30 Random Facts about our Recent Vacation

1. (We spent ) one week visiting my parents in Russell Springs, KY.
2. Three days in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN.
3. Four days traveling to and fro.
4. It rained more days than not.
5. Jack (our dog) went with us.
6. Dog friendly hotels have very nice staff.
7. One of these hotels even had a wonderful sign which read, “We love dogs and children.” (A very good thing considering Ben’s behavior our first night out. Jack, on the other hand, did great.)
5. While in KY we visited Haney’s Appledale Farm, Berea (you can read about the Berea Craft Festival in the July issue of Southern Living), the Big South Fork Scenic Railway (the train at Dollywood moves faster than this one and the drive up the mountain in TN to Cades Cove is more scenic), and several very interesting civil war battle fields.
6. Berea is about 2 hours from Russell Springs. Everything is about two hours away from Russell Springs.
7. We spent much more on gas than we budgeted.
8. There are more (tiny) Baptist churches in Russell Springs and the surrounding counties than I have seen in my life. We marked our path to and from my parent’s house by the local churches. Some day we plan to take a church tour and visit each one.
9. Giant crosses dot the landscape on the drive from Russell Springs to Pigeon Forge and even in Pigeon Forge itself.
10. Dollywood is the only amusement park I know of with Christian stores.
11. Dollywood has a lot of wet rides. We did not wear our swim suits. Intentionally. But, we did get wet. We did not go to Splash Country.
12. KY and TN are much more humid than I remember from my childhood.
13. It did not rain while we were at Dollywood (it did rain during our last visit). But, it poured down rain during our drive up the mountain to Cades Cove (in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park).
14. We spent two days at Dollywood.
15. Ben loved the baby rides.
16. Beth rode her first real roller coaster. I rode it too, but my eyes were closed the entire time.
17. I was feeling my age on the roller coaster.
18. I had two episodes of SVT (praise the Lord I had my medicine with me).
19. Mark and I both became very ill after our second day at Dollywood.
20. I had to drive the first day of our return home. Mark was still very ill.
21. Considering how much it rained over the course of the trip, and considering the threat of rain on the way home, and how much I dislike driving in the rain I was very, very thankful that it only rained once during my drive and that God cleared the sky for us for the rest of the drive home.
22. God gave me another gift - as I was driving home with nothing to occupy my mind Revive our Hearts came on the radio.
23. We came home to a house full of ants, a practically dead garden, and a van that needed $400 worth of immediate work.
24. But, the grass is green and the hibiscus bushes are blooming.
25. Both Mark and I have felt ill since our return.
26. I’ve been pondering how easy it is to slip into worldliness when one is away from home – how one’s priorities change and not necessarily for the better.
27. I learned a lot about Ben.
28. I learned that the dog needs to be crated when alone.
29. Mark, the children and the dog had their first introduction to ticks.
30. All-in-all we had a good trip.