already talking about next years vacation....it will involve many many water parks!