Family Vacation

Family vacations are few and far between, but when we have them, they are fantastic!  We headed to Jamestown, TN and decided to stay at the Pointe View Lodge in a remote area near the Big South Fork National Park overlooking a breathtaking gorge.  Not kidding, we traveled about 45 miles off the interstate, then another 15 miles into the woods, then forever into the forest onto paths that got more and more narrow with every turn.  Mick said he was pretty sure we would soon be hearing banjos.  Jeff said the same thing when they got to the lodge! 

 

 When we rounded the last turn, though, after those never-ending paths, we came upon a wide open space of land that looked like a park with a three story beautiful brick seven bedroom home reaching to the sky.  There were picnic tables in the yard, bird houses nestled in the bushes, a fire ready to be lit for roasting marshmallows, and that beautiful gorge.

We spent our time catching up,







playing cards,

roasting marshmallows,

 playing marbles,










  

                         watching Cars with the great grands,






meeting new cousins,











                                          shooting guns (real ones, too!),

playing with babies,

                                                                   eating,










laughing,

                                                relaxing,






                                                                   washers,
                                                                           

picture-taking,

 blowing bubbles, rocking on the deck, and having theological discussions (we had 3 pastors and another soon to be in our midst)!

We definitely encountered a few critters.  Birds and rabbits were plentiful.  A few lizards scampered across the deck.  We even dealt with a few crickets downstairs (Katie had several of us take care of those for her).  When we were outside, many of us were constantly alert for signs of bears.  Not for sure, but I believe the kiddos were hoping for a bear sighting!!  Mick found a teeny, tiny turtle and put it in a box for Kharis and Benny to watch. It became a challenge to try to convince Kharis the turtle needed to be released back into the woods.  She decided to take the box outside to give the turtle some fresh air.  Benny decided to let him out to walk across the deck.  Needless to say, the kids became distracted playing outside and when we got back, pretty sure the turtle made a “run” for it—he was gone.  He either tucked and rolled or committed suicide as the deck is about 10 feet off the ground!

It was a peaceful three days and we look forward to the next get-together—Chris and Amanda’s wedding in August!!