Great American Pit Stop

or Good Bye Mt. Zubba Bubba. It's been fun!

On our journey home yesterday we made an unusual (but planned pit stop). Having lived in WI (booooo Brett's a Jet Favre) for many years, we are Brewers fans. They were playing in Cincinnati against the Reds in the Great American Ball Park yesterday at 12:35 and we just so happened to be driving through there then (nice grammar, I know). So, we stopped, got a couple of cheap nose bleed seats (but still a good view of the field), the requisite popcorn, hot dogs, ice water and took our places. At one point a man with Down syndrome passed us by and I mentioned this to Mark. His reply was, 'ya, they all have Ds.' I looked again and the man was with a few friends who all had Ds. A few minutes later I looked up and over a few rows, and lo and behold, there were even more people with Ds. We bought our tickets at the gate but managed to sit with our people. How cool and unplanned!

I say we were in our seats for 40 minutes. Mark says 20. It was long enough to eat the dogs and slather everyone in spf 50 sunscreen. (which I should have done in the car). Although I had on a Brewers shirt, Soph was in red and white and her skin was the bright tomato red of her outfit. Her lethargy and coloring freaked me out so we boot scooted to the first aid station. Despite our Brewer apparel, they let us in. We all cooled off in the air conditioning and watched the game on a 14 inch screen. After a little while the boys took off while Soph rested. Eventually her skin color returned to normal and after a nap she woke up with her usual personality and a decent temp. Whew. We caught the last 10 minutes of the game and headed back to the car. Here's what the temp gage in the car read:

If there had been even a slight breeze or 1 spot with shade, I think we would have been ok. It was just too hot with that direct sun. We did have a little fun though. Alexander and Mark found the mister thing and cooled off. Not sure how much of the actual game we watched. But, the Brewers won 6-3 and Soph was OK. That's all that matters in the end.

King Smellsalot

Today we drove to our family's summer residence in Asheville, NC. It was built in 1895, has 250 rooms, and thousands of acres. More about the castle can be found here.

When we arrived, Alexander announced that there would be a purple dragon and the king was named King Smellsalot. I wonder what George Vanderbilt would think about that?

After a long day, our limo arrived to take us on a tour of the grounds and then we headed back to our real summer home on Mt. Zubba Bubba at Papa and Grandma Paula's.

Anne Boleyn had 6 fingers

or so the legend goes. That is to say that the 2nd Queen of Henry the 8th of England may have had 6 fingers on her left and 5 on her right hand. Why do I mention this? Cuz I finally had a chance to watch the Other Boleyn Girl tonight. It made me think of the line about Anne's fingers in Steel Magnolias, so I looked it up on the Internets.

Guess what else I did today? Nothing. And it was all I imagined it could be.

Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg

Mt. Zubba Bubba Day 5

We spent the day in Gatlinburg, TN as tix to Dollywood ($50 each) were too rich for our blood. We were so excited to find the real life Herbie car. Alexander is a HUGE Herbie the Love Bug fan and this was a special treat.

The skies opened up and rained on us on and off all day. It was a warm summer rain, so not much of a nuisance. Nevertheless, Mark and Bubba opted for an indoor mini golf course (black lit and a bit creepy).

They also went through a mirror maze. Can you tell which Alexander is the real one?

Its in reverse of course, but Alexander (AKA: Bubba as named by Sophie meaning Brother) got a new hat at Bubba Gump Shrimp. (if you can't tell, it says Bubba on the front)

Later we stopped by Cooters, as in the Dukes of Hazzard, mainly to take these 2 shots.

Who says rainy days can't be fun?

Mt. Zubba Bubba Day 4

At the bottom of Mount Zubba Bubba is a convenience store. Our new friend we met at the pool says that they sell fried chicken next to live bait. I hear tell if you go in briefly, you come out smellin of grease. I just love the name.

We spent the morning at the pool again and I got a little burned on my shoulders. I think I may have the beginnings of a tan though. (something I haven't had since high school when I stopped worshipping the sun).

The pool is in Norris State Park (1.5 miles from the house). The view from both the kiddie pool and big pool is gorgeous. They both sit at the edge of the mountain giving you a spectacular view. These 2 shots were taken behind the diving board area (Paula and I are both diving queens, though she can do a pretty good jack knife).

flowers behind the diving area

Mt. Zubba Bubba Day 2

Grandma Paula, the kids and I spent the morning at the pool that is near by.

For dinner we went to a BBQ restaurant that was very, very good. Mark will not eat his vegetables to this day unless they are deep fried or hidden in food. Fried green tomatoes and sweet tea hit the spot!

They even had a band for entertainment.

This was the view from the back of the restaurant.

Rain was moving in and the drive home was wet, but helped cool things off.

Mt. Zubba Bubba Day 1, or Lions & Tigers & Bears, Oh My

Day 1 on vacation at Mark's folks new home in Tennessee.

In the morning on Mount Zubba Bubba (the name Alexander gave to the mountain his grandparents live on) the fog is thick. Basically, this shot is in the clouds off of the back porch.

Mark stayed at home to work and Papa and Grandma Paula treated us to the Knoxville Zoo.

It was HOT. And I do mean HOT! Ice cream sandwiches and raspberry slushies that stained my mouth blue saved us all.

By the end of the day, I wanted to be carried too.