Vacation- the good, the bad, and the anxiety

The good—

So much good it is hard to include it all!  In addition to the train ride, we loved—

• ·        Visiting the Amicalola Waterfall- the tallest cascading falls east of the Mississippi River.  We had to descend over 600 steps to get the full experience, but it was worth it-- gorgeous!

• ·         Driving the “tail of the dragon”- a road famous (amongst motorcyclists, at least) for its 318 turns in 11 miles.  Even in a minivan, Tim said it was fun to drive.

• ·         Hiking the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest and seeing the amazing old growth forest.  This was one of the 101 Things You Gotta See Before You’re 12 from one of our favorite books, so we added it to our vacation itinerary just so we could say we did it.  It turned out to be a really cool opportunity to see some very majestic trees.  It was also a nearly perfect mountain hike for a family- not too strenuous, not too long and we were blessed with absolutely beautiful weather to enjoy the sights all along the way.

hiking through the old growth forest

• ·         Strawberry picking- We could go strawberry picking at home in Florida but we never have and this was a sort of spur of the moment decision on a day we had other plans but weren’t sure the weather was going to cooperate.   Looking at the cloudy gray sky, we scrapped the original plan and set off for the biggest apple orchard in Georgia.   Since, it was waaaay too early in the year for apples, the orchard was offering strawberry picking along with a tour of the farm.  The day turned out to be ideal- the clouds blew over and the sun came out and we thoroughly enjoyed tasting and picking strawberries in the bright green fields.  Then we got the chance to visit the tasting room where Tim and I sampled some hard cider and the kids sampled some regular cider.  We spent lots of money on treats and souvenirs and took a million pictures and a few days later, I made some delicious strawberry quick bread out of what was left of our bounty.

Mercier Orchards

The bad—

Not too much to report, our vacation was mostly good.

• ·         We did find three scorpions in our cabin.  Only one of them was still alive at the time but it was still a little unnerving to know they were creeping about….

• ·         We did not see a bear- or much other wildlife for that matter.  This may have been probably was a very good thing really, but we were disappointed because the idea of coming face-to-face with a real live bear in his natural habitat sounded very cool.

• ·         On our last night, my oldest got a bit sick.  She turned green, threw up once, and then, soon after, started feeling better.  She was not quite back to normal when we left for home the next morning but as the day (and the drive) progressed she improved until she was feeling fine when we arrived home.

• ·         There was one other bad experience but I’ll share on that more later…..

And now, the anxiety—

Since everything on our week away was really pretty wonderful it seems there was no reason to have any anxiety at all and really, there wasn’t.   Yet…. for some reason, I was hit with overwhelming irrational anxiety on more than one occasion even as we explored and enjoyed and experienced all the Blue Ridge Mountains had to offer.  It was fun and I was joyful and grateful that we were on vacation but there was an unmistakable, unavoidable nagging feeling that something horrible could be lurking in our near future.

• It started with a casual conversation………..One day, as we walked in the woods with the children, Tim and I talked about a family he knew of who had recently lost their vacation cabin in the mountains of North Carolina to a fire.  Their cabin, according to Tim, was much like the one we were staying in- tucked far back in the mountains, only accessible through a sometimes steep, always winding, one lane gravel road. 

That cabin, once it started burning, had no hope.  Emergency vehicles would not even   attempt to get to it to extinguish the flames because it was not safe, or even possible, to get fire trucks out on those roads.  It burned to the ground, thankfully with no one in it.  Suddenly, our remote rental cabin seemed not quite so cozy. 

Our cabin- all made of wood!

The winding, one-lane, gravel road to our cabin

The steep driveway up to the cabin

• Then that afternoon, we checked the weather channel to see what the rest of our week would be like and we heard of the horrible tornados that ripped through Oklahoma, leveling whole neighborhoods and killing innocent people.   We saw footage from the storms’ aftermath and our hearts broke as we saw the devastation and destruction. 

• It was not too long after that that a wicked storm hit.  In the pitch black of the middle of the night, thunder boomed loudly overhead and streaks of lightning lit up the sky all around our little log house.  I lay in bed for a while with visions of lightning strikes and out-of-control forest fires raging through the woods around us filling my over active mind.  I pictured our van slowly rolling down the super steep driveway, gradually gaining momentum until it careened down the side of the mountain crashing violently into the creek at the bottom of the valley. 

After that I had to get up. 

I checked the car first, but it was sitting securely at the top of the driveway, not budging an inch even in the torrential rain and crazy thunder and lightning.   I still couldn’t calm my fears or get those horrific images out of my head though.  I turned the T.V. on and watched HGTV until the storm finally subsided and my heart stopped racing.  It was after 2 a.m. when I finally drifted off to sleep, only to be plagued by strange dreams the rest of the night.

• Another day just as we set off for a day of fun, I had a minor panic attack prompted by the thought, “What if I forgot to turn off the stove after heating the water for my hot chocolate?!?!?!?!?!”  There was no reason to believe that I had forgotten to turn off the stove but, for the life of me, I could not remember doing it.  Tim was sure we would have noticed the burner being left on and we were far enough away from the cabin at that point that it would have been terribly inconvenient to go back to double check, so we didn’t.  But the rest of that day, as we kept busy with touristy things, I had the nagging worry in the back of my mind—what if?!?!?!?!  (Incidentally, when we did return to the cabin that evening, all was fine, the stove was off, the house still stood solid and safe).

I’m not sure where the anxiety came from- was it really just a product of my over-active imagination?  Was it the devil attacking and trying to sabotage our week of family fun?  Whatever the cause, I did my best not to let it ruin everything.  After all, there was no reason to be worried, all was going so well…. 

at least, until our tubing adventure on the last day of our trip….(more on that tomorrow…) 

Our day on the train

When I asked each of my children what their top 3 activities from our vacation were, they all agreed that the train ride was tops.  The Blue Ridge Scenic Railroad starts right in the center of historic downtown Blue Ridge and rambles along chugging slowly through the gorgeous mountain countryside to the neighboring cities of McCaysville, GA and Copperhill, TN. 

            The train itself is a  mish-mash of old train cars collected from all over, each with a story all its own.  The car we traveled in, for example, car 332, was the last of the “Jim Crow” cars from the days of the segregated south.  Another was from the 1920’s and was decorated with a "theatre" theme.  And a slightly run-down musty-smelling car was from the 1960’s though it seemed much older.  Each car was so interesting that we ended up walking along the entire length of the train going in and out between cars to check them all out as the track scuttled by beneath us.

            The train ride lasted about an hour and traversed only about 26 miles but we all enjoyed the experience.  I personally hate the term “bucket list” because the idea of a list of things to do before I “kick the bucket” seems crass and dispiriting to me, but if I were ever to make a list of experiences I wanted to have in life- riding a train would definitely be on the list.

            During our ride, we got our first real taste of southern hospitality too.  The train attendants were all so friendly and eager to chat.  We spent much of our ride learning more about the area from the local residents.  We heard about bear tracks in the backyard and about the fun of working on the train and about the land along the way and the families who had first settled there.  We smiled at the accents of our “tour guides”- true southern drawls.  And, of course, we enjoyed the spectacular scenery that flew by just beyond our comfy train seats.

            The final destination unfortunately had little to offer- just a few old shops and a very disappointing lunch at the so-called Irish Pub.  But we did get the chance to stand in two different states at one time and to taste cupcakes that had won the Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” back in September 2012.  (Cupcake Wars is a favorite show of ours on the rare occasion that we get access to cable television.) 

It was our first full day of vacation and we had a whole week of fun to anticipate.  And we had the train ride back to Blue Ridge to look forward to also.  So, on our “layover” we made our own fun.   All in all-- it was a great day and a very cool experience.

Tubes, trains, and automoblies

I love a good road trip.  It may sound crazy but piling into the car with my husband and our five kids really is fun for me.   There is just something incredibly cozy and comforting about having all the people I love most all squashed together in a little space on our way to someplace new and exciting. 

Last week, all seven of us climbed into the minivan and set off for the breath-taking Blue Ridge Mountains of north Georgia.  It was a nine hour drive that left us surrounded by the stunning glory of God’s beautiful creation.   We stayed in a remote mountain cabin that we had booked online but turned out to be absolutely perfect for us.  There was not another soul in sight and we had four bedrooms, three bathrooms and a hot tub all to ourselves for the week.  In addition to the awesome hot tub, there was an indoor fireplace and an outside fire pit and the woods and creek all around to give us the perfect mountain vacation.  What we didn't have was any access to the internet- but somehow, we didn't miss that at all!

We stayed six nights and had lots of adventures but honestly, I am still recovering from all the excitement and the thought of recording all our memories here sort of exhausts me.  I want to share our vacation experiences and I want to remember all the fun we had so I will get to it all in time, but for now……..here are a few pictures…. and a promise--- I will explain more on the “tubes” and the “train” as soon as I find the energy and motivation to document it all….  

Our cabin

Another view of our cabin

A beautiful mountain stream

At the Joyce Kilmer old growth forest

Amicalola Falls

We took about 270 more pictures than this but I won't bore you with ALL of them.

This just proves it!

           A few days ago I wrote about how I can’t really call myself a writer because my writing “career” ultimately takes a backseat to my role as a mother, despite my best intentions to give both priorities 100%.  Anyway….. this weekend I had the perfect experience to illustrate and drive home my own point- that no matter how much I want to call myself a writer- I am really a mom who writes.

            Saturday morning I went to my first “book signing”/ “book selling” event.  It was the joint Walk for Life fund-raiser for two local crisis pregnancy centers (check out this link and this one to help support their beautiful ministries).  I was allowed to set up a table and display and sell my book as a way to help promote the pro-life movement and to help support the centers in their work.  

            I worked hard all week (with a lot of help from my oldest daughter) putting together my poster and flyer and planning what my table would look like.  I got up early in the morning to get everything ready and set up for the start of the event at 8 a.m.  Tim and I had dragged the kids out of bed early too and brought them along for the super family-friendly event.

            It was really a wonderful morning.  I met lots of new people.  I shared my novel and its pro-life message.  I made some new connections, one that will possibly lead to my book being featured in another magazine soon.   (It was already in the February/March issue of Catholic Digest.)  I even sold a few books!  

            My children got to see lots of adorable babies.  They got to play in the bounce house and check out the carnival games and play on the playground.  They participated in the walk, racing around the beautiful lake in the center of the park. 

            It was all great.  But…. at one point my three year old daughter looked at me and said, “Mommy, I have to go potty.”  I looked at Tim but could tell he was not interested in accompanying our little one to the port-a-potties in the back corner of the park.  So, I asked him to cover the table for me and took my daughter to the bathroom.  But she took one look at the facilities and decided she didn’t really have to go after all.   I didn’t blame her- port-a-potties are always a little stinky and scary and gross, especially when you're only three years old. 

            It came as no surprise that a little while later she looked at me with horror in her eyes and said only one word, “Mommmmy!”  I knew what that look and that single word meant, and sure enough, a puddle was slowly forming beneath her.  Luckily, the event was outside.  The puddle was in the dirt.  She was wearing a dress that was, for the most part, still dry and clean.  And no one else seemed to see what had happened.  

But, the irony of it all was not lost on me.

            Here was my chance to be a professional, successful author- promoting my first novel and helping to spread its pro-life, pro-family message in my community.  But while I did so, I had to be careful to dodge the wet spot just behind my beautiful display table.  

An author?  Yes.   

Professional?  Sort of.  

 Successful?  I suppose, in many ways…… 

But ultimately and always AND MOST IMPORTANTLY— A mommy (who writes, when she can).