Summer Vacation 2010

We just returned from our road trip summer vacation. This year, we had three destinations and we had a great time at every one of them.

We started out at 4:30 am last Friday morning. We always have some delusional idea that if we get up early enough, Maddy will sleep for the first few hours. Not so. Even though it was still dark, Maddy launched right into her summer reading and was car sick before we even got off the Mass Pike!


Unfortunately, that meant we had to resort to the noisy toys a lot sooner than we would have liked (looking at you, Alphabet Town) but we survived and we all know the words to the entire Wiggles catalog now.

Kidding aside, Maddy is an amazing passenger. We made it to Salem Virginia by Friday afternoon. Then onto our first destination; Blowing Rock, North Carolina by lunchtime on Saturday.

We stayed with some friends in Blowing Rock and we had a great time catching up and taking in the beautiful mountains. On Sunday they took us to Tweetsie Railroad to take a train ride (compete with cowboys and Indians) and to check out the amusement park.


After the train ride, Maddy made a beeline for the ferris wheel. I've never seen her so determined!


There were no bumper cars at this park, so Maddy had to make do with a little race track.


On Monday morning, we left Blowing Rock and pointed the car (down the scariest mountain road I've ever driven on!) towards our next destination, "The Fox's Den" on Norris Lake in Tennessee.


The houseboat was amazing, and very relaxing. Even with Maddy at the helm.


We had so much fun tooling around the lake in the "fast boat".


And it turns out that Maddy is a natural swimmer. After the first day in the lake she quickly figured out how to motor herself around while only inhaling a little lake water.


Bob discovered that he wants to be a Jet Ski Stunt Driver when he grows up. Poor Cody got a lesson in Newton's Second Law. Unfortunately, force really does equal mass times acceleration. Next time he'll hold on tighter, I hope.



After three days on the lake, it was time to head to our final destination; New Haven, KY. Maddy's appetite was HUGE while we were at Grandma's house. Weird.


Grandfather took us for our second train ride of the trip where Maddy regaled us with stories from her days riding the rails as a hobo.


Finally, we had a chance to see a lot of the Fields family on Saturday. It was a beautiful day to catch up with family and sit on a blanket in the shade.


The ride home was nice and uneventful. It was a great trip!