Hotel Coffee

As I sit in the lobby of my third hotel in a month, sipping coffee

and knitting, 

I am reminded of several things:

1. Sleeve Island can feel like a lonely place. 
2. Hotel lobbies are fun, with so many people to watch as the sun comes up! 
3. I am blessed to be living a life that affords me the luxury of a hotel stay, knitting retreats and special times with granddaughters that live far, far away.

Regarding Sleeve Island, I should be close to the mainland by the end of the day, since we have an 8-hour drive ahead of us. (By the time this post goes live, we should be close to home!)

Regarding hotel coffee and lobbies, well...I'm thankful, but I'll be glad to return to my own sofa and Keurig very soon. 

Regarding those beautiful girlies, I'll miss them, and I'm so glad that we've made new memories at the zoo with cousins, 

at the movies with cousins, 

at Cedar Point with cousins and friends, 

and at Aunt Jess's annual 4th of July party with all the fun! 

Yes,  she has her temps. 
No, it was not that scary, Aunt Jess!

You'll see by the photos that these beauties are in their middle years, and I don't want to give the false impression that it's been totally smooth sailing for the whole 10 days...suffice it to say that there have been both highs and lows. Lucky for us, we have ended on a high note, and I'm hopeful that the girls would agree that there was more fun than frustration at Gramma and Pop Pop's house...especcially with all the Guess the Gibberish we played! (Not sponsored, but a great game for ages 12+!)

Looking forward to my own bed tonight, but still basking in the glow of a mostly great visit. 🙂 Here's hoping that all of you are also making good, summer memories that will last you through whatever comes next in your life. 🌞 

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Overall, the coffee was good. 😋

Hello Dolly[wood] and Gatlinburg!

For our summer, Gatlinburg vacation this past week, Aaron and Jess picked another great B&B, this time in the mountains, with views for days!

Tennessee was hot and humid, but the A/C worked well, and the view was great from inside, too!

We spent the werk playing hard with some of our favorite people, 

Photos from Ripley's Aquarium

including a short hike to Cataract Falls with all the littles, 

where we saw a waterfall, 

but no bears...

One of two "happy trees" along the way!

A visit from Julie (and her husband, not pictured) who live two hours from Gatlinburg...

and Hilbilly Golf were fun,

and there was  an interesting three-man "scramble..."

but no bears...

This was also our first trip to Dollywood, 

which was hot and sweaty 

and overall wonderful!

We enjoyed lots of rides, 

and shows (the Gazillion Bubble Show was air conditioned amd magical!), 

but when a boy is sooo sleepy, an ambush nap just might take over...

We rounded out our day with shopping, 

and some pretty fun food, 

but no Dolly sightings...however, our little guy did finally see a bear!...

and his mommy posed with a pretty fairy!

Jess: Sorry, Fairy. Weve just got boys...
Fairy: YOU can pose with me! 

The vibe of the park was clean and fun, and everything was family friendly, we had a great day. 

The rest of our vacation boasted lots of pool time in the Great Smoky Mountains,  

where the kids made quite a splash as much as they could, 

a mountain roller coaster 

(I didn't get to ride this one, but I heard that it was lovely...not too fast, no big dips), 

Even our littlest guy rode this one!

and a lot of time to just goof off together, especially on our trips down Boogertown Road!

On our way out, we even saw an actual bear, and did not get eaten...yay!

Thanks for a great time together, everyone! We'll be talking and laughing about all the fun for years!

By the time you read this, our road trip home will be over (or nearly over) and I'll be gearing up for mountains of laundry, lol! Then back to work on Monday, and back to reality...but I'm even looking forward to that!

Thanks for stopping by, and Knit in Good Health! 

Was there knitting? You know there was!

My first Matryoshkats!

Quite well received, thank you very much!