Kid-Friendly New Orleans

The carful of kids coast into New Orleans late from a beach day at Grayton Beach State Park on the Florida's Emerald Coast. We are homeward bound after a road trip taking us to Mackinac Island and back, we have just a a few hours to soak up the tastes of kid-friendly New Orleans.

We are here on a mission--we need beignets, the French-style doughnuts that the Acadians brought to New Orleans generations ago. Nothing motivates the carful of kids more than the thought of square doughnuts buried in powdered sugar for breakfast.

I load up the carful of kids and drive into the French Quarter, it's so early that the sidewalks are still wet.  I park the SUV on the street taking a picture of the street sign to remember where I parked--what can I say, I haven't had my coffee yet.

I have been to Cafe Du Monde so many times over the last 30 years that I dart past the tourists waiting in line for an outside table and head inside. You'll get your beignets faster at breakfast if you sit inside then come back in the afternoon for a snack and the ambience of an outside table.

The carful of kids lick their lips in powdered sugar anticipation. I order three orders of beignets, chocolate milk for the kids and coffees for the ladies, I take mine iced since it's summer.

The Fernandez Family has owned Cafe du Monde since 1942, though the restaurant originally opened in 1862. It is an institution and the menu doesn't change often; the last addition was in 1988 when they added iced coffee and soft drinks.

Cafe du Monde serves dark-roasted coffee with chicory, the root of the lettuce-like plant, Endive. It is roasted, ground and added to coffee to cut the bitterness of the dark roast, a tradition brought to New Orleans by the Acadians of Nova Scotia.

A stop at Cafe du Monde is a must for the everyone, especially families. The carful of kids love the way the powered sugar falls all over them while they stuff their faces.

They're other places and Cafe du Monde has other locations but they're the best at the original location. You can't take them home and relive the whole experience hours later, it's not the same.

Beignets

Our next stop is the New Orleans Jazz National Park just steps away from Cafe du Monde and on the way to the French Market. The visitors center has a quick Junior Ranger program for the kids to introduce them to Jazz and occasionally hosts concerts so check them out.

The carful of kids head to the French Market, US's oldest public market established in 1791. This is the place to go for a quick, inexpensive lunch and get cheap t-shirts and souvenirs for the kids.

After grabbing our t-shirts, the carful of kids head to Central Grocery, located at 923 Decatur Street. Central Grocery is famous for its Muffuletta, the round sandwich invented by original owner, Salvatore Lupo.

For those who haven't tried a muffuletta, it's a ham, salami and provolone sandwich on a round Sicilian loaf smeared with an olive tapenade. Lupo used to serve them to the produce truck drivers from the French Market across the street.

French Quarter

I grab a Muffuletta for the road--it doesn't take long before the olive oil starts to leak through the paper bag. My mouth waters at the sight, they are that good.

I have a favorite scent that I ran out of a little while back so the carful of kids walk over to Bourbon French Parfums on 805 Royal Street. I find my way to the small shop that has been blending perfume since 1843.

There is an old world charm to the shop and it's a great stop for girls of all ages. After I buy some more Sweet Pea perfume, the carful of kids meander our way back to Jackson Square to check out some artwork, enjoy the park and watch some street performers.

It doesn't take long before the carful of kids beg for a horse-drawn carriage ride, there are several companies offering tours but private carriages are expensive. I find a larger carriage offering tours for $18.oo per person for a 30-minute French Quarter tour. The tour guide gives us a kid-friendly tour and a great history lesson too.

The carful of kids enjoy our time in the kid-friendly French Quarter and can't wait for the next time we visit. We have to get back in the SUV and head home.
 

One of the Best Beaches around--Grayton Beach State Park

The carful of kids adore the beach and we have been to a lot of beaches in our travels but we have one day to enjoy our favorite beach. We are driving hard to sneak a day in at Grayton Beach State Park in South Walton, Florida.

The South Walton area is a series of small beach towns that run south of Destin to Panama City along 30-A--the highway that connects them. Day-use parking is hard to find and beach access can be limited but the sand and surf are worth it.

I've known about Destin for years and the carful of kids made it here in 2007 when my youngest was 6 months old, it has been on my list to return ever since. With its turquoise water and sugary white sand that crunches when you walk on it--it's hard to resist and I thought you had to fly to the Caribbean to see beaches like this.

The carful of kids are on the tail end of another road trip but we need some beach time, the crashing waves and smell of salt water are calling us. We just finished up a day in Savannah, Georgia, and are headed back to our home in Central Texas after making it all the way to Mackinac Island.

From experience I know that the hotels along 30-A have two-night minimums during the summer so that is out, but I whip out my smart phone and my paper atlas and do some research. There are a couple of things that I remember from our last trip to Florida.

A few minutes later, I book a room in Defuniak Springs, Florida, that has a reasonable rate without the two-night minimum. It is right at the turn off for US Highway 331 heading south into Grayton Beach State Park, just 30 miles away.

The kids are on board and willing to forgo our usual stops so we can end the day with a beach sunset. I know we're getting close when I can smell the beach through my rolled-down windows.

A quick, friendly question to the police officer directing traffic and he points the carful of kids to legal parking spot. I barely shift the SUV into park before the kids bolt for the beach.

I hear the crashing waves and bliss awaits. We spend the rest of the waining sun playing in the surf, didn't even get the swimsuits on.

It is dark before I can lure the kids back into the SUV. I need stop at the grocery store in Santa Rosa Beach to restock for our beach day.

I don't want to waste any daylight stocking up on supplies because the carful of kids want to spend as much time as possible sitting on the beach. I have driven the carful of kids to the Canadian border and back I would like to sit in a beach chair with some fluffy fiction and recharge.

It's late by the time we get back to our room. No complaining because we have a whole day to play at the beach.

Baby shark head 

The carful of kids are in the SUV early and head to Grayton Beach State Park, I know there are not many day-use parking spots for this state park on the gulf. We arrive at the check-in and the ranger asks us for $ 5 for admission for the whole car--that's right, five bucks.

I don't have to ask twice to get some kid help when unloading the handfuls of sand toys. We find a nice open spot on the beach and park ourselves. 

The carful of kids start making a sand fort and this will take all day.  Isn't that the beauty of a beach day.

My daughter finds a really cool baby shark head.  I decide not to ask the obvious Mom questions.  

Speaking of safety at the beach, I always pack the life jackets.  I always make my kids wear the life jackets and I don't care if they are the only kids wearing them. 

Grayton Beach State Park doesn't not have a life guard station anywhere in sight while we are here. I know enough about rip currents to respect them. 

Lunchtime hits and we decide to use the covered picnic tables near the parking lot for our picnic instead of the beach. I love the sand just not in my turkey sandwich.

The carful of kids carry on with exploring the beach until late afternoon when we need to move on. A word of advice though--the park advertises showers in their list of amenities. I had hoped for enclosed showers in the restrooms but I find rinse off showers outside--not the same.  

The carful of kids need to make it to our next destination and I have a reservation in New Orleans, 275 miles east of us. It will take me close to five hours to get there and I was hoping to do it without sandy bottom.

Up Next: Family-friendly New Orleans

Know before you go:  If your family loves the beach and want a great beach vacation I recommend this area. It is well south of the crowds and hotel and restaurant chains of Destin, Florida--it's primarily second homes and rental properties.

The rental market usually rents by the week only during the summer and that is what we did the first time we came here. My kids were five, four and six months old at the time and we needed something easy because of the baby.

We rented a condo within walking distance and played at the beach all week. It was easy because the condo had a pool and a full kitchen.

If that doesn't appeal to you then Grayton Beach State Park has duplex rental cabins that are fully air-conditioned and sleep six. They are equipped with a full kitchen and available for one-day rentals during the week or by the week as well, they also have camping and RV spots.

Beach Bound--Savannah and Tybee Island

The carful of kids had a whirlwind tour of the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, and now we are headed to Savannah, Georgia. We are on our way back home to Texas after weeks on the road making it to Mackinac Island and back.

The carful of kids are hungry and we would like to have a little beach fun before the sun sets. Melissa gets on the iPhone and we find The Crab Shack on Tybee Island, where the elite eat in their bare feet.

The Crab Shack is a local dive that became an Georgia institution by growing slowly and keeping its low country charm. It's located along the banks of Chimney Creek and the locals used to launch boats and buy bait here.

The Crab Shack is a great place for the carful of kids. Did I mention you can feed the gators in their swamp out front--what kid doesn't want to tell the kids back at school they fed alligators on vacation?

For $ 3 you get some cut-up Slim Jims that you stick on an old-fashioned hair pin attached to a bamboo cane. Throw the pole over the rail and low and behold the gator snaps it off. It's about as low tech as you can get and great fun for kids.

The outdoor dining area is on the water nestled among the live oaks. The atmosphere is so casual and laid back, they even have cats roaming among the tables. 

The Cap't Crab Sampler for One

Melissa and I decide to share the Capt'n Crab's Sampler for One, the Crab Shack specialty. Wow, it's a lot of food, good thing we love sea food. To finish it off, the carful of kids split some Pecan and Key Lime Pie, southern favorites.

After our seafood feast, we head to the Tybee Island Beach for the last sliver of sun. The carful kids frolic in the surf while I look for the last shells of the day.

We wake up the next morning with Girl Scouts on our minds. We head over to the Juliette Gordon Low's Birthplace--the founder of the Girl Scouts for the centennial of the Girl Scouts of America.

Living by the Motto, "Be Prepared" 

Located at 10 East Oglethorpe Avenue in the 

Savannah's Historic District, it is open Monday through Saturday 10 to 4 (Spring through Fall, $9/GS adults, $8/GS youth).

Juliette Gordon, born on October 31, 1860 in Savannah, had a happy and privileged childhood. After finishing school in New York City, she married William Mackey Low, a wealthy Englishman in 1886.

Her marriage was not a happy one and Juliette Low spent her time in service to others. After her husband died in 1905, Juliette Low needed something meaningful to spend her time.

Inspired by Sir Robert Baden-Powell's Boy Scouts, Juliette started the Girl Scouts with 18 girls with the goal of getting girls outside and improving independence.

The Juliette Gordon Low's Birthplace tour is an intimate look into the life of the founder of Girl Scouts and is of particular interest to Girl Scout members, past and present. The Girl Scouts of America marked their 100th birthday and over the last century over 50 million people have been served by the organization.

The carful of kids really love the beaches of South Fort Walton Beach and if we make really good time we can be there before sunset. We decide to save the rest of Savannah for another trip--the white sugar sand of Florida is calling us.  

Up Next: Grayton Beach State Park

The Biltmore Estate and Beyond

The last time the carful of kids were riding the rails through North Carolina on the Great Smoky Mountain Rail Road. Now we are headed for Asheville, North Carolina, via the Blue Ridge Parkway--a scenic byway that meanders parallel to I-81 for 469 miles from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Shenandoah National Park.

The carful of kids enter the Blue Ridge Parkway just below the Waterrock Knob Visitor Center, where we check out road conditions and grab our Junior Ranger Badge Workbooks.  We check out the Waterrock Knob Trail, despite the light rain and fog. Not many people out today, we hike back down and load back up in the SUV.

The ranger warns us to be careful out on the road because of the fog.  Sure, Got it!  I am a Mom of a carful of kids--careful is my middle name.

We continue north on the Blue Ridge Parkway and then the fog gets fierce.  So many times Melissa and I find ourselves on an unfamiliar mountain road with adverse weather conditions--today it is fog.  But we have been through pounding rain with temperatures hovering around freezing on a 12,000 foot mountain pass with zero visibility, a washed-out road in a flash flood and a hail storm so hard that I thought I would loose my windshield.

It is stressful but with Melissa in my passenger seat, all is well.  We have been driving together for over 20 years, there is comfort in that.

As we get closer to Asheville, the fog lifts.  We stop at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway just north of Asheville, where we finish up our Junior Ranger Badges and watch an artisan make a broom.

Next stop--the Biltmore Estate, an architectural icon and number eight on the American Institute of Architects' (AIA) list of top 150 structures in the United States. I booked online for a discount and they run specials during the summer for free admission for the kids. The Biltmore Estate is open rain or shine, today we got rain.

The Conservatory

The Biltmore Estate was built between 1889 and 1895 by George W. Vanderbilt II as an escape for his family; it is still owned and managed by the descendants of the George Vanderbilt family. It is the largest privately held home in the United States.

Vanderbilt commissioned New York architect Richard Morris Hunt to design a house in the Chateau style and it is a notable example of the Gilded Age. Richard Hunt founded the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and designed the facade and the Great Hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty and The Breaker's, the Vanderbilt summer home in Newport, Rhode Island.

The Biltmore Estate encompasses 8,000 acres and is bisected by the French Broad River.  The grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed New York City's Central Park; Vanderbilt wanted the Biltmore Estate to be self-supporting so they had poultry, cattle and hog farms including a diary.

Olmsted instituted the first managed forest in the US at the Biltmore Estate. He designed the shrub garden, the Azalea garden, the Italian garden and the centerpiece--the Conservatory.  It houses an extensive collection of palms and tropicals.

The Rose Garden is a magical space with over 2,000 roses surrounding a double arch also covered in roses--it is a must for any rose lover. The Biltmore Estate is the host of the International Rose Trials, plus has an extensive collection of 19th century roses.  

The Carful of Kids.

As we tour the gardens, the rain will not stop. An umbrella and disposable rain ponchos will only do so much.

We head inside the Biltmore House but they do not allow indoor photography. The first floor is dedicated to entertaining and is quite grand and luxurious but not ostentatious.

The Biltmore House has a Billiard Room, Banquet Hall, Salon, Music Room, Tapestry Gallery, Library and Winter Garden. The Biltmore Library contains over 10,000 books, half of Vanderbilt's total collection--a testament to his love of reading. All the rooms feature artwork from Renoir and John Singer Sargent. Vanderbilt admired the work of his architects so much, he commissioned Sargent to paint them.  Hunt and Olmsted considered the Biltmore Estate one of their greatest projects.

The second floor of the Biltmore House is dedicated to the private bedrooms of the Vanderbilt's.  George Vanderbilt's bedroom is quite dramatic with gilded wall coverings with red bedding and upholstery.  Mrs. Vanderbilt's bedroom is opulent with gold and aubergine cut velvet and silk.

The third floor is dedicated to guest quarters and then the tour takes us down to the basement where the bowling alley and the indoor swimming pool are located. With a quick peek down the service corridor, the laundry rooms look especially daunting.  The final part of the tour is the Bachelor's Wing complete with a Smoking Room and Gun Room.

The Biltmore Estate has created the Antler Hill Village as another designation on the Estate. This is where you will find the Winery, Outdoor Adventure Center and the farm.

After exploring the Biltmore Estate all afternoon, we are starving. Dinner at The Moose Cafe is a must, they have the most amazing biscuits and apple butter and the servings are generous.

Up next--a day at the beach.

The Great Smoky Mountain Rail Road

The carful of kids woke up with trains on the mind this morning.  We put on our conductor's hats with the train patches from previous trips.  My hat is vintage because I got it when I was 12 and I have the most train patches.  I made reservations on the Great Smoky Mountain Rail Road for today before we left on our trip.  We like to take scenic rail road excursions on our road trips.  Remember when I was herding my carful of kids through the Art Institute of Chicago hoping one day they would at least have an appreciation for art.  Well when I was a kid, my brother was a train kid.  He loved his model trains.  Because of that my mom would take us on the Amtrak Sunset Limited from Houston to San Antonio to visit our grandparents.  I liked the train trips just not as much as my brother--he was obsessed.  But the more we rode the train to Grandma's house, the more I appreciated the train.  Now I have been on more trains worldwide than my brother.  I love the clickety-clack of the train.  The nostalgia of the whistle, the crisp screech as it cuts through the air like a call for adventure.   There is something romantic about the back and worth sway of train.  Some of my best nights sleep as an adult have been on a berth in a sleeper.  My favorite trains have to be stream trains.  Riding a steam train is akin to driving a vintage car, you are reliving a little piece of history.

Last spring, while my son reading to me, I thought I heard a steam whistle.  No that can not be.  I asked my son if he heard it.

"Yeah mom, I think it is a steamy,"  he said, just happy for the distraction from his homework.

"I think so too.  Get your shoes, let's go find that train."  I told the carful of kids as I grabbed my purse and my camera.  Off we went and headed for the train tracks not too far from my house.  Sure enough I found my train,  the Union Pacific's fully restored Engine 844.  We should have been doing our homework that day, but I think the carful of kids will remember the day Mom flew out of the house to chase a steam train longer.

Riding a train is a great activity for kids of all ages.  I had my middle son on a train when he was 4 months old.  It was a short trip, but two years later I had my then three and a half year old and two year old on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad for a eight hour trip through the Southern Rocky Mountains.  It still has to be our favorite train ride to date, but I was prepared.  I had a backpack jammed with water, snacks,  jackets, extra diapers and lots of wipes.  So do not hesitate to take your family on a excursion train trip, it is worth the extra effort from Mom.

The carful of kids is taking the Tuckasegee River Excursion this time.  The Great Smoky Mountain Rail Road (GSMRR) offered a deal this summer.  For every adult ticket, you get a free children's ticket. Great deal, I found it under the daily deals section of their website.  It always pays to hunt around.   We have seats on the open air gondola car that is all fun and no luxury. They are converted flatbeds and baggage cars.  They have a solid railing and bench seats running down the length of the car.  They are a great value for families because people needing more comfort are inside a car with windows that close.  The GSMRR departs daily from Bryson City, North Carolina in route to Dillsboro, North Carolina some 16 miles away along the Tuckasegee River.  Our itinerary includes a lunch stop in Dillsboro before heading back.

The Amazing Model Train at GSMRR

We grab our tickets at will call.  We have a bonus feature on this scenic train trip, the GSMRR has a model train museum that is included in the train ticket price.  We have a few minutes before we board the train, so I herd the carful of kids to the museum.  But first, we have to make our mandatory bathroom break.  Sorry boys, no exceptions.

Is that the Lone Ranger?

Before long we hear the train blowing its horn.  I gather the carful of kids and climb abroad the train.  Before you can blink your eye, the train is pulling out of the station.   We are excited to find what lies around the next bend.  The carful of kids stand up at the railing, watching the scenery go by.  They wave at the people who stop what they are doing and to watch the train pass.  I guess they are also train people.  I heard a rumor that would be a visitor in the car today.   The staff on the train is great--the conductor answers every question that you can think of.  Low and behold the next thing I know I see the Lone Ranger working his way up the car.  And then off he chases the bad guy with his guns out.  I don't have to tell you that the boys love this.  My daughter, the tween is not as impressed.  We continue on our journey and criss-cross the Tuckasegee River towards Dillsboro.  Before you know it we are pulling into the station.

The rain has been threatening all day.  I forgot the umbrellas in the SUV because when we left the station the weather was sunny.  We have a layover  and decide to eat at Kostas Family Restaurant for lunch.  They combine Greek, Italian and American fare seamlessly.  I take a gamble and order the Chicken Gyros.  It is amazing and I love Greek food.  I used to live in the Greek neighborhood in NYC, so I have had some good Gyros.

While we are enjoying our lunch, the sky decides to fall and does not let up.  Our layover is almost over and the conductor said he will leave us behind if we are late.  The carful of kids have no other option than to run back to the train station.  We get there just in time and are soaked to the bone.  The good thing is the weather is nice and warm so it doesn't take us long before we dry out.

The ride back is just as fun.  The kids look forward to the tunnel.  We have an ongoing tradition of holding our breaths through the tunnel.  This is no exception.  With a long very dark tunnel behind us, we look at the river rafters making their way down the river.   In no time, our train pulls into the station.  Before we can get in the car, the kids have talked us into another walk around the model train museum.  That will to it for the carful of kids for the day, next stop Asheville, North Carolina.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park from the Cherokee Entrance

The carful of kids get their GSMNP Junior Ranger Badges

The carful of kids drove through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park from the Gatlinburg Entrance yesterday.  We will continue to explore GSMNP today, entering from the less-crowded Cherokee entrance.

Our first stop of the day is the Oconaluftee Visitors Center, where I find the Mountain Farm Museum that includes a chestnut tree log home, a large barn, apple house, spring house, a chicken coop and a blacksmith shop.

Mountain Rainstorm

The carful of kids run around while I read the self-guided tour guide to figure out what a spring house is. We learn it is a small building that was built on top of a spring that kept food from spoiling before refrigeration.

We walk from one building to the next imaging mountain life when I see the sky start to darken. "See that?"  I point to the sky and nudge Melissa.

Melissa has no data or cell service in the park so she has no idea what the weather is doing. BANG! The sky falls and we run for cover.  We spend the next 30 minutes on the porch of the apple house talking with a family from Pennsylvania.

The chicken before the boys start to chase it.

Just before we leave we see a chicken trying to catch a grasshopper.  The boys see the chicken and start to chase the chicken.  The chicken misses the grasshopper and the boys miss the chicken.

After a picnic lunch we join the Junior Ranger Bat Program--packed full of interesting facts that are gross enough for the kids to like. She dismisses all the folktales and ends the program discussing the White Nose Syndrome, the disease that has killed over 5 million bats in the Eastern United States.

After the required program and a bag of trash for each kid plus my middle son's broken down box he found in the parking lot; we are ready to get our Junior Ranger Badges.

Next, the carful of kids load up to see Clingman's Dome, the highest point in the GSMNP and the third highest point in the eastern United States but still half the size of most mountains in the Rocky Mountain Chain. We park, ready to hike the half-mile to the observation tower until we look at the looming dark grey skies; can't risk a lighting strike.

We drive back through Newfound Gap area where we cross the Appalachian Trail--the 2200 mile trail that extends from Georgia to Maine. My son decides he has to walk it, I can pick him up in Maine next summer.

As we drive back to Maggie Valley, North Carolina, I tell the carful of kids that Great Smoky Mountain National Park was chartered in 1934 and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  GSMNP is the most visited park in the United States and encompasses over 500,000 acres, making it the largest protected area in the eastern United States.

As if on cue, an Indigo Bunting darts across the road and before I can pull over to find it I notice the carful of kids are asleep.

Up Next--Asheville, North Carolina and The Biltmore Estate.

Great Smoky Mountain National Park

The Reason We Travel so Far is to Experience the Wonder

The carful of kids is located on the northern edge of the most visited national park in the eastern United States but the Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg area is too congested for us.  I had an idea that it would be before we left, so I made reservations at the Best Western in Maggie Valley, North Carolina for the rest of our stay in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  We hope to tour the northern side of the park today as we make our way south to North Carolina.  I make some waffles for the kids, grab a boiled egg for the Mom, throw a load of laundry in the wash and pack up the car.

When I am planning my road trips, I like to visit national parks.  They are inexpensive entertainment for the whole family.  For the price of a one day ticket to Disney, I get annual pass for the carful of us to visit some of the most majestic and historically significant landmarks in our country.  The carful of kids has been to Disneyland and SeaWorld and we had a great time but they are expensive.   For what I would spend on a long weekend with two days at an amusement park and eating out, I can get a week on the road seeing something new at every bend.  It is more work for me and I have to remind my husband that I am not on vacation--the kids are.  I am still taking care of the kids and making sure that they are safe, fed and clean most of the time, except I am doing it on the road without the ease of my own house.  But I do find it liberating because I can let go of the annoying stuff that dominates my world.  I don't have to battle with the kids to pick up their toys.  I left the messy rooms at home.  The bathrooms and kitchen don't have to be cleaned.  We spend the whole day outside exploring new things and most nights we have a swim before bed.  When we are on the road, the carful of kids eat better because they are busier.  They argue less because they are not bored.  When I have them in the car, they play road games and look out the windows.  This year we added an iPod touch and iPod nano and  my husband put some downloadable books and Kidz Bop on them.  My middle son can belt out some tunes, its cute when I have to tell him to keep it down in the back seat.   They are entertained by the added technology, but we have road tripped without it.

I use the NPS.Gov website and check out each individual park before I leave on our trips.  Under the tab Explore This Park, there is tons of useful information.  Under the Plan Your Visit tab, you will find directions, the hours of the park during different parts of the year, fees and if you need any reservations.   You will also find the Things To Do tab with topics ranging from auto touring to fishing and from waterfalls to camping and everything in between.   The Things To Know Before You Come has great information ranging from the weather and your traveling pets to traffic tips and services inside the park.

Noah Ogle Place

The Great Smoky Mountain National Park does not sell a lot food inside the park, I learned this from the Goods and Services tab.  Knowing that, I find a grocery store and load up for lunch.  I have a lot of snacks for the kids but I am running low on bread, chips and lunchmeat.   After the stop at the grocery store on the edge of GSMNP (Great Smoky Mountain National Park), we enter the park.

At the Sugarlands Visitors Center--our first stop, we pick up our Junior Ranger booklets for the kids and Mom stamps her National Park Passport.  We decide to drive the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail on the North side of the park.  I find it a little hard to find at first  because it is not well marked on the street signs.  It is a lovely one-way drive through the woods.  We pass by several early log homes.  I am always more thankful for my home after seeing what pioneers had to endure.  I can just imagine raising a family in a house that gaps in the walls and the floors.  The carful of kids run around in a dizzying blur.  We decide to have some lunch and look at our booklets.  Mom makes the sandwiches while we look around to see what we can find on our forest bingo page.  I know what you are thinking, that sounds like work.  It is not really.  The kids like earning the little plastic badges.  It makes the national park experience more rewarding.  This park requires you to pick up a bag of trash for each child.  I hand over the grocery sacks from earlier and the kids start picking up the wrappers from juice boxes on the ground.  There are an alarming amount of them everywhere they go.   I try to engage them in a conversation on pioneer life but they are just running around and not listening to Mom.  Oh well, they seem happy and they are not bothering anybody or destroying any property.  Let them be, Melissa and I talk about pioneer life instead.   We walk away from the pioneer farm thankful for our modern medicine and grocery stores.

After lunch and our walk around the Noah Ogle Place, we climb back into the 4Runner and head for Bales Place and Roaring Fork Creek.  The carful of kids run around this old settlement this time picking up trash.  We continue on the rest of the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail until it dumps us back in Gatlinburg.  It seems the traffic has improved but I still have to watch for the hoards of pedestrians walking aimlessly.

"Hey, Melissa...Do you think that some of these people never even visit the park?"  I ponder.

"Yea, it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't even know there is a National Park right over there." she replies pointing.

We continue heading south on Newfound Gap Road heading towards Cherokee, North Carolina, on the southern edge on the park.  This gives us a great opportunity to check things out for tomorrow.  The heat wave has ended but now we have to deal with scattered thunderstorms with little or no warning.  I found out that it does rain quite a bit in the mountains so we decided not to camp this year.  Last year's road trip to Colorado we spent six nights in cabins and yurts.  I love to cabin camp but this National Park does not have cabins in the park beside the LeConte Lodge that you have hike over five miles to get to.  Yes, can you imagine taking three children on a five mile hike with packs?  I have hiked two miles with the kids where  they only had to carry water.  I ended up with one 40-pound kid on my back for the second mile.  Way to Go Mom!   We pull the car over at the Newfound Gap at an elevation of 5046 Ft,  this is where the Appalachian Trail crosses the main road in GSMNP.  The carful of kids bolt out of the car as soon as I put it in park.  My middle son thinks he is headed to Maine right now.

Along the Appalachian Trial

"Buddy, it will take you months to get there.  What are you going to eat and drink?  What about school?"  I ask trying not to crush his dreams.

"Berries and stuff, maybe I can catch a rabbit.  You were talking about going to Maine next summer. You can pick me up,"  my middle son replies.

My boy has a plan.  He is my different thinker.  But this is the same boy who couldn't eat the fish he caught a couple of years ago.  But he did spend the week at a Y resident camp right before vacation.  Maybe he is ready to hike close to 2,000 miles instead of third grade with his cozy family in his cozy house.    

"Mom will get in trouble if she lets you loose like that.  Maybe you and Dad could try it out in a couple of years,"  I know I did the Mom Dodge, but he seems to be satisfied.

After hiking up the trail headed towards Maine for half an hour, we turn around.  We are thirsty and the water bottles are in the SUV.  I have to give the hikers that do the whole trail a lot of respect and admiration.  We load the carful of kids back in the SUV and head to our room in Maggie Valley, North Carolina.  But first we take the picture straddling the state lines.

On our way, we see the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It is a All-American Road that runs for 469 miles from GSMNP to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.  It was started in 1935 as a part of the New Deal.  The parkway was not completed until 1983.  We turn the carful of kids onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, maybe we will find a visitors center.  Sure enough we see the sign for the Waterrock Knob Visitor Center just a little pass our turn off for Highway 19 into Maggie Valley.  We get there just in time before they close for the day.  This happens alot to the carful of kids.  We run into the Visitors Center, get the kids their Junior Ranger booklets and a stamp on my National Park Passport.  For those of you that do not visit national parks regularly, it is a stamp that has the date and national park you visited.  You put them in a tiny blue book as a record of your stay.   We learn that we need to take a hike on the Blue Ridge Parkway, complete a couple of worksheets about the parkway and visit another Visitors Center to earn our Junior Ranger Badge.  Sounds Great.  We plan on visiting Asheville, North Carolina in a few days so we can take the scenic route and complete the rest of the badge.  We load up the carful of kids and head to the hotel.  It is threatening rain so we can't take a hike right now.

We head into Maggie Valley, North Carolina and  try to find a family friendly restaurant.  The carful of kids will die soon if we don't eat.  We drive down the main drag of town and find Maggie Valley Restaurant.  It advertises itself as a family eatery since 1952.  We pull in and give it a try.  One of the kids has Macaroni and Cheese.  Looks good, I grab a taste--tastes good too.  My chicken eaters order chicken fingers.  I try the Cousin Maggie's Pulled Pork Bar-B-Que with red mashed potatoes.   North Carolina Pulled Pork BBQ starts with pork butt roast or whole shoulder that is slow smoked until the meat is so tender it falls off the bone and can be shredded.  The BBQ is very tender but I should have gotten it on a bun.  The carful of kids finish eating and decide on a Mountain Blackberry Cobbler a la mode.  It is unbelievable, tart yet sweet.  The crust is tender yet keeps it texture in the saucy cobbler juice.  We order one and share it--there is plenty to go around.   After a satisfying dinner, we head to our hotel, Best Western Mountainbrook Inn.  We find quiet hotel with a friendly staff.  The rooms are clean and every room has a pair of rocking chairs in front of it.  We find the Maggie Valley area much more quiet than the northern side of the park.  I like it, we can enjoy the natural beauty of the area.  The kids change into their bathing suits as I unload the car and Melissa makes up some cocktails for us to enjoy by the pool.   Another satisfying day on the road.

Moving on the the Mountains

This is the fourth major road trip that I tackled with my kids.  Some years I plan every minute of our trip but this year I did not have time.  I have learned that I can leave some holes in the schedule for spontaneity.  Moving south from the Great Lakes region, we are headed to the Appalachian Mountains.   After spending all day yesterday driving from the Upper Pennisula of Michigan, we arrive in Ohio last night.  I realized that we can drive through the Amish Country.  I have always wanted to visit the Amish Country so we decide to reroute ourselves a little bit to drive through Berlin, Ohio.  Instead of heading west on I-71, we drive south on Highway 93 and then head west on Highway 62.  Before long I see my first "share the road with the buggy" sign.

"Look, kids..."  Nothing.  I look into the rear view mirror, a carful of passed out kids.  Wow, you feed a kid a big Belgian waffle, pack them in SUV then lull them asleep.  Normally that is Road Tripping Mom Heaven, until I see something cool and want to share it.  Isn't that the point of driving a carful of kids 5,000 miles through our vast country--to see cool things we can't see at home.  I decide to let them sleep and continue rolling through the beautiful Central Ohio farmland.  We get closer to Berlin and I start to see what looks like manure on the side of the road.   Remember, we just left Mackinac Island, home to 400 horses, I know what manure looks like.  Low and behold, we pass our first horse drawn buggy.  The closer we get to Berlin the more buggies we see.  It is Saturday and they have a market on the Main Street through town.  Artisans sell their baskets, quilts and other handiwork.   The carful of kids walk up and down the street but it is blazing hot outside.  We stop in an emporium and buy jelly, stick candy, Amish made egg noodles and locally brewed drinks.  I am not a craft shopper or collector of stuff so I found the shops a little redundant.
We decide to get back to the interstate so we can make better time.  This is a constant battle when Melissa and I are routing the road trips--the scenic route versus the speedier Interstate route.  We have lost whole days chasing beautiful vistas and mountain peaks.  Sometimes you have to put on your blinders and get to your destination.  We find our way back to I-71 heading to Cincinnati.  Where we catch I-75 headed south to Lexington, Kentucky on our way to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  Kentucky is a new state for the carful of kids and their mom.  What surprises me most is how beautiful Kentucky is with its rolling hills full of trees.  The miles slip away as the day fades.  Before you know it we stop for dinner,  we decide on Zaxby's, a regional chicken chain in this area.  I try "The House Zalad"--note to my grammar and spelling fanatic readers, that is not a typo.  The salad is better that most casual dining restaurants.  We order the freshly fried Tator Chips.  Yum.  Who does not love a fresh, thin, fried potato chip?  The carful of kids tackle the Kiddie Fingerz and Melissa dives into the boneless wings.  The location is convenient and very family friendly with it clean dining room and serve yourself drinks.  I grab a refill of iced tea and a brownie to go and add Zaxby's to my list of quick serve restaurants I will not hesitate to visit again.

I load up the carful of kids and get behind the wheel and head south to Tennessee.  After dark we start seeing signs for Dollywood.  I know we are getting close.  You roll into town after exiting of I-81 outside of Knoxville, it is hard to miss the lights and action.  I am pulling in around midnight and the place is full of tourists milling around.  People are still playing miniature golf and bungee-jumping.  All the restaurants are packed.  Wow, I haven't see this much neon and illumination since my days living in Las Vegas.  We turn into our Best Western late. but first we had to pull into the wrong Best Western across the street.  Funny unless you are dog tired.  We hit the beds hard because they are the hardest beds I have slept on in years.  Geez, I ignore the pain settling in my back and close my eyes.  Tomorrow we tackle The Great Smokey Mountain National Park.