Alabama Days 1, 2, & 3 - On the Road Again

It has been so long since I've written here! Because of Covid we haven't been able to go on any big trips and we have missed it. Poor James has been desperate to go anywhere. Last year, right before Covid closed everything down, we had plans to go visit friends in Chicago. So this time we are driving to Alabama to visit some of those same friends. 

Ready to set out on our first trip in forever!

Christian found this flower for my hair 

Because it is such a long drive we decided to do it in three days and to save money we planned to stay in cheap hotels. This was a huge mistake and an utter failure. I had hoped for outdated and worn hotels, but what we got on both Friday and Saturday were hotels that been barely cleaned. 

On Friday we left around 1pm and made it to Allentown, PA without much incident. James had made chicken caesar wraps for us the night before and we'd packed cheese and crackers so for most of this trip we've been able to avoid fast food and long stops. We arrived in Allentown around 9ish and managed to find our hotel hidden behind empty buildings. The parking lot was deserted which is never a good sign but the woman at the desk was very friendly. Although shortly after we left the lobby she called us back so that she could run ahead to "check the room to make sure no one is already staying there". She returned a little later holding a bag of trash and to let us know that the room was clear. That plus the state of the bathroom made me nervous about the cleanliness of the room so I spent the whole time trying not to touch things. 

The second day was our longest drive but we were eager to get out of the room and on the road. And while long, the drive was beautiful. The rolling hills of PA, the mountains of VA and TN all provided us with stunning views. And cows. We saw lots and lots of cows. We made such good time that we were able to make a detour to Pigeon Forge in TN. Pigeon Forge is a tourist town, sort of like a big fair midway with rides and attractions all up and down the road. We saw a couple upside down buildings and lots and lots of huge establishments offering dinner and a show. Although the strangest store we saw was called Goats on the Roof which appeared, from the car, to sell clothes and also had live goats? I wish we'd been able to check it out! 

Why goats??

But time was short and we had our eyes on go kart racing. There were a ton of options to choose from but we found an elevated track that was the most fun! It was by far the best track we'd ever been on. On the ride down the hill James caught air! And Will learned how to drift! I was riding with Christian who was two inches too short to drive himself. Much to his disappointment! But he was great fun as a passenger. The whole time he was yelling, "Faster!", "Pass them!", "Kill them!", "Hit the gas!" It was hilarious and adorable. 

Jon is ready to race

One of the hills down

The elevated track

After our exhilarating race we went to the Jr track to cheer on Christian who unfortunately had to race alone. Then the kids got to spend a little while at the arcade but very soon it was time to move on. But we could have spent a lot of time and money there. 

Christian driving his kart

After Pigeon Forge we found our hotel on the outskirts of Knoxville. At first I was encouraged by the full parking lot but the experience at the front desk quickly had me concerned. We should have left when we saw the room. I knew right away that we shouldn't have stayed. But James was exhausted. But this place made all my fears about cleanliness in the previous hotel seem foolish. Huge stains on the chair, countless holes burned into the blankets, and the bathroom... We should have left. But it was late and we were exhausted. So instead we spent the night wearing as many clothes as possible (and I wore shoes except when lying down) and trying hard to sleep. But I couldn't sleep well because of the (hopefully imaginary) feeling of bugs crawling all over me. 

On the plus side, we packed one duffel bag specifically for our nights at the hotel. That was hugely helpful because it meant we could leave almost everything in the car and it made getting out in the morning much faster. And it also means that now I only have to wash a fraction of our clothes to kill potential bed bugs.

One of the things we've been doing on this long drive down is listening to Thomas Sowell as a family. Over the past three days we've listened to The History of Slavery from his book Black Rednecks and White Liberals. It is a fascinating history and very eye opening. I learned so much that I never knew! Thomas Sowell is brilliant and I absolutely love him. 

Christian with a grocery store robot

One of our friends at home loves cheese.
We saw this display and thought of her. 

The view from the car. I think of either Virginia or Tennessee?

On our last day of driving we had planned to stop by the Lost Sea for a tour of an underground lake. The tour took us through a half mile walk down into a large cave. The local Cherokee tribe used to hold meetings there and later Americans held dances. There were three different moonshine distillaries in the cave and in the 50s it was used as a bomb shelter. We also got to see a very rare formation called "cave flowers".

Waiting to go down into in the cave

Will, James, and Jon at the Underground Sea

But the coolest part of the tour was the boat ride on the underground lake. The lake was lit from beneath and the water was a pale sky blue. It was also full of fish! The rainbow trout were stocked, none of them were native to the lake, and they swarmed the boat as we drove out. Christian was so excited. The lake wasn't huge but large enough for a nice ride and a very cool experience.

There were so many fish!

The water was such a cool blue under the lights

After the cave we stopped at Cook Out, our favorite Southern restaurant, where no matter how much food we order we can't spend more than $40. Then on the last stretch of the ride we were diverted by a sign advertising for an attraction called Rock City. Christian was so excited and begged us to go. We told him that we were pretty sure it wasn't a city made of rocks but he couldn't sit still he was so eager to see it. "Even if it isn't a city there might still be other things of interest to see there... like rocks!" So we followed the signs up a mountain and it turns out there is an attraction there, one with a waterfall and what should be a great view too. But unfortunately the only available tickets were for an hour later and we were still over two hours away from our destination. Poor Christian was dreadfully disappointed. 

Christian really wanted to explore

We finally arrived at our house at four in the afternoon. The boys were so eager to swim but alas a thunderstorm was right on our heels. The house is pretty great, five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and two living rooms give us plenty of room to spread out and give the kids a place to play away from the adults. My friends started to trickle in about an hour after we arrived and we all ordered pizza and enjoyed each other's company. 

Our backyard

The pool

Our house

Our neighbors

The view from the porch