road trip days one to two: north carolina to louisiana

We had such a great time on our cross country road trips the past two years that we decided to do another one!  We hit the road the week after school got out.

June 11, 2017 - Mooresville NC - State #1 - 0 miles

June 11, 2017 - Anderson SC - State # 2 - 148 miles

June 11, 2017 - Lithia Springs GA - State #3 - 282 miles

Making our way across the southeastern United States.

June 12, 2017 - Hoover AL - State #4 - 424 miles

June 12, 2017 - Meridian MS - State #5 - 559 miles

Crossing the mighty Mississippi River into Louisiana.

June 12, 2017 - Shreveport LA - State #6 - 870 miles

We discovered Marilynn's Place on our drive last year and made sure to stop again this year for the AMAZING food.

road trip day one: drive to atlanta

We had so much fun on our big cross-country trip last summer that we decided to repeat it this summer!  Once everyone got home on the last day of school, we loaded up the van and headed west.

Before leaving, we had to get a starting point picture with our chalkboard.

June 8, 2016 - Mooresville NC - State #1 - 0 miles

Every time we stopped somewhere (interesting) and at the end of the day, we took a new picture with the chalkboard.

June 8, 2016 - Gaffney SC - State #2 - 82 miles

June 8, 2016 - Atlanta GA - State #3 - 271 miles

The kids were so excited that our hotel in Atlanta was within walking distance from a Baja Fresh since we don't have them here in NC.  As soon as we got checked into the hotel, we walked through Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta and headed to a delicious dinner.

Back at the hotel, Ellie had to sleep on a bed of blankets on the floor because they ran out of pack-n-plays!  Luckily, she slept well and it didn't seem to affect her mood the next day.  All in all, it was a great start to our busy summer on the road.

okefenokee national wildlife refuge

In November we surprised the kids with a quick trip.  We were originally planning to leave right after school but they'd been complaining that they NEVER get picked up from school early (NEVER-- not even for doctor's appointments) so Jacob swung by and got them all a couple of hours before school was out for the day.  None of them knew why they were getting picked up and their imaginations started to get the best of them.  By the time he got home with the kids, they were convinced that they got picked up early to go get shots for some new infectious disease that we were concerned about.

We loaded everyone into the car (and luckily they didn't notice the luggage in the trunk) and headed south.  We drove for about 2.5 hours before stopping at a Ruby Tuesday's for dinner in South Carolina.  The kids kept asking what we were doing and where we were going and if they'd be going back to school that week (we left on a Tues, there was no school on Wed for Veteran's Day, but school on Thurs/Fri).  We told them that they would have fun but we weren't going to answer ANY questions about where we were going or what we were doing.  We finally compromised and answered the question about whether or not they were getting shots and they were all a bit relieved to find out that no one was getting one.

After dinner we had a few more hours in the car before arriving at our hotel for the night in Kingsland, Georgia.  The kids were all convinced that we were going to Disney World so stopping in Georgia definitely confused them!  After a good night's sleep we were off again and headed to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, about an hour west of Kingsland.

Ellie was excited to be out of the car and happily walked up to the entrance.  The kids were excited to see wildlife as soon as we entered the Visitor's Center-- and signs prohibiting feeding said wildlife!

We perused the Visitor's Center for a bit (and learned that Okefenokee was named by Indians and means "land that trembles when you walk on it") and then got ready for our boat tour of the swamp!

Ready to go!

We made our way into the swamp and after about a minute we spotted wildlife-- a woodpecker!

Keeping their eyes open for gators!

We spotted a barred owl high up in the trees and pulled in for a closer look.

First gator sighting!

As we made our way deeper into the swamp, we saw more and more alligators.  Our guide would pull up next to them (the metal bar in the bottom left pic is the boat) so that we could get a closer look-- while the gators are used to the boat traffic through the swamp, they are still wild animals and must be respected.

Before this trip, I never would have guessed that a swamp could be such a beautiful place.

We were incredibly lucky to see this group of roseate spoonbills as Okefenokee Swamp is not their natural home-- they must have just been passing through!

Fall in the swamp

These two girls had so much fun looking for gators-- notice the one behind Lexie's head!

A sweet alligator resting in a bed of tickseed sunflowers.

Enjoying our time on the Suwanee Canal

Gators in the swamp

Ellie was completely oblivious to the giant alligator next to her!

We learned all about bladderwort-- a small carnivorous plant that thrives in the swamp.

The water in Okefenokee swamp is really dark, in fact, it's the largest "blackwater" swamp in North America.  The Indians that originally inhabited the swamp believed that the water had healing powers- the acidity level of the water is high enough to disinfect wounds!  The still, dark water looks almost like a mirror and easily reflects the tall trees of the swamp.

Our tour was 90 minutes and covered both the forests and the prairies of Okefenokee Swamp.

Ellie loved looking over the side of the boat, trying to find alligators.

As we neared the Visitor's Center we laughed about the "Do Not Feed Alligators" signs-- it is amazing that people need that reminder!

White egret (heron) enjoying the sunny morning.

We all had a great time on the boat tour and everyone wants to go back and experience the beauty of Okefenokee Swamp again!  We made a quick stop in the gift shop and then continued our drive south.

wild animal safari

After Jacob's Airborne graduation, we went to lunch and then to Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia. It's a drive through safari with more animals than the Atlanta Zoo!

Jacob feeding his favorite deer.

We purchased a bag of animal food and started our drive through the park. Christopher and Nicholas rode with Grandma and Grandpa in their car while Ben and Lexie went with us. As soon as a window was rolled down and a piece of food waved around all of the animals would run up to the car.

Jacob's favorite (on the right) followed us for about a mile

Ready for a kiss?

It was amazing seeing all of the animals up close and personal. Short of going on a safari in Africa, it's as close as we'll ever be to these animals!!

A hungry buffalo!

Last but not least, my favorite, the giraffe!!

airborne graduation

After three weeks of training and five jumps, Jacob graduated from Airborne school. We arrived at Fort Benning about a half hour before the ceremony.

Nicholas was upset that there wasn't anything to eat. And that it was hot. And boring.

Because Airborne school is open to all branches of the military, there were Soldiers, Airmen, Seamen, and Marines graduating. They marched their way up to the front and graduation began.

After a quick introduction, invocation, and guest speaker, it was time to award the Airborne wings.

Family members were allowed to pin the wings on their Soldier (etc).

Jennifer and Jacob

The newly pinned Soldier!

After the pinning of the wings, graduation was over. All of the graduates ran back to the barracks (in the Georgia heat and humidity) for out-processing. We were able to leave with our Airborne Soldier about an hour later!!

georgia aquarium

Since we're in Georgia for the week for Jacob's Airborne graduation, we decided to take advantage of the opportunity and head up to Atlanta for the day. Our first stop was the Georgia Aquarium, the world's largest aquarium featuring more animals than any other aquarium in over eight million gallons of water.

The boys were excited to get started and so cooperative! :)

The first area that we walked through was the Ocean Voyager. After going through the tunnels on a moving sidewalk, we arrived at a HUGE aquarium wall. Lucky for us, it was feeding time and all of the fish came out to eat!!

Feeding time!!

Whale sharks are the largest fish species in the world.

Benjamin LOVED the aquarium. He excitedly ran up to every window yelling "fishy" whether it was a fish, crab, or otter. And he insisted on getting his picture taken in front of many of the windows, although he refused to look at the camera.

Silly Ben!

The beluga whales are my favorite!!

There were several different "touch tanks" at the aquarium. Christopher really liked the one with the rays and sharks (although he didn't even attempt to touch a shark). Nicholas enjoyed putting his hands in the water but refused to touch anything-- he just did it so that he could clean up with hand sanitizer!!

Christopher

Grandma helping Ben and Christopher touch the horseshoe crabs.

Goofy Lexie!! :)