Apples & Chalkdust: July 2007

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Major Announcements

1 comments Posted by Anonymous at 6:21 AM

I have eight minutes before I'm off to my last day of Master's classes! And I have plenty of news to share.

On July 3, we found out that Ella is going to be a sister in March . . . or since she was so early, it could even be the end of January/beginning of February.

Last Friday, I met with the superintendent at Bunker to discuss the possibility of an administrative position in their district. She offered me the position of special ed director/A+ coordinator/assistant principal. I accepted and received my contract on Tuesday.

As part of the job change, we're going to have to relocate. We put a sign in the front yard on Monday, and as of Wednesday afternoon, we've had three offers on the house. Unfortunately, I can't get the bank and their broker to value it at what the offers have been, so that's my biggest headache right now. However, the last people who made an offer have cash, so we may not need to worry about it!

Tomorrow on my way to Columbia, I'm meeting with a guy in St. Louis to discuss some land that he has in Annapolis. We've looked at the land, and we just have to pick out the piece that we want. We're meeting him at the land on Monday to make our final decision and hopefully make a deposit and sign a contract.

On Tuesday, we went to Gifford's to pick out a house. We have it ready to order as soon as we close on this house!!!

Gotta go!!!

Monday, July 02, 2007

Day Ten - Homeward Bound

1 comments Posted by Anonymous at 8:54 AM

Checkout was 11:00 am on Saturday, but we all agreed that it was too early to leave the mountains. After all, we still had a few things we wanted to do - like drive through the park, go to Clingman's Dome, and see waterfalls. Two years ago when we returned from our honeymoon, Jessica and I ate lunch at Joe's Crabshack in Asheville late in the afternoon. We left North Carolina at 4:00 PM and made it home around midnight. With that in mind, I suggested that we hang around the area until somewhere around three or four and try to be on the road as soon as possible after that.

We made our check-out time with about ten minutes to spare. After a phone call to the reservations office to tell them we were out and to report a few problems we had found (jacuzzi not working, dead phone, and staples in the carpet on the stairs), we no longer had a cabin to go home to, and we were officially homeward bound. We just didn't have any idea which way we'd go.

We stopped a few times to discuss which route to take (depending on what waterfall(s) we wanted to see) and where to eat (when we realized it was almost noon and we were about to leave civilization for at least four hours). We decided to have lunch at the Old Mill again - it was cheap and the portions were large enough to give us enough strength to make it to the top of Clingman's Dome. We were finally ready to leave Pigeon Forge around 1 PM. Not much time to make it through the whole park!

The whole drive had to be rushed because time was still ticking away. We avoided most of the pull-offs along Newfound Gap Road, and we couldn't stay long at Newfound Gap. Just past the Tennessee/North Carolina state line, the road to the right leads up the mountain to Clingman's Dome - the highest point in the Smoky Mountains. When we made it to the top, we couldn't find James and Jennifer anywhere. They had either missed the turn or done a great job losing us without telling us they wanted to separate! By the time we had Ella unloaded and our shoes changed, we saw them come around the corner. Yep - they had missed the turn!

The half-mile trek up the side of the mountain, though on a paved sidewalk, is treacherous when attempted alone. It's made even worse when you add strollers. Benches along the way provided chances to catch our breath. Once we reached the top of the mountain, a spiraling concrete ramp delivered us to the top of the lookout tower.

When we left the cabin, the temperature was starting to rise and the humidity was becoming unbearable. At over 6,600 feet above sea level, it was a chilly 59 degrees, and the mist of clouds pushed through, brushing our faces as we gazed at lakes and mountain peaks miles away. The experience made it worth the pain we were feeling in our legs.

We left the top of the mountain close to three, and we quickly realized we weren't going to be on the road by four. We finished the drive through the park, coming out in Cherokee, and went to Mingo Falls, just outside of town. I took the opportunity to take a lot of pictures of the large fall and the stream that trickled down the hill, beside the trail.

Before leaving Cherokee, we ate at Paul's Restaurant . . . a small hometown-type steak and burger joint. It was nice to see prices closer to $5.00 after growing accustomed to $20.00 meals. After a final stop for souvenirs on the edge of town, we left Cherokee at 7:40, headed up highway 19 toward Maggie Valley, then hit 276 to the interstate. An hour later, we were back in Tennessee.

A few showers along the way were expected - after all, it had rained seven of the eight days we were in the mountains. I love driving at night because there is less traffic and it is a lot cooler in the dark. I hate driving in rain at night, so I was glad that, the few times we did hit rain, it didn't last long. After over 500 miles, two tanks of gas, four stops, and nine hours, we pulled into the driveway at 4:20 AM on Sunday.

Final picture count: 1410

The Traditional Sign Picture

Clouds Rolling In - Atop Clingman's Dome

Highest Point in the Smokies

The Clingman's Dome Tower

A View from the Clingman's Dome Trail

Mingo Falls

The Trickling Stream

Sunset in Maggie Valley, NC

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Day Nine - Go Carts & Waterfalls

0 comments Posted by Anonymous at 1:45 PM

With the hours quickly ticking away and the to-do lists still looming overhead, we decided to tackle at least one together, so we headed out to find some amusement attractions and waterfalls. Between the heat and humidity, it wasn't the best day for outdoor fun, but it was our last chance for it.

Kids Country and The Track are just right across Parkway from the road to our cabin. We decided to start there to let the kids have a little fun . . . both the young kids and the old ones. We looked around and figured out we'd need to buy tickets for the rides - just like at the Azalea Festival. We assumed tickets would be a dollar or less . . . thinking a dollar would be a little expensive, but we were willing to pay it. Imagine my shock when I saw that ONE ticket cost $2.69! The kid rides took one ticket, and the go carts took 3. It didn't take long to realize this was going to be some expensive entertainment, and that the aquarium really was a great deal!

A six-pack of tickets provided a small discount, but the 11.5% tax quickly took care of that. Apparently there's a 2% amusement tax added to the already-high 9.5% state and local sales taxes. No matter where we turn, it seems like someone's always eager to take our money!

The girls enjoyed a few of the smaller rides. Ella rode the swings all by herself, and I rode the carousel and train with her. Then James, Julianna and I rode the Wild Woody - go carts that climb and descend a three-story spiral, loop around outside on a concrete portion of track, and then climb and descend the spiral again. I was second out of the starting lane, and quickly started battling for first. The boys directly in front of and behind me were apparently together, and once the one behind me would pass, he would try to pass the other, but never could make it. Then I'd pass him, but I never could get around the first one, either. Finally, while they were fighting for first place, I made it around both of them and quickly passed a couple more cars, including James and Julianna. Because I made it that far, I ended up getting an extra lap!

We finally made it to the Old Mill for lunch. Their turkey and dressing is awesome, and their lunch prices are just as irresistible. After lunch, Jessica, Ella and I spent some time shopping at some of the stores - the Old Mill General Store, the Toy Bin, the candy store - while James, Jennifer and the girls went back to the cabin for a nap.

Sometime in the afternoon, we all headed out to explore some waterfalls . . . separately. James and Jennifer had already been to Laurel Falls, and I wanted to go there. So they headed out with their book to find some roadside falls, and Jessica and I stopped at the visitor center to try to find a waterfall map or book. I bought a two-book/two-map pack that seems to have everything you could want to know about what's available in the park. I told Jessica that she could choose where we'd go, and she had the trip through Gatlinburg to decide. By the time we were half-way through town, she had found Cascade Falls, which was supposed to be just a short walk from Sugarlands visitor center. We decided that would be a good place to start.

When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw the Equinox - apparently we'd chosen the same falls! Near the end of our "short" (it turned out a little longer than we'd expected) walk to the falls, I could hear Julianna talking. Once we had pictures taken and were ready to head back, we decided to travel together and look for some easy-access roadside falls . . . especially since dusk was quickly approaching.

The next couple of hours provided a couple of great opportunities to see some small falls in a short amount of time, and the journey took us just a few miles from a return visit to Cades Cove. We exited the park at Townsend - fifteen miles from Pigeon Forge. If you ever need it . . . there's a gas station about two miles from Little River Road as you're heading to Cades Cove, where the road splits and heads to Townsend. It was a very welcome sight since I had no idea where I'd be able to fill up and my light was about to come on.

Another late night . . . we had pizza when we got back to the cabin - sometime around ten. Jessica and I worked on packing as much as we could, and I spent some time in the hot tub before finally going to bed sometime after midnight.