road trip day forty one: the drive home

Christopher was excited to have a Texas waffle for breakfast... in Tennessee!!  It was nice and quiet for the first part of the drive.

We can't drive through Knoxville TN and NOT go to Sweet P's BBQ!!

July 21, 2017 - Knoxville TN - State #13 - 5992 miles

After an amazing trip, almost six weeks away and driving over 6000 miles, we were finally home!!

July 21, 2017 - HOME!! - State #1 Again - 6232 miles

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road trip day forty: drive to jackson

The next day, we stopped for another ice cream lunch on our drive east.

July 20, 2017 - Alma AR - State #12 - 5316 miles

- Starbucks break -

We stop at Corky's BBQ every year and this year was no exception!  Delicious bbq... and apparently spaghetti and corn on the cob (it's what she always orders).

July 20, 2017 - Memphis TN - State #13 - 5606 miles

After dinner, we drove another hour to Jackson, TN and our hotel for the night.  The kids were excited to be out of the car, though one was upset that we didn't go swim.

July 20, 2017 - Jackson TN - State #13 - 5683 miles

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gatlinburg and great smoky mountain national park

For something fun and festive, we headed up to Gatlinburg for the night to show Grandma and Grandpa the sights.  We stopped at Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack in Asheville for a delicious Tennessee-style hot chicken lunch on the drive up.

After we checked in to our hotel we walked around the streets of Gatlinburg, enjoying all of the Christmas decorations and after dinner, we relaxed by the fire at our hotel with hot chocolate and cookies.  Ellie only screamed while she was sitting on the hearth-- she much preferred sitting on the floor or the couch!

We bought tickets for the Gatlinburg Trolley "Ride of Lights" to see the Christmas lights around town.  We drove over to the aquarium to park and walked around that end of Gatlinburg for a bit while we waited for our tour.

Christmas lights in Gatlinburg.

After our tour, it was back to the hotel and straight to bed-- after taking some pictures on the empty streets of town.

In the morning we introduced Grandma and Grandpa to our favorite Gatlinburg breakfast at Crockett's Breakfast Camp!

The Little Country Church-- one of the smallest churches in the United States.

We took the scenic drive home through Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

There was some construction (and clean up from the massive wildfires from the week before) and the slowdowns allowed us to really enjoy the fresh snow on the sides of the road.

We stopped at Newfound Gap to enjoy the views before heading into North Carolina and back home.

space camp and space camp graduation

Nick had a great time at Space Camp: doing astronaut PT, taking the bus to the lake, the team picture in front of the shuttle, and landing a lunar rover.

More Space Camp fun: designing a moon base, completing a mission, and the 1/6th gravity chair (his favorite)!

Space Camp Graduation: Astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenberger, the first Space Camp alumna to fly in space, presented the grads with their patches.

The Space Camp grad!

A few quick pictures outside the Space and Rocket Center before we headed home.

We stopped for lunch in Chattanooga, TN, at Sofa King Juicy Burger.  While the burgers were just alright, the liquid nitrogen milkshakes were AWESOME!

Since it was POURING outside and we were the only people in the restaurant, they brought out a tray of liquid nitrogen for the kids to experiment with-- it was the highlight of the day!!

drive to huntsville and the us space and rocket center

Continuing with our busy summer trend, the kids got home from camp on Friday and we loaded up the car on Saturday morning to drive to Huntsville, AL to drop Nick off for a week at Space Camp!  We stopped for lunch at Sweet P's BBQ (our go-to spot in Knoxville, TN) and tried Pieology (the kids LOVED getting to pick their own toppings!) in Huntsville for dinner before heading to our hotel.

The next morning we were up bright and early to check out the US Space and Rocket Center before dropping Nick off.

Our first stop was the Science of Archimedes exhibit which showcases the discoveries and inventions of the "Father of Modern Science"

Learning is fun!

We made our way through the museum checking out all of the fun, interactive exhibits.  The kids really liked the simulated war game in the humvee.

Rocket Park shows how Army rocketry launched the US Space Program and the kids enjoyed walking around the replica of the moon's surface.

The kids loved seeing all of the space memorabilia-- especially the moon rock and the Saturn V rocket!

A simulated test firing-- Ellie wasn't too thrilled with all of the noise!

The Command Module Simulator and Lunar Module Simulator (and an unhappy 2 year old!).  Astronauts used this LM to test procedures for the Apollo 13 crew to use to make it back to Earth safely.

There was a space themed play area for younger kids and Ellie appreciated having something to do that was more at her level.

We enjoyed a surprisingly good lunch and the kids LOVED the alien cups that came with theirs.

Future astronauts?

After lunch we made our way over to the Space Camp check-in area and get Nick situated.  The first stop was getting his flight suit.

All settled in his room and ready for a week of fun!  The habitats are designed to look like the International Space Station.

Due to the drop-off time, we missed the bus tour of Marshall Space Flight Center (on Redstone Arsenal) so after we said goodbye to Nick, we drove over there to do a self-guided tour that I found online.

road trip day thirty eight: drive HOME!

Since we stayed in Knoxville, we were able to go the long way home from there and drive Blue Ridge Parkway to see the rhododendron blooms.

-the Albaeck sweethearts-

July 14, 2016 - Blue Ridge Parkway NC - State #1 AGAIN - 6257 miles (the chalkboard got left in Knoxville)

Blue Ridge Parkway

We usually drive the Parkway in the fall but it is just as pretty in the summer when everything is green and the flowers are blooming.

Roadside flowers.

Queen Anne's Lace

Linn Cove Viaduct- one of the most recognizable parts of the Parkway

Blue Ridge Parkway

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail enjoying the rhododendron

Price Lake

The rain put Ellie to sleep and we enjoyed a peaceful drive to Boone for a quick dinner (at Coyote Kitchen, another fave!) on our way home.  All in all, our trip took 38 days, went through 13 states, and was nearly 6400 miles long!