Saint Augustine
A trip to the mountains, lots of pictures, loud music, dancing, and one almost speeding ticket made for a very fun filled weekend. Our weekend was anything but boring! After getting the car packed with all of the luggage, and receiving a much anticipated phone call or two, we hit the road. I had one teenager, one pre-teen, and one 9 year old in the car. The levels of excitement were at an all time high. I don't know which was louder, them or the radio blaring Def Leppard. I was very relieved when Felicia joined us in the car. Finally, another pair of adult hands. Lol. We were running a tad late. Running behind plus my natural lead food equaled an almost speeding ticket. I got LUCKY! Thankfully, the highway patrolman was making a turn and didn't have his radar available. We spent the next 20 or so miles with him pacing me. I have never been so happy to see the N.C. border! Whew! Dodged that one. We made it to Maggie Valley, N.C. just in time and without a ticket. Thankfully, my phone rang again and offered much needed relief from the tension of being paced like that. LolMom met us in Maggie Valley to watch the girls dance. She loves watching them. I think she could sit for hours and do nothing but watch them dance. She HAS! The girls did great! They competed in their first ever acapella solo. Acapella is danced with no music. The judges turn around and they are judged based solely on sound. I was very impressed with how well they did. Morgan forgot her step at the end. Her reaction was hysterical as you can see in the video. All of the dance teams and dancers did really well this weekend. WAY TO GO!!! We also received some AWESOME news while we were there. We have a new little dancer to the studio. Brayden Scott Cassidy was born! Congrats Scott and Missy!
I couldn't leave Maggie Valley without "paying" my respects to the Indian Reservation in Cherokee via Harrah's Casino. Mom had to come home Saturday. She already had a room at Harrah's. So, she gave us her room for the night. That was fun. Courtney spent the night texting us from the jacuzzi tub. Silly girl! Of course, I took advantage of being there and went down stairs to support the local Cherokee economy. I "played" my part in that. Thankfully, some luck was sent my way. I managed to break even. That doesn't happen too often. All in all, a good night ;-)
Our adventures began again bright and early the next morning with breakfast in the hotel; where we lost Courtney's inhaler. Thankfully, we found it. We loaded up the car and headed over the mountain; stopping along the way to take some pictures of the beautiful fall foliage. I was having problems getting good shots out of the car window. I improvised by standing out of the sunroof. Got some great shots, strange looks, and almost hit in the head by an eagle. But, well worth it. The stupid things I do to get a good picture. DOH!!! We stopped off at Clingman's Dome. We attempted to walk up Clingman's Dome. Unfortunately, Courtney was ill with a sinus and upper respiratory infection and got dizzy on the way up. So, we turned around and headed back down. Maybe next time. Hopefully, she will get better soon. Our next adventure led us to Cades Cove. It was BEAUTIFUL! God must be really creative to create something that beautiful. We were AMAZED!!! Nature at it's finest. I took lots more pictures and found a new hiking trail. It took us almost 5 HOURS to make the 11 mile loop. Still, very much worth it. Felicia and I finally made it back to the house with 3 exhausted girls around 8:00 pm. All in all, it was a tiring, busy, exciting, fun, and adventurous weekend. Now, I get to spend the week looking forward to hiking that new trail I found next Saturday. YIPPEEEEEE!!!!
