It's over.

All the anticipation and all the planning for the week that just went by so fast.

Kiki and I got home on Sunday around 3:00 PM.  We left Pittsburgh at 6:15 AM.  We had nothing left to see or do.  In fact the rain followed us and outside of our little stop in DC,  it rained as we got into Pittsburgh.  Which kind of put a damper (literally) on going out for dinner one last time in downtown.   We ate at the nice hotel restaurant instead.

Except for the rainy parts the whole trip was great.  I know I had a blast and we even had fun in the rain.  We were not going to let all day monsoons wreck the whole day.

I expected to butt heads now an then with her and it never happened, we were like two peas in a pod. From a fathers perspective it was more than I could ask for. Spending a week alone with my daughter who is growing up so fast  The singing, joking, laughing and adventures we had, created memories that will last with me the rest of my life.  Stuff I hope she remembers as she grows older as well....

Thanks for following along on our trip.

Cheers!
-Jeff

Videos

Outer Banks in the rain.  Just because it was raining all day we still played in the rain....

A sample of the rain we had all day long

A little clip of our Smokey Mountain horseback ride.

 The mists from Clingmans Dome.

Near the end

After a long and rainy day we hit the road around 7 ish.  A little breakfast and then four hours to Washington DC.

A Very Tired Girl.

I know I push hard.  But life lessons learned.  The best things in life often require some sacrifice. A few hours of sleep is not that hard to give up is it?

Anyway we leave in the rain just like yesterday.  4 states to get through.  The traffic in Virginia is god awful. Seriously,  One after another of 10 minute stoppages for absolutely nothing.  No accidents, no road work no lane changes. It doesn't make much sense to me.   

We get into DC and I pull into the parking structure I had scoped out. What?  It's closed on weekends? What the.....Panic mode starts creeping in.  We drive up 3 blocks and I see 2 spots on the street!  3 blocks from the White House.  Some good fortune for sure.  2 hour plug the meter parking.  OK,  I expect to be here longer and will take my chances with the meter maids.  It's also partly sunny now and man is it humid.  Mackenzie was wearing clothes for 60's not 80's.  Well I will take this over the rain.  We walk to the White House

We hit the Washington Monument

See the Capital from a far

The the reflecting pool, the World War II and Vietnam Memorials.

Finally, the Lincoln Memorial.

These are just some of the pictures. Click the slide show or go HERE for all the photos.  I took some 130 plus, then picked the winners for you. 

We walked about 4 miles in 2 hours and decided that we did not have the legs to see anymore.  The heat and humidity have me sweating pretty heavy.

I would say that to tour DC would require 2 full days minimum.  Lot's to see and lots of walking.   

Here is an idea of what we did and at a fast pace:

The blue is our path,  There is so much more where we went, then all the sights to the east and south. That does not even begin to touch the museums.  

Since we still had another 4 hours of driving to get to Pittsburgh we decided to head back to the car. What do you know -  3 minutes left on the meter.  

We head out to Pittsburgh and arrive around 6:45 PM.  Of course it is raining cats and dogs here.  We get to the room unwind and hit the hotel restaurant because we are just too tired to battle more traffic and rain to go downtown for dinner.  We decide to get up and out as early as possible tomorrow.  It will be a long day for sure but we are ready to come home.  

See you tomorrow!

It was bound to happen

We had such great weather the first 4 days we finally caught up with the rain.  Or It caught up with us?

For a day that was supposed to be all beach and horseback riding it turned into a rain soaked traffic jam.

We had breakfast and headed to the beach to look for the Wild Horses Of Corolla.  Except that there was nothing but wet beach driving and dunes a little too big for my car.  Turn around.  and hear the other way the one road was basically stand still for oh 20 miles.  Then the rain came.  In buckets.  So we still drove on to the national seashore.  Hoping to have it pass over.  And it didn't.  We went to the place we were supposed to have a 2 hour beach horse ride but we agreed to cancel.  The guide would have taken us but it was such heavy rain we would have been cold and miserable for a good portion of the trip.  There was much disappointment, that's for sure.

So we turned around and did what we could the rest of the day.  Hit a historic lighthouse, which was closed due to thunderstorms.

We said what the heck.  Lets do the beach anyway.  So rain be damned we were going to have some fun.

We both have goofy looks on our faces because a giant wave had just went up our backsides.

 We played in the waves and rain for 30 minutes or more, looking for shells to take back.  Soaking wet we got back to the car and dried off, changed into what dry clothes we had. and started going home.  A sour day ended on a nice note.

An early day tomorrow- the long drive back home.  Hopefully with a dry stop in DC and Pittsburgh.

Kiki on the Zip Line

Tomorrow is Friday already?

We must be having fun, because time is flying!

Today was another early day.  I think Kiki would rather have slept in.  I do try to get so much in on these trips.  Sleep is for when you get home.

Horseback riding.  This is where the tables were turned.  I was apprehensive and Kiki was ready to go.

Let me just explain that this is trail riding.  You don't get a lot of interaction with these horses.  They know the trail, take the trail every day and that's all they know.

The trail was very beautiful.  Right along Fontana Lake.  I mean right along but 100 to 300 ft below the trail.  That was probably the hardest part to get used to.  Do we have to walk so damn close to the edge,  I now that's where the dry trail is but its a long way down.

Not to worry.  My horse was 27 years old and her name was Pearl.  She did not like to get muddy or go up (or down) hills much at all.  She did take a lot of coaxing to move along.  The guide said she was like riding in a wheelbarrow with a flat tire.  Incredibly, it was a perfect description.

Mackenzie had Dennis, a spry 29 year old horse who was like a car on cruise control.  I felt bad because she did not have to do one thing with the horse. It didn't eat or stop or veer off the trail.  She was at times not even holding on to anything but tapping her hands on her thighs.

It was a nice 2 hour ride and I thank god I did not opt for the 4 hour ride.  My knees just do not take to being in a saddle that long.  

Stopped again at a McDonald's - because you know the quality of the bathrooms.  Like the food,  its not high quality,  but it is very consistent.  Wash up, change say goodbye to the Smokey's and get back on the road.  The family we rafted with was at the same McDonald's.  Like old friends.  Talked, Kiki got a hug from the girl she sat next to on the raft (Amanda).  Wished them safe travels and we were off (not until I pulled over 100 ft later to shut the WIDE OPEN hatch I forgot to close).

515 Miles and over seven hours later we made it to our next hotel.  Elizabeth City.  The gateway to the Outer Banks.  Ok,  I made that up.  Its the closest hotel without being on the Banks without breaking the bank.  

Kiki finally got some sleep and we had a burger at CookOut  (some huge NC chain) with some shakes.  

Honestly the hamburgers I exactly like I make them, the fries were really good and the 40+ flavors of milkshake were the real reason to get here.  (Banana Nut for me).

Time to get some sleep myself.....zzzzzzzzzz

Wednesday - Batman and Robin

7:00 AM comes fast when you don't get to bed until almost 3:00 AM.

Today is some adventure, more than I even planned to do.

The canopy tour, (i.e. Ziplines), was at 9:00.

Does she look tired?

Both of us were a little unsure of what to expect with this. In the end our fears were unwarranted. Our guides were great, the weather spectacular, the ride fun and views pretty.

When that was over we had a quick bite to eat and then a change of shoes and into the water portion of the day.  Rafting down the Nantahala river.  Unlike the zips, the rafting did not scare me, Kiki however was a little worried again.  We got pared up with another family and set off for about 8 1/2 miles of the river.  Class I, II and III rapids.

It was a blast!  

Before I go on I suggest you click on the slide show in the right hand side here.  ALL the good trip photos are there, not just these few.  

You would think that by 4:00 the day would be over right?  WRONG!  My name is not Julie McCoy and this ain't no cruise!  Seriously, I just used a Love Boat reference.  I am awesome.

We have dinner at the BBQ Wagon.  Not a wagon at all.  Great brisket, really good chicken, ok fries and the slaw and hush puppies should have just stayed behind the counter.  Slaw is so personal and recipes for coleslaw are like opinions.  Everyone's got one and think they have the best.  

ANYWAY...We went back to the hotel to grab some stuff and head back to into the Smokey Mountains National Forest.  Since we did not see it on our drive in (it was after midnight).  

Saw some Elk (see the slide show).  Chatted up the ranger for the best overlooks and photo places.  "Clingmans Dome and Tower" she said.  We went for it. almost 45 minutes later we got to the part where you could not drive anymore.  We got out, I looked around and bam Deja Vu....No, I have been here before. Tracy and I (and Joel) came here on a vacation long ago.  (1996?).  

Kiki and I hiked to the top of the trail, then to the top of the observation deck. Some 6500 ft above sea level. The higest point in the park, the dividing line of Tennessee and North Carolina.  It was overcast and just a hint of sunset. 

(this seems to be the only pose we know)

It was a long a steep hike for sure and well worth it.  We finally got back to the hotel and went to bed.  Tomorrow comes fast around here.