An Unexpected Trip

This weekend took an unexpected turn. My uncle passed away on Thursday morning in Georgia and the funeral was to be on Saturday. I quickly found a sub and we arranged for my mother in law to stay with the boys at our house while Tony, Sophie, and I were gone. I didn't want the boys to miss school, Aidan had a soccer game, Andrew had football, and they both had the cub scout boat race on Sunday. Thank goodness Tony was able to go with me. For a brief moment I had considered going by myself, and now that we're home I am so grateful I didn't try to make the drive alone.

Early Friday morning, we loaded up and headed to the deep South. Sophie asked if we were in Georgia when we stopped at the bank, at McDonald's, and when we met Dad and Uncle Steve at the rest area. Then, she fell asleep before we hit Frankfort, Kentucky.

Sophie was a great traveler. Tony and I, maybe not so much. There is absolutely no straight way to get to Helen, Georgia. The last three hours are mountain highways that make you feel as though you are going in circles. No matter where we were on the road, we were always about 18 miles from Cherokee, North Carolina. Now how does that work? Tony and I got a little slap-happy after so many hours in the car and started entertaining ourselves. We decided Sophie's Barbie looked like she might do something unsavory for a living.
We were also highly entertained by the truck carrying radioactive hazardous waste. We passed it a couple times.
I also entertained myself by texting back and forth with my cousin who was just a couple hours behind us, and facebooking with a friend. Sophie was a great traveler. We've been working on pottytraining and she didn't have a single accident.

Of all the amazing places I've had the good fortune to go in my life, I find it hard to remember anything more beautiful than the Appalachian Mountains.
So, around 6:30 (nine hours, five states, three McDonald's and a Cracker Barrel later), we pulled into Clarkesville, Georgia, where my Aunt Connie's farm is. My mom hadn't told her that my cousins and I were coming, so we got to surprise her. I was so glad to see her and happy that we came. We ate some dinner with her and then she walked Sophie around the farm to see the animals while we talked. Sophie loved feeding the geese.
She also liked feeding the cows, but only the "wittle" ones.
At this point, my camera stopped working and I had to rely on my phone for the rest of the trip. About an hour or so after we arrived, my three cousins, their spouses and children drove in. Another surprise reunion ensued. After things settled down we headed back up the road to the hotel. We checked in and Sophie was out like a light.
On Saturday, we didn't have to be anywhere until 1:00. We got up and had breakfast, drove to get gas and ran into Wal-mart. Then we got dressed and headed to church. We arrived about a half hour early only to find that we couldn't get into the building until a little after 1:00. Having a total of five kiddos with us, we needed something to occupy our time. Luckily, Babyland General Hospital - where Cabbage Patch Kids are born - was less than a mile down the road. I have only been to Cleveland, Georgia, once and had forgotten it was even here. Ann and I were so excited to have a few minutes to take the girls.
Of course, we big girls had our picture taken, too. Someone remarked that we were awfully dressed up to come see the Cabbage Patch Kids. We didn't tell her why we were dressed up, but we do look quite nice.

Here's the nursery:
Standing in front of the cabbage patch:
The incubator - Sophie was going to choose her preemie out of there, but they didn't have any girls. We had to buy one in a box, instead, although she still came in a teeny-tiny cabbage.
The nurse who "delivered" the cabbage patch baby. After they're born, they're whisked off to be weighed and measured just like a real baby. Then they're available for adoption.
Here's Sophie and her "cabbage baby". It came with a name, but she insists it is cabbage baby. Since cabbage baby was wearing a cabbage, we also purchased her a purple ballerina outfit that Sophie loves.
We left Babyland General and drove back up the road to the church. There was a reception in the church hall, followed by a funeral Mass. Ann and I were lectors. The Catholic church in Cleveland is beautiful and the Mass very nice. After Mass, we went back to the hotel to change and then headed to Aunt Connie's farm for dinner.

There were lots of friends and family of Uncle Gary at the farm, so after we ate we let the kids play with the animals a minute and then we said goodbye. We decided to drive into Helen for a couple hours before the kids' bedtime. The town is built to resemble a German Alpine villa and they were celebrating Oktoberfest. We hated to say we'd made the trip without at least seeing Helen. We found parking in a bank lot and used the drive-thru ATM as a walk-up.


Tony, Jason, April, and Jon bought themselves a souvenir boot of beer while Ann, Robert and I took the kids into a couple stores. We got some coffee from a little German bakery and then came back to enjoy the music.


On Sunday morning, we all went our separate ways - but different ways than the trip down. Dad and Uncle Steve left at the crack of dawn and took Jason with them so he could get back to Detroit. Tony and I left around 8:30, with plans to return home a different route. Everyone else left around 10:30, while Mom and Aunt Linda decided to stay a few more days. Rather than go around the mountains, Tony and I decided to go through them. The distance is actually shorter, but the time would be longer if it were peak season for Smokies travel. We stopped in Cherokee, North Carolina for a bathroom break and a picture with a Native American bear.
Sophie slept though a large chunk of the Smoky Mountain Park.
We woke her up at the top of Clingman's Dome for a picture.

We also took the obligatory "sign" pictures with her.


We stopped to eat lunch in Gatlinburg. Sophie was in awe. She loved watching the ducks on the river out the restaurant window.
She also liked watching the salt water taffy machine.
And, she loved all the scarecrow decorations around the shops.

Considering our purpose for the trip, we actually had an enjoyable weekend. I really liked spending time with my family. We are so stressed and hurried during holidays that it was nice to be forced to stay in one place together. I'm sorry I didn't take the boys, but both of them won awards at the cub scout Rain Gutter Regatta, so it was good they stayed home. Tony and I thoroughly enjoyed spending some quality time with Sophie, who often gets dragged from pillar to post. She did not want to leave - she wanted to stay in Georgia with Aunt Connie and the cows.

I was so glad to see this sign on I-64 last night!
We pulled in about 7:45. I was in bed and asleep before 9:00. We crammed so much into less than sixty hours, especially since sixteen of them were spent driving. I am grateful that our angels were watching over all 16 of us as we traveled, and I hope everyone will join me in continuing to pray for Aunt Connie.