Our 2007 Vacation, Part II

Our 2007 Vacation, Part I - NC and TN mountains

After we left Pigeon Forge we hit a long stretch of I-40 highway to Arkansas. Arkansas? I thought you said you went to Memphis. Well, we did, but our hotel was in West Memphis, just over the Mississippi in Arkansas. There was a Wal*Mart less than a mile from the hotel - we choose to believe that in Arkansas there always is.

We tried to make sure we hit Knoxville before rush hour and Memphis after rush hour. We checked into our hotel right around 6:30pm - so we thought. The room clock said 5:30. Maybe they just hadn't set it forward from Daylight Savings Time, right? Well, at some point it hits us - we are in Central Time Zone. Major "duh!" moment. But the real question was, where was the time line? Was Memphis back in Eastern Time Zone? We asked at the hotel front desk and the clerk looked at us blankly. "Time zone change? That's all the way back by Chattanooga." Well color us silly.

Keith had found a website called Roadside America, which bills itself as a "Guide to Uniquely Odd Tourist Attractions". Through it we found a few more off-the-wall places to visit if we had time, including two in Memphis. The first one we went to was the Crystal Shrine Grotto, a man-made cave built in the early 30s and filled during the 30s with Biblical scene dioramas of various styles. What we didn't realize originally was that the grotto and the surrounding area are located within Memorial Park Cemetery. Not too far away was the Statue of Liberation through Christ, a large-ish replica of the Statue of Liberty clutching a cross instead of a torch. The pictures online are more impressive than the actual thing, but it was just a few mile detour.

That night we also ate a KFC dinner, and stopped by Wal*Mart for a special treat for Kaitlyn to reward her great behavior on the trip so far. She picked (from our narrowed down selections) a Mrs. PotatoHead. "Tater? Tater? Play 'tater now, ok?" she reminded us, all of the way back to the hotel. Throughout the rest of the stay those facial features and limbs were all over the place - even on Kaitlyn herself.

After breakfast at the hotel, we drove back into Memphis for my "must see" - Graceland. The King's house. Room after room of 60s and 70s southern-style opulence. We got the Platinum Tour so that we could see not only the house, but the planes, the cars, and the dozens and dozens of jumpsuits. Doesn't Keith love me so much? While you expect it to be over the top, after the proliferation of shows like MTV's Cribs it really just doesn't seem that crazy. Kaitlyn liked the horses, but was largely unimpressed with the rest of everything, with the possible exception of when we stopped for a cookie break.

We spent the afternoon going downtown by Beale Street (which we decided was probably a much more fun place if you (a) aren't pregnant and (b) aren't toting a 2-1/2-year-old. We did sit for a while in W.C. Handy Park and listen to the blues, and decide to come back the next day to Ride the Ducks, plus we made Keith's favorite stop of the day - Maggie Moo's Ice Cream.

Keith tried to convince me we needed more of that ice cream the next morning before our Ride the Ducks tour, but it just seemed to early. I asked Kaitlyn if she wanted to "ride a duck". She looked a little confused, then a little thoughtful, then nodded and said "yes, ma'am." While she really enjoyed the DUKW trip, I'm pretty sure she thought we were going to jump on some mallards' backs.

We got our Wacky Quackers (Kaitlyn's absolute favorite souvenir from the trip, bar none) and boarded the land/sea craft to go around the town. We saw the Memphis pyramid from all sides, and found out it is actually the third largest pyramid in the world. Keith was about to go nuts trying to figure out what in the world was in it, so we had already looked it up the night before (for the record: nothing. It was built to get a pro-basketball team to come to Memphis, and the Grizzlies did, but then they quickly moved to the new FedEx Arena and the pyramid sits empty).

After a lunch at a Beale St. hamburger joint with some really good sweet tea, we walked down to the river and over to Mud Island (after stopping by the I-40 TN Welcome Center - what?! I'm pregnant and drank 3 sweet teas!). They have a scale model of the Mississippi River you can walk through, all the way down to the "Gulf of Mexico". Kaitlyn enjoyed splashing in the water, but the uneven bottom and scorching concrete banks had us put our shoes back on somewhere around "Memphis" and stroll the rest of the way.

One other note about our time in Memphis - our hotel's AC worked very oddly. It was freezing in our room, even with the thermostat turned up to 90. We had to turn it off and on, as off it was just too stifling. Kaitlyn spent her first night in our bed, snuggling against us with her cold, cold little feet.

Our 2007 Vacation, Part I

There is far too much to share from our vacation to try to get it all into one post, so I'm going to split it up a bit.

The first part of our trip actually started on Saturday with a drive to Raleigh for Aunt Jean's retirement & Kent's graduation party. My Uncle John is an award winning pig chef, so the whole pig and the extra shoulders all got completely eaten, in no small part thanks to Kaitlyn! We drove to Winston-Salem for a night at the Parent's Bed & Breakfast.

The 230 miles from my parent's house to our hotel in Pigeon Forge should take 4 hours and 14 minutes, according to MapQuest, but we decided to take the Blue Ridge Parkway from Asheville, and then up through the Great Smokey Mountain National Forest. Well, it was a pretty drive, but it bumped the drive time up to somewhere in the 8 hour range (well, to be fair, that included stops for picnicking and visiting the Folk Art Center, numerous stops for pictures, and a few little hikes). Still, by the time we got off the Blue Ridge Parkway we were to tired to even turn our heads to look at "another" beautiful vista.

One of the great things about the Parkway was the proliferation of tunnels. Kaitlyn loved them.
"Tunnel!" she would cheer as we entered each one. As soon as we exited back into the sunshine she would cry "Peek-a-boo!"

Our Pigeon Forge hotel was great - we found out that what we thought was a fair price for a junior suite with a King sized bed was a great price for a full suite complete with a fireplace (not that we needed that in the summer!). We had a double balcony from the bedroom and living room overlooking the creek, too, which was nice for playing cards outside after Kaitlyn went to bed.

On our full day in the area we went to a "family fun park" (mini-golf, go karts, etc) that we had seen in our after-dinner walk the day before. Pigeon Forge has a bunch of really neat go kart tracks - we're talking multi-story, really long tracks - and Kaitlyn at 3'1" was just over the minimum height for being a ride-along. She was very interested in what she thought was a roller coaster ("roaster coaster"), and Mommy videoed while Daddy and Kaitlyn went on the "Wild Woody". Daddy rode again on his own, and Mommy and Kaitlyn checked out the kiddie area.

We had gone early to get the price special on rides, so it was still morning when we took a trolley into Gatlinburg. We walked all over the downtown tourist area, stopping for lunch at Wendy's, ice cream (and bathrooms!) at Baskin Robbins, a trip up the Space Needle (which was ridiculously shaky and rusty - the web page is in better condition than the actual space needle, I'll tell you that), plus countless little shops. There were seemingly hundreds of "antique photos" places and the regular tourist staples. It reminded me a lot of Niagara Falls, minus the actual waterfalls.

By the time we made it back to the hotel we were ready to just swim in the pool and order a pizza for dinner. The next morning we started the day by feeding the ducks in the creek. Kaitlyn's last try at feeding bread was to fish in Asheville, and she put every piece she was given in her mouth. This time she laughed and talked to the ducks as she watched them dive and feed on the bread she, Mommy and Daddy threw (mainly that Mommy and Daddy threw, since she had the will but not so muck the skill to throw the bread). We then pulled out for our drive across the state to Memphis.

To be continued!

Kaitlyn's First Movie

Tonight Kaitlyn went to her first movie theater movie - with popcorn and all!

The local mall just opened a new 16-theater multiplex, and yesterday and today they were offering $2 movies and $1 popcorn & sodas. They had a mix of older and current movies, including Charlotte's Web (last year's live-action version, not the 70s animated classic). Talking animals? Sounds like a winner!

I bought tickets this afternoon, fearing the long lines and/or a sellout (remember, $2 movies - and 3 and under are free), but the line for the popcorn and sodas was insane. Luckily Auntie Kris was able to take Kaitlyn and her entourage (booster seat, Wolfie, backpack and water cup) to get us seats in the theater. Maybe we just didn't need popcorn? Well, we didn't, but since I had promised Kaitlyn.... you know how long 2-1/2 year old's memories are!

I can't say Kaitlyn was perfect, but for her first movie she was very good and really enjoyed herself. We may have to take her again!

'Cause Somebody's Getting Married Today!

For Memorial Day weekend we all went up to Pennsylvania for Suzanne's wedding. We headed up on Friday morning so that we would be there in time for the Bachelorette Party (well, Katherine would be - Keith and Kaitlyn went out for some TGIFridays). Where are the pictures of that night? What happens in Bethlehem stays in Bethlehem!

Our hotel was right across the street from Dorney Park, and the two things Kaitlyn liked best about the hotel were the elevator (she pronounced it "O-lee-va-tor!") and watching the roller coasters from our window (in Kaitlynese "roaster coasters!").

Saturday afternoon Kaitlyn charmed the ladies at the Bridesmaid Luncheon held at a charming teahouse that made a deliciously sloppy PBJ for the picky eater. She didn't ask for a special dessert - she liked our cake just fine!

Saturday evening we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. As flower girl, Kaitlyn's job was to walk down the aisle holding a basket of (fake) flowers in one hand and the hand of the four-year-old ring bearer, KJ, in the other. KJ's father was a groomsman, and he was Katherine's escort just before they were set to start off. She and KJ had both been prepped, and trotted cutely down the aisle. We all thought we had got one over one someone, and that this was going to go smoothly.

After a brief nap in the car for Kaitlyn, a few wrong turns on the way and the rehearsal dinner, we got back to the hotel in time to call up Amanda G. and Paula McC. who were up for the wedding and got to hang out with them for a while (and got called by our hotel neighbors to keep down the noise. What?).

Then it was THE BIG DAY already, and we prepared for the wedding. It was a hot day, and many many places in Pennsylvania don't have central air: (a) they're old and (b) most of the time they really just don't need it. But this was a hot day, and the church was one of those places. Keith took Kaitlyn for a long stroller walk (and cookie adventure) while Katherine got her hair done, and then it was Kaitlyn's turn. That's right, the stylist did Kaitlyn's wispy short hair. She got that troublesome hair - on the head of a two-and-a-half-year-old, no less! - into a pair of french braids that she wove together at the bottom. Think Greta in The Sound of Music - very cute.

Then came pictures, wedding, pictures, reception, a late-night drive to Nana and Pops with a very notable story in the middle. Remember KJ and Kaitlyn's job? Well, KJ took it so seriously that he felt the need to hold Kaitlyn's hand and lead her around all of the time. Which she didn't mind - until he walked her into a door jam! After that, if KJ got too close she would cry. And KJ really wanted to walk her down the aisle, so the fact that she wouldn't hold his hand made HIM cry! We ended up with Kaitlyn walking down the aisle with me, and KJ walking down the aisle with his daddy. Moravian weddings are long, you know, so Kaitlyn retreated quickly to Keith's pew, where Suzanne had placed a basket full of books, crayons and cookies for her to enjoy. And she did!

It was great not only being there for my dear friend on such a happy day where she married a great guy, but it was great to see old friends and meet new ones (and in some cases meet old friends' husbands and/or children!). Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Steven Miller!!!

PS - yes, Keith was there! He was the one taking the pictures! (except the one of Suz getting ready). Unfortunately, we don't have a picture of the whole family. Trust me when I say he looked very handsome in his suit (which he pointed out he's worn to every wedding we've been to since we met - including our own!).

Family Updates

Well, it's been a while since I've updated, so here' s a quick laundry list of news of the Dohls, with more to come soon.

1. We went to Pennsylvania in May for Steve and Suzanne's wedding! Katherine was a bridesmaid, and Kaitlyn was the cutest flower girl EVER. Keith was the best flower girl wrangler EVER!
2. The three of us went on our first vacation with just our immediate family ever. It was a rambling trip with main stops in Pigeon Forge & Memphis, TN and St. Louis. We went to Graceland, Kaitlyn rode go karts, we went up in the Arch... lots of stuff!
3. Kaitlyn is getting a new bedroom. The guest bedroom is in renovations to be the "Big Girl Bedroom". We're using this border with white wall bottom, chair rail, and moldings and a yellow wall top. I think we're going to get my old bedroom set from my parents garage. Canopy bed with frills - what little girl wouldn't love it?
4. Actually, Kaitlyn's room isn't a "Big Girl Bedroom" - it's a "Big Sister Bedroom". That's right - we're expecting. November 10 is the due date, and we're calling the baby "Broccoli" since we don't know whether baby is a girl or boy.

So that's all for now!