Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Smoky Mountains, NC
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We entered the Smokies on the tail end of a particularly nasty storm. Everything was grey and wet. These were by far the tallest mountains we encountered, and spent most of the drive through them on the way to Cherokee, NC gawking up like tourists in NYC. This pic was taken through the windshield. :)
Two women, three children, one rented minivan. Our sanity will fade but the memories will linger. That's what we're going for, anyway...
Getting closer!
THE RULES
THE SWAGGHUNT, official epic scavenger hunt of the Swaggon
The Intrepid Explorers:
Jen: older sister, mother to Mac; trip planner extraodinaire; fearless, cool, calm and collected; most likely to capably keep the children in line while Val flips out. Expedition job: driver or navigator. Assigned seat: driver or shotgun.
Val: younger (but not youngest) sister, mother to Bella and Bubba, hater of left-turns and interstate driving, prone to child-like excitement, most likely to make inane and impossible threats to the children that they will disregard. Expedition job: driver or navigator. Assigned seat: driver or shotgun.
Mac: son of Jen, almost 11-year old, impending middle schooler; lover of toilet and body humor; only child and requirer of space; good-hearted, kind and helpful (if not ocassionally sullen); most likely to disgust and offend with bodily emissions. Assigned seat: The Poop Deck.
Bella: daughter of Val, 8-year old soon-to-be third grader; incessant talker, sporadic listener; brother torturer extraordinaire; sweet and kind; most likely to require the most restroom stops AND to wait too long to notify of her need for a restroom stop (thereby most likely to be using the restroom on the side of the interstate). Assigned seat: Notgun.
Bubba: son of Val, a 2-year old charming terror; cute yet demanding; opinionated to the max; lover of cartoons; hater of pants; most likely to cry until he throws up. Assigned seat: The Bubba Seat.
Val: younger (but not youngest) sister, mother to Bella and Bubba, hater of left-turns and interstate driving, prone to child-like excitement, most likely to make inane and impossible threats to the children that they will disregard. Expedition job: driver or navigator. Assigned seat: driver or shotgun.
Mac: son of Jen, almost 11-year old, impending middle schooler; lover of toilet and body humor; only child and requirer of space; good-hearted, kind and helpful (if not ocassionally sullen); most likely to disgust and offend with bodily emissions. Assigned seat: The Poop Deck.
Bella: daughter of Val, 8-year old soon-to-be third grader; incessant talker, sporadic listener; brother torturer extraordinaire; sweet and kind; most likely to require the most restroom stops AND to wait too long to notify of her need for a restroom stop (thereby most likely to be using the restroom on the side of the interstate). Assigned seat: Notgun.
Bubba: son of Val, a 2-year old charming terror; cute yet demanding; opinionated to the max; lover of cartoons; hater of pants; most likely to cry until he throws up. Assigned seat: The Bubba Seat.
Glossary of Terms:
Bubba Seat, The: Seat with an occupant so notorious it has been named for him, this is where toddler Bubba will ride. All precautions have been taken in an attempt to keep Bubba comfortable and happy, lest he scream for the 20-something hours we will be on the road.
Driver's Seat: The throne, the helm of the swaggon. A mighty burden.
Notgun: the seat behind Shotgun. Notgun's occupant will also be called upon to assist with Bubba care and upkeep. Assigned to Bella.
Poop Deck, The: the very back seat of the swaggon, this seat is also named in honor of its' assigned occupant, the charming Mac. This seat was given to Mac in an attempt to 1.) keep his gaseous emissions far away from the rest of us, and 2.) to give him space (however limited) from the other children.
Shotgun: the seat next to the driver. the shotgun rider must help navigate, open sodas or bags of chips and arrange media for the driver, and run the charging station for the multiple devices in the Swaggon. Also within view and an arm's reach of the Bubba seat, therefore placing the Shotgun occupant in charge of Bubba. Also a mighty burden.
Swaggon: Our rented minivan. The name is blatantly stolen from the Toyota ad campaign ('swagger wagon') when we thought we were getting a Toyota. We have taken their name and made it our own. Even though we will be driving a KIA, our presence makes it a Swaggon.
Driver's Seat: The throne, the helm of the swaggon. A mighty burden.
Notgun: the seat behind Shotgun. Notgun's occupant will also be called upon to assist with Bubba care and upkeep. Assigned to Bella.
Poop Deck, The: the very back seat of the swaggon, this seat is also named in honor of its' assigned occupant, the charming Mac. This seat was given to Mac in an attempt to 1.) keep his gaseous emissions far away from the rest of us, and 2.) to give him space (however limited) from the other children.
Shotgun: the seat next to the driver. the shotgun rider must help navigate, open sodas or bags of chips and arrange media for the driver, and run the charging station for the multiple devices in the Swaggon. Also within view and an arm's reach of the Bubba seat, therefore placing the Shotgun occupant in charge of Bubba. Also a mighty burden.
Swaggon: Our rented minivan. The name is blatantly stolen from the Toyota ad campaign ('swagger wagon') when we thought we were getting a Toyota. We have taken their name and made it our own. Even though we will be driving a KIA, our presence makes it a Swaggon.
You were looking for posts about...
- 4th of July (1)
- Arts festival (2)
- Bella (1)
- Bellefonte (2)
- Bigfoot (3)
- Boalsburg (1)
- Bubba (1)
- Cherokee NC (1)
- daily pages (1)
- Georgia (1)
- Gettysburg (2)
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park (1)
- Hershey Park (1)
- home (1)
- hotel (1)
- Houseguest Bill of Rights (1)
- Howdy (1)
- lists (1)
- Little Bit (1)
- Mac (1)
- Mario Kart (2)
- Mt. Trashmore (1)
- North Carolina (1)
- Pennsylvania (6)
- photo albums (2)
- pics (14)
- rock city (1)
- Smoky Mountains (1)
- State College (2)
- SwaggHunt (5)
- Swaggon (2)
- Swaggon Constitution (1)
- The Official Grown-up Binder of Incredibly Important Things (1)
- the plan (1)
- Trapper Keepers (1)
- traveling companions (1)
- Tucker girls (2)
- VA (1)
- vacation (2)
- Virginia Beach (2)
- Zappy Touch (1)
Blog Archive
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2010
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July
(106)
- Call me sentimental...
- Rock City, GA
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Smoky Mountains, NC
- Boalsburg, PA: People's Choice Arts Festival
- Our home away from home
- State College, PA: Festival of the Arts
- Hershey Park, PA
- Sitting just outside Penn State University's Beav...
- Bellefonte, PA: park
- Gettysburg, PA
- Gettysburg, PA: Civil War cavalry battle reenactment
- The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center
- Mt. Trashmore
- Sneak Peek
- Pics!
- Thank you
- Returning the Swaggon
- Wisdumb
- Wisdumb
- Wisdumb
- Say whaaaaaaat
- Frederick the felt elephant is peeking at yooooooo...
- Homeward bound!
- The Swaggon Order of Insults
- More words of wisdumb
- Best $4.50 gift shop item
- See Rock City!
- Almost done
- Wisdumb
- SMNP again
- Smoky Mountain National Park
- Cherokee Museum
- Breakfast on the deck!
- Early (for us) bedtime
- The view from our hotel balcony
- Smoky Mountains!!
- Our swath of destruction today
- Thanks a lot, Aunt Fay
- Virginia
- Rebellion
- West Virginia: Hilly and Gorgeous
- West Virginny
- Goodbye, Happy Valley
- We are awesome
- Words of wisdumb, part whatever
- It's 94 degrees. In PA. At 6PM.
- Jabebo earrings
- Catchin some Z's
- Last day
- Fun with science!
- We found fresh-brewed TEA!
- How many different feet you meet
- Chow time
- Aww snap
- Back at Aunt Fay's
- Parasol - best $6 investment EVER
- From the market earlier today
- Arts Festival!
- We're at an Amish market with a livestock auction....
- Words of Wisdumb
- I'll never be clean again
- That says the external temperature is 108 degrees....
- It's. So. Effing. HOT.
- How high
- Really?
- More words of wisdumb
- Words of wisdumb part ? (We can't keep track)
- Ni-night time
- Correction
- Cam's 2nd 11th birthday
- Ice wha?
- Boom!
- Sunset over the mountains, Penn State campus
- Heading to the 4th festival
- Well, hell
- What are vacations for...
- At the park
- Soo...close...
- Scenic Route
- Val loves city driving
- Wendy's happy meal toy brings great joy to weary t...
- Bubba moment
- We've Gone Bananas
- Hee-Hee
- Gettysburg
- Cousin versus cousin
- Wah-wah-wah
- Wee hours
- Hanover, PA
- We're (almost) there!
- Going mental
- We found mountains!
- Words of wisdumb, part 2
- Words of wisdumb, part 1
- Another update
- Aquarium souvenirs
- Leaving VA
- Where we are right now
- Om nom nom
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July
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