NC Bound!!!

We left for NC at 10:00pm Friday night.  I drove until 3:00 and then Eric drove the rest of the way.  There was some serious lightning going on the WHOLE time I drove.  It stormed once in Ann Arbor but that was it.  The kids did AMAZING.  B and J each woke up crying once.  Adelyn woke up when we switched drivers, B and J did not.  Then everybody woke up at 7.  We stopped at Tuder's Biscuit World in West Virginia.  Last time Josh came home he told me he was stopping there and he typed it Tooter's Biscuit World (or it auto corrected to that..)  I wanted to know where in the WORLD he was stopping.  After all it is in WV.  Enough said.  Then I googled it before we left and found out, it in fact, was a chain AND spelled Tuder's.  Ha.  After breakfast we continued on our way to Pilot Mountain just inside NC.  It's not exactly huge compared to some mountains but I thought it would be a great place to strap on our hiking boots and get out some energy.  It was.  We drove to the top and walked around a cement sidewalk.  We thought it was the trail we wanted to take but after we were done, and loudly proclaiming it was dumb that we just "hiked" on a sidewalk, we found the actual trail we wanted to take.

The kids at the top of the mountain.  I think Eric sprouted about 40 more gray hairs.  He was convinced I put a postage stamp on the kids bodies and delivered them to the base myself.  His words, not mine.

Eric and his typical stare off into nowhere expression.  I was bummed not to get more pictures of the top of the mountain.  But like I said,  E was freaking out.  You can kinda see the fence behind him and he was appalled they didn't have chicken wire across the slats.  I told him it would take away from the view.  He said he didn't care.

When we found the actual place we wanted to hike Eric's helicopter blades slightly decreased their whirring.  **At least he cares about his kids** Over and out.  But I can still poke fun ;)

The kids and daddy in front of one of the HUGE peaks.

 

 This adorable, REALLY bored, little old lady wanted to take our family picture.  We obliged and we are pretty cute, if I do say so myself.  She chatted our ear off for 20 minutes.  Not even joking.  And is the first person to EVER think that Adelyn was younger than what she is.  She thought she was 3.  HA.  She then made me feel like a good homeschooling mom because Adelyn promptly spelled her name for her and informed her she was from Zeeland, Michigan.  And also rattled off my phone number.  So the little old lady can steal my identity.  The lady thought Adelyn was SO smart and well mannered.

 We went hiking for 2 hours and then headed the rest of the way to Cherry Point.  It was exactly 4 hours.  I was hoping B and J would sleep for 2 of those 4.  Internally laughing at myself because they usually never sleep for more than an hour in the car.  They slept for 3 hours.  Count it *3*.  That was amazing.  And so did I...since I didn't sleep, at all, at night.  Eric was politely informed that next time he drives through the mountains at night he can take a slower rate of speed.

Our hotel.  We stayed at the TEQ last time.  It was a typical hotel room.  2 beds, 1 bathroom.  They just opened the TOQ up to the public.  It used to be for Officers only.  It has a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room with pullout bed.  To give you an idea of how big our room was we have the 5 windows over the middle door.

The kids' bedroom.  Adelyn slept on the bed.  Brecken slept on an air mattress between the wall and the bed.  Joelle slept on an air mattress in the closet.  Don't poke fun.  We put a sound machine in there and everything.  She thought it was great.

The kitchen.  A fridge and a coffee pot.  And a microwave.  The essentials in life.

On our way back, the first night, the kids discovered the door covered in tree frogs.  They all thought they were pretty cool.

Treeeeee frogs.

 

 So thankful we got into the TOQ.  Much larger room and it made for a much easier bedtime.  And Eric and I weren't forced to sit in the dark.