Lindsey, Hannah and I just got back today from our first vacation. We went to Chattanooga for a reunion with other families from our travel group to China when we adopted our girls. What a fabulous time...and we plan to do an annual reunion. It's amazing how the girls are growing and changing, but I recognized each one of them and remembered them from Nanning. Their personalities remained constant, and what a beautiful group of children. Pictures will be posted, of course.
After Chattanooga, we went right to Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky, where we met with Mom and all my brothers and sisters. We only lacked on brother-in-law, one niece and one nephew. After a few days there, we went to Gatlinburg with Hannah...what an experience! I know people love Gatlinburg, but it was really not our style. It brings to mind what many parts of Colorado could have been if they had been allowed to just develop with no planning or conservation. The best illustration of the Gatlinburg attitude is the brochure from the motel where we spent the first night. It talked about the "must-see" attractions in and around Gatlinburg: Dollywood, the Ripley's "Believe it or not" Aquarium, the gondola ride to "Ober Gatlinburg"... and then, at the very end of the brochure, it mentions that "also", Gatlinburg is the gateway to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park...almost as an afterthought. To us, the only reason to go to Gatlinburg is because there are no lodge rooms in the National Park, so if you want to stay overnight and don't want to camp, that's your only choice. We toyed with the idea of taking Hannah to Dollywood (they have a section for little kids). I'm sure she would have enjoyed it, but we thought it was a little too expensive just to go the kiddie section to see if Hannah would ride solo on any of the rides. Anyway, we did have fun: we stopped to see some (free) concerts on the main drag in some little courtyards among the shops - and Hannah did dance to the bluegrass music!
After the Smokies, we went to Atlanta to see Lindsey's uncle and aunt. Hannah was completely spoiled by them, and by my family. Of course, we think she is the most beautiful, smart and cute child around...but it turns out they all seem to think so too. Hannah was quite a trooper with all the stops and changes in environment. She was as well-behaved as we could have expected, and seemed to throw herself into every new situation...after sitting on my lap for a few minutes sucking her thumb while she got used to the new things.
After Chattanooga, we went right to Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky, where we met with Mom and all my brothers and sisters. We only lacked on brother-in-law, one niece and one nephew. After a few days there, we went to Gatlinburg with Hannah...what an experience! I know people love Gatlinburg, but it was really not our style. It brings to mind what many parts of Colorado could have been if they had been allowed to just develop with no planning or conservation. The best illustration of the Gatlinburg attitude is the brochure from the motel where we spent the first night. It talked about the "must-see" attractions in and around Gatlinburg: Dollywood, the Ripley's "Believe it or not" Aquarium, the gondola ride to "Ober Gatlinburg"... and then, at the very end of the brochure, it mentions that "also", Gatlinburg is the gateway to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park...almost as an afterthought. To us, the only reason to go to Gatlinburg is because there are no lodge rooms in the National Park, so if you want to stay overnight and don't want to camp, that's your only choice. We toyed with the idea of taking Hannah to Dollywood (they have a section for little kids). I'm sure she would have enjoyed it, but we thought it was a little too expensive just to go the kiddie section to see if Hannah would ride solo on any of the rides. Anyway, we did have fun: we stopped to see some (free) concerts on the main drag in some little courtyards among the shops - and Hannah did dance to the bluegrass music!
After the Smokies, we went to Atlanta to see Lindsey's uncle and aunt. Hannah was completely spoiled by them, and by my family. Of course, we think she is the most beautiful, smart and cute child around...but it turns out they all seem to think so too. Hannah was quite a trooper with all the stops and changes in environment. She was as well-behaved as we could have expected, and seemed to throw herself into every new situation...after sitting on my lap for a few minutes sucking her thumb while she got used to the new things.
