Miss Us?? Williamsburg, VA

I know I haven't posted for a LONG time but we have been busy. This is the first day that I haven't been writting tons and tons of special ed goals or preparing for Christmas at home. Since I have some extra time this afternoon I thought I would add another adventure.

June 2010 (not sure the exact date)
We got some great advice from Dean's uncle Richard while in West Virginia and headed out towards Williamsburg, VA. We made a few scenic stops and another one at Appomattox Court House. If you are not familiar the great surrender of the Civil War took place here. It was really cool. You could just feel the history around you. Looking at the battlefields, trenches, and replicas really made it come alive. It was GREAT!! We then headed toward Richmond to see the capital and to view a few other battlefields. After that it was on to Williamsburg.

Williamsburg was wonderful. We could have spent a few more days there but the two days we did spend were great. We spent most of our time in Revolutionary City. Everything in this area is just like it was in the Revolution. All the buildings, people, everything. Even everything made for the city or in the city is handmade. So its all authentic. During different parts of the day they would act out different parts of the revolution. We followed them around town while they were doing it. I LOVED IT!!! I think Dean liked it too. We really liked watching them make bricks, buckets, and wagons. We also got this cool mug that we could refill as much as we wanted. That was awesome. We drank so much lemonade and apple cider. I REALLY loved it!!
Hopefully I can post pictures soon too. Its really hard to describe how cool it was. You have to go there. It is a great family place and a great way to learn about US history.











The Governor's Mansion- Incredible!!

Wild, Wonderful West Virginia

After all the excitement of The Appalachian Trail, we began our travel north toward the eastern seaboard. Our first stop was in Reedy, West Virginia. We planned an impromptu visit to see his Uncle Richard, Aunt Linda, Cousins Andrew, Neri, and girls, and Benji. We had a great time.

We arrived Friday afternoon and left Monday morning. Andrew, Neri, Dean, and I took our dirt bikes and Wesley's ATV exploring in the "hollers." We went over rocks, through creeks and overgrown grasses, and ended up quite a long way from the house. We even came across some horses that Dean HAD to ride bareback. When we finally made it out of all the brush and "hollers" Neri and I worked really hard to convince them to let us take the road home, so we wouldn't have to go back the way we came. The whole ride was really fun. I had one small injury to my already bruised knee and a couple of good, muddy wrecks but survived. Andrew rode my dirt bike for part of the journey. I really wish I had a picture of that. His legs were definitely too long for my bike.

After dinner that night we went into town to watch the guys play basketball in the park. Neri and I took their girls to the park while the guys played. It was fun watching the guys play. Thankfully, there were no injuries. Afterwards, we hit up Dairy Queen then headed back. It was a busy and fun Saturday.

Sunday, we were able to attend church and listen to Richard preach. It was a wonderful sermon. We also got to hear him preach at the evening service. We can thank Richard for introducing us to the Luke Bryan song, "Rain is a good thing." Every time we hear that song we think of the wonderful time we had with them.

Linda made us some wonderful food both Saturday and Sunday. It was a great contrast to granola bars, fruit snacks, and pb & j. We spent a lot of time just talking and listening to Richard tell stories. He gave us lots of great ideas for the rest of our travels. We were sad to leave early Monday morning but excited to begin exploring some of those places Richard and Linda told us about. Thanks so much McKenzies! We just may have to make another visit to West Virginia.

One of the many beautiful landscapes driving through W.V. thanks to Richard!

June 16-17, 2010

We were so excited about this adventure. Dean had really wanted to spend a week or so hiking the Appalachian Trail. I wasn't quite so excited based on our other hiking adventures but was still excited to go. We didn't really know what to expect and we hadn't really trained or physically prepared for caring our backpacks. We had everything we needed and were ready to go.

We decided to start our hike at the very beginning. The actual Applachian Trail begins on top of a mountain so we started from Amicalola Falls State Park near Dahlonega, GA. The trail there is the gateway to the Appalachian Trail. The state park itself was great. It is home to the tallest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River at 729 ft.

Once we arrived at the park we checked in at the Visitor's Center to get our permit and let them know how long we would be hiking. We planned to be gone no longer than TEN days. In Gaitlinburg, we saw a great map for the Appalachian Trail but decided to wait and get one in Georgia. Unfortunately for us, the Visitor's Center did not have any maps of the Appalachian Trail. We doubled checked our packs and headed out on the trail. It was about 5:30 pm when we began. The projected time to get to the trail head was 6 hrs. Uh-oh.... it would be very dark in six hours and we had NO map. Would it take us 6 hours to get there? Not with Dean in charge.

We hiked as fast as we could. Our packs were very heavy. The first mile of our hike began with 425 stairs up to the top of the waterfall. The view of the falls was great but after that 425 steps I was ready to head back to the car. We continued on, trying to make those 7.3 miles in less than 6 hours. As we kept hiking the weather started to change. For most of our hike it rained off and on. We could hear thunder but continued to pray that we would make it without getting soaked or having any other problems.

About 3/4 of the way there, as it was starting to reach dusk, Dean spotted a black bear. It was about 200 yards from us but seemed unfazed by our presence. Dean clapped his hands, made some noise, and the bear ran off. Thank goodness for Dean and pepper spray!!

As it got darker it got harder and harder to see. Thanks to my wonderful grandparents King we had a nice handheld GPS that could tell us how far we were going and our elevation. We knew we were getting closer but it never seemed like we were going to reach the shelter at the top of Springer Mountain. About 9:30 pm, we were really hoping to find a shelter or somewhere to sleep. Just a few minutes later we saw the sign, "Shelter". What a relief! We could finally rest. We hadn't reached Springer Mountain but this was good enough for us.

We didn't really know what to expect with the shelter. Would it be comfortable? Would there be other people staying there? Would there be bears? Our questions began to be answered as soon as we arrived at the shelter. The shelter had a wood floor, roof, and three sides with an open front. It was built off the ground to help keep animals out. There was a backpack hanging from the bearline wire and someone's belongings, including a hatchet, inside the shelter. However, there was no one there. Strange... We assumed maybe they were going to the bathroom or getting water..........

We started to get settled in and ready for sleep. The rain had started again along with lightning. We tried to huddle together in my sleeping bag with Dean's blanket. We used the tarp inside the shelter to cover our packs. It was very dark, expect for occasional flashes of lightning and thunder. Dean hid the person's hatchet so it would be harder for them to kill us, if they came back. A bit extreme, maybe, but when you are in the wilderness you think of all sorts of dangerous situations. Dean was ready for anything. He even slept with pepper spray in one hand and the flashlight in the other. I was scared.

We had been sleeping about a hour when Dean abruptly sat up. A mouse ran up his leg and across his stomach. We checked around the shelter and tried to get resettled to go back to sleep. The other hiker had still not returned. Just as we were falling back to sleep we heard a rustling in the tarp. It was that mouse trying to get in our packs! Dean shook the tarp and the noise stopped. So we tried to sleep again. This routine went on about every ten minutes for the rest of the night. Every flash of lightning we expected to see a person or bear standing right outside the shelter. We did not sleep well and were relieved when morning came. I knew that the night was when Dean asked me if I wanted to turn back. Turn back? Is my husband really interested in quitting now? In a way I was excited because the 4 hours of hiking and night of sleep were not what I had expected on this trip. However, we decided to continue on. The trip could only get better, right?

Early into our hike that second day, we reached Springer Mountain and the beginning of the Appalachian Trail. The view was beautiful and it felt great to make it that far. We were ready for a great second day. We continued on and stopped every now and then for a snack or drink of kool-aid. Our goal was to hike 20 miles every day of our journey. How we were going to get back to the truck was still a mystery.

We hiked all morning and arrived at a nice cool stream for lunch. After soaking our feet for awhile we continued on. I was wearing new hiking boots and my feet were starting to ache.

We continued on. The scenery was forever the same. No animals, a few streams, and a hiker or two along the way. It was BORING and we were not interested in sleeping in another shelter. About 2 o'clock we decided that we weren't having much fun, our packs were heavy, and we wanted out. You may be shocked that we quit after only one day but we needed more fun and less solitude. So we turned around and hiked all the way back to Amicalola State Park. We hiked about 20 miles that second day and made it out just before dark.

We drove to the campgrounds, showered, and decided to spend the night at a hotel instead of camping. We called our parents to let them know we were safe and sound. My parents were quite excited considering my mom thought that Dean was taking me into the woods to kill me. Apparently, she has watched too many CSI and Criminal Minds episodes. What a ridiculous idea.

We were so happy to be back in civilization and in a nice comfy bed. What a wonderful way to end our adventure on the Appalachian Trail.

Mountains, Rivers, and BEARS

June 7-12 Gaitlinburg, TN
We spent a wonderful week in Gaitlinburg, TN with the whole Orvis clan. The weather was nice. Too cold for us Houstonians but very pleasant. We had a nice cabin nestled in the mountains overlooking the city. It was great to sit outside and be in that nice, fresh air. Each family had their own space but we mostly convened in the living room watching TV and playing pool. If you have never been to Gaitlingburg it is just like Branson. If you have never been their either it is very touristy. Lots of shopping, go carts, mini golf, and shows. It is definitely a place to spend money. It was nice walking around town and just browsing.
We all arrived on Monday. Once we found our way to the cabin and backed down the steep hill with the dirt bike trailer we were set for an enjoyable week. Nothing was planned, just relaxation.
Tuesday-Dean, Matt, Nathan, Bennie, Kari, and I went white water rafting. It was awesome. Very cold but fun. Dean was the only one to get "dumped" but the rest of the men went swimming at the end of the ride. We had a pretty good guide who led us down the adventurous side of the river which included some surfing. It is definitely something everyone should at least try once. It was a long drive there and an equally long drive back. We managed to stumble upon the Bush's Beans Factory on the way home. Cool if you eat Bush's. We eat Van Kamps. We met back up with the rest of the fam who had gone shopping or something like that. We spent most nights watching movies, playing pool, and chatting.
Wednesday-Today we spent the whole day golfing. Dean, Matt, Bennie, Nathan, Dean, and me. It was a long, hot day but fun. The course was very hilly and difficult. If you weren't careful at any given moment you could have been drilled by a golf ball. We lost alot in the trees and water. As long as someone wasn't directly behind us you could drive over and over again. The only hindrance was the cart patrol who constantly drove by monitoring your rate of play.There was much discrepancy over winners, losers, cheaters, and non cheaters but overall it was a pretty fun round of golf.
We spent one day at Fun City. Playing laser tag, mini golf, and bumper cars. We had a great time shooting each other in the dark. We also spent an afternoon riding go carts and playing bumper boats. We got wet just before it started to rain.
On our last day we ventured into Smoky Mountain National Park. We enjoyed a nice picnic then went swimming in the frigid river. It was sooo...cold. It just happened to be hot that day so it worked out great. After that we hiked up to a waterfall. Of course the men had to climb all the way to the top. Hannah even joined them. It is not very out of the ordinary for them but with all the people staring you would have thought it was quite extraordinary.
We got to spend a lot of time just enjoying each others company. We also had the opportunity to enjoy the company of a black bear each night. The first night he wandered into the yard just looking for food. It was quite a sight. We all stood out watching him and taking pictures. There are alot of details about the actions of the men and the bear but I will let you imagine them instead. The bear came back each night and each night he had an audience. It was nice that we got to see some wildlife besides birds, squirrels, and raccoons.
On Saturday we all went our separate ways after stopping at the Apple Barn (delicious apple dumplings) and the Orvis store. Matt, Tash, Nathan, Shelly, Dean and I then stopped at Tony Gore's BBQ for some lunch. Tony Gore is apparently a gospel singer. I had never heard of him. The chicken salad sandwich was delicious but the BBQ may have left a little something to be desired.
Pictures will be coming soon so you can see the adventure for yourselves. Hopefully, next week you will get to read about our next adventure.....The Appalachian Trail.

Busy, Busy

We really are going to update the blog but with school starting it has been so busy. I (Rachel) will hopefully get another adventure added this week. In the meantime, I am teaching K-4 resource/inclusion and Dean is still teaching 9th grade World Geography. If you have been waiting for an update sorry but look for one by Friday.

Bama Bound

June 5-7

The last day of school was June 4th. Dean was lucky and didn't have to go back for his last day of teacher meetings. I, on the other hand, still had to go on Saturday. Dean got everything packed and ready to go. Ten minutes after I got home we were out the door and on our way to Alabama. Our first stop was Nathan and Shelly's in Pell City. We arrived early Sunday morning and after a few hours of sleep we were ready for an afternoon of dirtbiking. It was quite an adventure. I only had one wreck. A steep hill with many sharp rocks. After getting lost on one of Nathan's backwoods trails we had to take the interstate back to the truck. Construction zone gravel and ditch mud are a sweet combination. We got super muddy and had a great time. It was a good layover and got us ready for our next adventure.... Gatlinburg, TN

Our Blog

Welcome to our blog!!

We hope you will enjoy reading all about our adventures. Many of them have already happened but we are hoping you will enjoy hearing about them again or reading them for the first time. Some of you didn't think we would really create one but we did! We will begin posting our adventure stories when we finish this vacation in August. It is almost time to go back to work.