Sunday, October 16, 2011: Elkmont, TN, to Avon, NC (609 miles)

The kids were awake and giggling and setting off the car alarm much too early in the morning. It was impossible to quell their energy and giddiness! We set about making a pancake and bacon breakfast and finding the bathrooms. I brought the BWCA cooking gear and it all fit nicely in a small backpack. That was fun!

Eventually it was time to pack up the tent and re-pack the car. Hubby apparently told the "squiggliest" kids (numbers 2 and 3) to go take a walk, since they were bursting out of our camp area with energy. (NOTE, I would learn later that hubby did not define the area to be walked, the time limit on the walk, or any other restrictions for a 9 and 11 year old, new to this place.)

Car packed up an hour later, nice fall pictures taken of me, eldest kiddo, and hubby against the fall leaf background in our site. Now - where are those littlest two rascals? NOWHERE to be seen. I walked and drove the L loop, the J loop, the K loop, the M loop and the N loop. No sign of them. Checked the bathrooms, came up empty. OK, either they broke out to a completely different area of camp, or they were in the river. My money was on the river, and sure enough hubby came dragging back two cold wet kiddos, minus one sneaker... and off we went. Turns out son soaked himself (in jeans) trying to rescue said sneaker, but he just couldn't get to it fast enough and downstream it went. Apologies for failing to "leave no trace"!

First stop in Smoky Mountain National Park (SMNP) today? Laurel Falls. The parking area for this attraction was a short distance from the campsite. The kids had just gotten settled in their seats, and then it was time to stop. They heard it was a 3 mile hike and the whining began. Up to this point, I had not been certain the time for hiking to the falls was appropriate, given our desire to get to the coast and start the family gathering part of the trip. BUT, hearing the whining and seeing a lack of cooperation from the kids of course just cemented my desire to see the waterfall. One kiddo ended up sitting on the curb with dad, finding out just how exciting it was NOT to hike after all.

The other two came with me - eldest was off like a shot. If she had to do this, she was gonna do it HER way and NOT be seen with her family. Middle kiddo (son) started walking like a senior citizen, complaining about his wet jeans not letting him walk properly and me walking too fast (huh?). So it went on our hike through the Smoky Mountain woods. It was all uphill to the falls... just about 2 miles from the parking place we got down the road. It took almost the whole 2 miles to get son's attitude adjustment in place, but eventually I had my good-natured kiddo back and we enjoyed the walk. Well, almost all of it...

I had to pee. I was in the woods. You would think the answer would be easy. But no, I was in the woods with about 1,000 other people on the exact same single-track path. Mountainside UP to the right, and mountainside DOWN to the left, not exactly easy to sneak off and "do your business". So I started being very conscious of the hikers ahead and behind us and we finally got to a spot where I thought the hikers behind us couldn't catch up before the curve that offered some privacy, and the view ahead of us was screened just enough that I thought I had time to take care of things. Son was horrified - NOOOOOOOO! he shouted as I "dropped trou" against his wishes. But - I made it!! No one came from ahead and the hikers behind didn't catch up, although I wonder what they thought of the wet asphalt on a sunny day...

At the "end of the trail", the Laurel Falls were lovely if unimpressive at this time of year. But the mission of making a parental point was accomplished and we three returned to the car in sunnier spirits, ready for the next stop. Kiddo and dad at the car had also had an attitude adjustment, so in blessed harmony we proceeded one more mile to a traffic jam at the Sugarlands visitor center. A quick stop to stamp our National Park passports, hit the rest room, pick up some books at the gift shop, and we were off to Clingman's Dome.

The Smoky Mountain National Park is bisected by a highway that climbs to the tallest part of the park and then descends into the park's NC side. The tallest peak is at "Clingman's Dome" where there is an observation tower enabling you to look around for miles and miles across probably at least three states. It is the THIRD highest peak in our country east of the Mississippi River (over 6,000 feet). I remember this place from a visit in my own youth and have it commemorated in old time photos. As we head there now in 2011 with my three kids, there is a major traffic jam beginning miles before the observation tower. As cars entered the attraction area, they simply took whatever parking opened up as they crawled through the line. As luck would have it, we nabbed a spot right near the trailhead to the observation tower, a half mile and estimated 30 minutes away (uphill again).

Initially this site was on my "must have" list. I wanted to be at that peak and look out over 3 states and put one foot in TN and another in NC and take pics of my kids where I was with my own parents. Funny how things change given the context. Here we were at maybe my number one objective in SMNP, it was late in the afternoon and we were due on the other side of NC as soon as possible to meet my family. And I had to pee. The line for the biffies was maybe 20 people long itself and with people crawling all over rocks and trails, it didn't appear an easy woods getaway was gonna be possible. Hmmmmm, 30 minute hike uphill with the crowds (and back)? or 20 minute wait at the biffy. I opted for the biffy. I opted to pee in a biffy over taking my kids up to the third highest peak in the eastern USA. Someone needs to get out the "Bad Parent of the Month" award. But there you have it. The kids were gleeful - one kept reading her book, one started mountain climbing the rocks near the parked car, and one came "dancing" with me to the biffy. Hubby crawled into the back seat for a nap. Some tourists we are. We peed, took a picture, and left.

Next stop? Cherokee, NC for another visitor center. Littlest kiddo was frantically working on her Junior Ranger packet, eldest was bemoaning that we were flying past fantastic vistas and overlooks at whatever speed the crazy traffic would allow, and middle kiddo was snoring. Upon arrival at the visitor center, kiddo made a deal with the Ranger on duty - she would go visit the historical farm and come back and answer questions about it as a replacement for the required "ranger-led" activity which we had no time for. Off she scampered to check out the chickens in the farm yard, while the rest of us sat on an amazing deck looking out at a beautiful field in the shadow of a mountain. We stamped our passports, added a Junior Ranger badge to the collection, dropped another wad of cash for books in the gift store (Cherokee voices and other Native American stories), and were on our way again.

The next stop was SUPPOSED to be a place called "Sliding Rock". Again from my trip as a youth, it is a cool 60 foot slide down a mountain rock into a COLD pool of water. Thinking of JB and his cold water test, made me wonder why no one has had a heart attack there over the years - I remember that water as frigid! Alas, we were losing daylight fast. The sun sinks early in the mountains, and as we exited the park I knew it would be a close call. We headed East on the Blue Ridge Parkway and left the national park traffic behind. The views were simply breathtaking. Having spent years of my life in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina, I was LOVING the reconnection to the hills. We pulled over at a couple rest areas for pictures, and had a picnic dinner and played football at one. Sliding Rock would have to wait for another year, there was just no fun in racing through this beautiful spot when we hit it at sunset and could watch the change in colors in peace and serene beauty. THESE were the Smoky Mountains!

When it was too dark for pictures, we were all fed, peed, and footballed out, we climbed in the car to begin the rest of the trip to the shore. The kids had a plan that Mom should rest while Dad drove and then Mom should drive while Dad slept, etc. until we got there. NO HOTEL tonight. Without any promises, we scooted off the Parkway and found our way to a highway and started making time. I took the wheel at 10pm somewhere before Winston-Salem. With a full-ish moon hanging yellow over the road and sides of the highway lined with pines, I set the cruise control, put on some earphones and got into a groove. I passed many an exit I remembered from my UNC college days wayyyyyy back when. No time to stop though, just keep on trucking. Bye Durham, Bye Chapel Hill, Bye Raleigh... the mountains faded into hills and curves and then started straightening out east of Raleigh. Earth started getting "sandier" and less rocky. I was sad that the transformation was going to be invisible to the kids who were learning about "land forms" in school. The transition would have been a good lesson. I was glad that everyone was sleeping peacefully and I had quiet and calm to myself. About 2:30am it was time for a potty break. Littlest kiddo woke up and joined me, but then as she realized we really WERE going to go the whole way, she was just TOOOOOOO excited to sleep. She was also too excited to let ME sleep, as hubby took the wheel with two hours to go.

Frankly, I was too excited also, now that we were getting near the ocean. The road through the Outer Banks (OBX) had been destroyed in 4 places with hurricane Irene earlier this year. They crews raced to repair it all, as residents and visitors used a ferry to access the island our rental home was on... The full road had opened exactly one week before we were driving on it, and repairs included placing a pre-made bridge over a new channel between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound. I was curious to see the hurricane damage and interested to see how they had patched the road back together. We passed piles of debris stacked up for removal by the side of the road, and the new pieces of highway were evident. I crossed my fingers as we crossed the new bridge, and it held!

At 4:30am we pulled into Avon, NC and the beach house on the ocean we had rented together with my family. After grandma let us in, the kids scuffled a bit over which rooms to take, and we all finally went to sleep. Now the real vacation could begin.