Tennessee Trip

Peyton went on her very first overnight, out of state road trip the weekend of August 8-10 to Tennessee! Back before Peyton was even born, I decided that going on this trip would be one of my first big mommy goals. A dear childhood family friend of ours was getting married and I desperately wanted to be there. I knew that Peyton would only be about two months old and that putting her in the car for 8+ hours was probably a terrible idea, but I wanted to try. The bride's father (a dear friend of my parents) passed away back in late April and I was very sad that I was not able to make it to the funeral. My doctor wouldn't let me travel so far away from home that late in my pregnancy. I knew this wedding weekend would be difficult for their family and for my family, so I wanted to make sure that we could be there to support everyone. Plus, I knew all of our family friends would want to meet Peyton!

I knew that I wanted to bring Peyton on the trip to see everyone, but I did not want to have to bring her to the actual wedding. Mommy and daddy needed a night off :) So I enlisted Jared's sister to come along as our babysitter. 

We decided to make the initial drive to Chattanooga in the middle of the night. We didn't want to have to keep stopping along the way for feedings and diaper changes, as this drive was going to be long enough even without having to stop constantly. Therefore, we opted to schedule our travel plans around Peyton's sleep schedule. Peyton does the majority of her uninterrupted sleeping between 10:30pm and 6am (I know, shocking for an almost 2 month old) so we wanted to do most of the driving at a time when she would be in a good long stretch of sleep. Jared and Erika are super insomniacs and really good at staying awake all night so they were totally game for attempting this midnight road trip. Staying awake late is not something I am good at. I am a morning person, not a night owl. 

On Thursday evening, we packed up the car (Sidenote: 3 nights out of town with a two month old basically requires a full sized U-haul) and got ourselves ready for the all night drive. We fed Peyton, bathed her, and did her whole night time routine. However, instead of putting her down for bed in her crib, we put her down in her car seat. By 10:00pm, we were all in the car and ready to hit the road. Peyton had just fallen asleep. Along the way, we stopped twice for bathroom/snack breaks for ourselves, but Peyton never woke up once. Jared drove the entire way and Erika helped him stay awake. I sat in the back with Peyton and slept on and off throughout the night. A couple of times, I woke up to Jared and Erika having a full blown 90's dance party in the front seats. It was hysterical, but hey, whatever it takes to stay awake. 

We arrived at our hotel in Downtown Chattanooga at precisely 5:00am, exactly 7 hours from door to door. When I brought Peyton into the hotel room and sat her down, she instantly woke up and greeted me with this adorable face :) She was ready for her morning feeding, right on schedule. I couldn't believe how smoothly that drive went. I was so nervous and terrified that we would be trapped in the car with a screaming baby, but she was amazing! 

Jared and Erika went right to bed while I unpacked Peyton's stuff, fed her and then put her back to bed so I could get a few more hours of sleep. She went right back to sleep for 4 more hours! 

Once we all got a decent amount of sleep, we decided to head out for a late lunch and a visit with some friends. 

Peyton had a lot of visitors all throughout the weekend. And a lot of outfits! Thank goodness I overpacked for her because everytime I put a cute outfit on her, she pooped on it. Here she is with Aunt Melissa, who came to the rescue many times with her Shout wipes which saved Peyton's outfits. 

Friday night, we took Peyton out to dinner with us while everyone else was at the Rehearsal Dinner and she was so well behaved. The restaurant we went to was super loud, but she just slept the entire time. After dinner, my mom stayed with her in our hotel suite so we could go out to the bar with our friends from the wedding. 

On Saturday morning, we headed "up the mountain" to where our family friends live on Signal Mountain. We spent the day visiting with everyone and Peyton got to meet a new friend! 

Peyton (almost 2 months) and Claire (almost 1 year) 

Saturday night was wedding time! Peyton stayed in our hotel suite with Auntie Erika for 8 hours. That's the longest that I have ever left her before! I didn't mind though because I knew she was in good hands and Erika sent us lots of cute photos throughout the night. I did miss her of course, but it was so nice to have a night out. 

I was super excited to get to spend a little time with my childhood best friend, Lindsay, even if it was only for one day. The last time I saw her, I was pregnant in her wedding!

Jared just loves when I make him pose for photos at weddings, especially when he hasn't had a chance to make it to the bar yet :) 

Our parents have been friends since middle/high school and we have been friends since birth! So great to be reunited with these beautiful ladies, who might as well be my sisters! 

Ah, a better Jared smile now...thanks to a few cocktails :) The view from the Chattanooga Country Club was gorgeous. Overlooking the Tennessee River, I loved this fabulous deck where we got to enjoy that refreshing mountain air.

All of the moms, who became friends in high school, and their daughters! Thankfully, the official wedding photographer captured this shot as well which will be so much better than my iPhone version here. 

We are so blessed to have had such an amazing group of friends to grow up with. These ladies have been more like aunts and sisters to me, rather than just friends.

We went back up the mountain to say goodbye to our family friends before heading back to Jacksonville on Sunday. Jennifer (Claire's mommy) and I have known each other since birth. Our dads and our moms have been best friends since high school. We are so excited for Claire and Peyton to start the 3rd generation of our family friend group!

I couldn't possibly leave Tennessee without introducing Peyton to the beautiful mountains. I insisted that we take the scenic route back down the mountain so that we could stop at an overlook to enjoy the view.

I can't wait to bring Peyton back to Chattanooga when she gets a little older to visit her friend again and really enjoy the mountains!

North Carolina {Day 4}

We spent the last day of our trip hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park before starting the drive back to Florida. Read about days 1, 2, and 3 of our trip here - North Carolina {Day 1}, North Carolina {Day 2} and North Carolina {Day 3}.

Sunday, July 7

We picked a random trail off the map that was close by and decided to hike it. Bad idea. Actually, one of the park rangers recommended it to me. I guess I appear to know a lot more about hiking in the mountains than I actually do. Word to the wise...when hiking in the mountains, don't use a regular trail map. Use a topographic trail map so that you can see the change in elevation. This way, you won't be surprised when you end up hiking 1,400 feet straight up-hill for 2 hours. This Florida girl definitely learned her lesson.  

Smokemount Loop Trail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Yes, I am hiking in a tank top from Nantahala Brewing Company. Yes, I actually bought a tank top from a brewery. The best part is the back of the shirt which reads, "Water is for quitters". I definitely got some interesting looks from the other hikers.

The best part of the trail was this awesome bridge. The worst part was what lay beyond this bridge. 

I loved this log bridge crossing the river. Once you got out to the middle of it, it swayed a lot which was a little freaky but still super cool. Standing out there in the middle of the rushing river on a log less than a foot in width was a surreal feeling.

After crossing the bridge, the up-hill climb began. And when I say up-hill, I mean straight up. This treacherous vertical climb then continued for the next 2 hours. My legs were burning. Literally on fire. Actually, that description doesn't even do it justice. I felt like I was going to die. By the time we made it to the highest point in our climb, I wanted to hurl myself off of that mountain. I was so exhausted. If a black bear would have emerged from the woods in that moment,  I probably would have just stood there and let it eat me. I would not have had the energy to do anything else. Oh and it rained. And there were giant bugs swarming around me the entire time. Gotta love the outdoors. Eventually, we made it to the down-hill portion of the hike, thank you Jesus.

We did manage to complete the entire hike, over 6 miles! I know that 6 miles doesn't really sound that impressive, but I learned the hard way that hiking 6 miles on virtually flat land at sea level (Florida-style) is absolutely in no way comparable to hiking 6 miles on a steep incline at an elevation over 3,000 feet. Needless to say, I was a little winded when we got done. I will say that I was pretty proud of myself when I actually finished this hike since it was so challenging. Go me!

Despite all the rain and the part where I thought I was going to keel over and die while hiking, we had an amazing time on our trip. I can't wait to go back to the cabin again soon! 

North Carolina {Day 3}

Our journey in North Carolina continues on Day 3 with some more exploring in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, as well as visiting the towns surrounding the cabin. Read about days 1 and 2 of our trip here - North Carolina {Day 1} and North Carolina {Day 2}.

Saturday, July 6

The towns of Sylva and Dillsboro lie just at the bottom of the mountain down from the cabin.

The favorite store of the Roche family is Dogwood Crafters. Everything in this store is hand-crafted or home-made by the locals.

We visited a local brewery in Sylva to try some of their beers - Heinzelmannchen Brewery

 Back into the mountains for another day of hiking!

As we were getting ready to hike up the mountain, we ran into this little guy. 

This was my first time ever seeing an elk in person and it was really cool. 

We hiked the Mingus Creek Trail along the Oconaluftee River

 This trail was a nice, easy hike compared to our adventures on the Appalachian Trail the day before. 

All of the recent rain was causing the river levels to rise and flood some of the trails. We were only able to hike a little over 2.5 miles on this trail before we had to take a detour due to flooding.

Our hike did lead us to this historic grist mill right along the river. 

 Mingus Mill in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

After completing this hike, we decided to head back to Bryson City for a little happy hour.

We returned to Nantahala Brewing Company because we enjoyed it so much the first time. Rather than go out to dinner, we grabbed a pizza and some growlers from Nantahala and headed back to the cabin.

We spent the remainder of our evening relaxing on the porch swing enjoying the mountain air.  

North Carolina {Day 2}

Our journey in North Carolina continues on Day 2 with some exploring in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Cherokee Indian Reservation and me getting to check an item off of my bucket list! Read about the first day of our trip here - North Carolina {Day 1}.

On to Day 2...warning: this blog post is going to be quite lengthy and photo heavy. On the bright side, it does contain the only photos (two of them to be exact) that Jared and I managed to take together on the entire trip.

Friday, July 5

Friday morning we headed into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for some hiking and exploring. Jared made fun of me for wanting to pose with the National Park sign. I feel like he should have expected nothing less.

 And here is the first of 2 pictures of us together on this trip. 

I'm in two states at once, wooo! Getting ready to check the item off my bucket list! 

One thing that has always been on my lifelong bucket list is to hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail. Let's be honest, there is no way that I'm going to hike all the way from Georgia to Maine, so a small portion of it will have to do.

Here we go! This portion of the Appalachian Trail through the Smoky Mountains is the most challenging section of the entire 2,200 mile trail.

I really enjoyed hiking this trail and getting to check it off my bucket list! 

 Hiking the portion of the Appalachian Trail up to Clingman's Dome

Standing in the observation tower at Clingman's Dome. This is the highest point on the Appalachian Trail at an elevation of 6,643 feet!

Here is photo 2 of 2 of us together. And such a lovely photo of us indeed. Raining, 55 degrees and zero visibility at 6,643 feet. This was definitely not an ideal day for hiking, but we drove all this way up the mountain to get to the trail and there was no way that I was going to back out on completing my bucket list item now. 

 We did it! Maybe next time I'll hike the 1,972 miles to Maine? Yeah, not likely. 

Next item on the agenda, hiking up to Mingo Falls in Cherokee. I love watching the other tourists who come to see these sites. We had to hike up a muddy trail in the rain on the side of a mountain and the family in front of us has their small children in shorts and flip flops, freezing and sliding in the mud almost off the side of the mountain. Seriously? If you are going on vacation in the mountains, invest in boots. 

Mingo Falls, Cherokee, NC

The town of Cherokee is located right down the highway from the cabin, so we passed through there a few times on our trip. One thing I really wanted to do on this vacation was visit the Cherokee Indian Reservation. I know, educational activities on vacation? I'm such a nerd. The real reason I wanted to visit the reservation is because it is part of my heritage. My ancestors on my dad's side of the family were Cherokee Indian.

All throughout the reservation, there are these black bear statues painted with symbols that represent the Cherokee culture.

Look! Jared let me take a picture of him. Bwahaha

We visited the Indian Village where we got to see how the Cherokee people lived long ago and how they preserve their culture in today's modern society. I absolutely loved learning about my heritage.

We had some time before our plans for the evening, so we decided to check out some of the local craft beers. Western North Carolina has quite a few craft breweries, majority of them being in Asheville (we will have to check those out on our next trip), but some of them are in the towns around the cabin. We found a great one in Bryson City, Nantahala Brewing Company. This one may have jumped to the very top of my brewery list as a favorite.

That night, we went to a performance of "Unto These Hills". This drama is performed in an outdoor theater and it tells the story of the Cherokee people. It has been performed in the Smokies every summer for over 60 years and it is a must see if you ever visit this area of North Carolina. The show is very entertaining and heart-wrenching at the same time. I really enjoyed it, especially because I got to learn so much about the Cherokee culture. Overall, it was an amazing day of vacation.