And see our cool friends the Welshes - who actually just moved from Memphis.
Marissa was a YW leader with me. We miss her lots.
Then, it was on to the Smoky Mtns. And you will never guess who we met there. You are dying to know right? Well, it's my best friend from high school - that's right - it was T-bone Buhrley herself. And she is just as funny as I remember her. So, our kids had fun bonding and bouncing off the walls at 11 pm
next morning. mia meets lucy. they were inseparable the rest of the trip.
first hike: Grotto Falls. trumanlee was a maniac hiker. We could barely keep up with him. (He and Luke are only 3 days apart. He totally showed him up with his mad hiking skills)
looking for salamanders
grotto falls
"hey! who said you could take my picture!"
our king snake friend we met on the trail. (evan, is it a king snake?)
Next hike was to Clingman's Dome to watch the sunset. It's the highest point in TN (almost the highest point east of the Mississippi)
on the way up..
(that says appalachian trail)
at the top:
on the way down:
At the cabin...
The next day we hiked around in Cade's Cove. We just happened upon a cave. So that was fun.
Cade's cove - lunch before heading home.
The Smokies is crazy. I was really surprised by the crazy commercialism in the 3 cities heading to the National Park. It's like the strip in Vegas or something. There are neon lights, elvises singing on outdoor stages, high rise go-cart racing, waterparks, museums, mini-golf and of course lots and lots of shopping and hotels. The streets are full of people. And then, all the sudden you enter the park and there is just quiet beauty all around you. It's pretty wild how it's all there for visitors to the mountains but I feel like it's now becoming a destination and people come to party and shop and forget about those one mountains. But oh man, they are truly a sight to see.
Ok, and the last thing I want to say is how much fun we had with the Lee family. They are so great. Mia was so cute with Lucy. And both those kids are just so sweet. Trisha and I stayed up until 3:00 (our 17 year old selves would have been so proud) and she had so many funny stories that made me cry laughing. I love that friend. So a definite highlight for me was the high school silliness all over again.
Oh and speaking of silliness...
Untitled from katiehale on Vimeo.
4 comments:
so much fun! oh my heck i love lucy's facial expressions in all the pictures. she looks so much like joey to me! and like my olivia too. cuteness! and her laugh, oh my! that luke looks like he had a great trip too. you guys have SOOOOO much fun! you are my fun idols. can't wait to see you!
I saw a baby pic of my uncle Cody and he reminded me of Luke. Speaking of similarities, Tricia's husband looks a lot like Mike Malmborg! This trip looks like a blast, but mostly because you guys were on it!
The salamanders are here in our basement. Thanks for those gorgeous pictures full of our favorite gorgeous people
Hi it's me! We had such a great time lilkate! Last night Truman said "I want to go live with Katie." Out of the blue. They mention Luke and Lucy at least twice daily. We love you guys! Thanks for the wonderful memories!
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