Dinosaurs, Caves, and Camping (part 6)

May 23-28, 2008---Wednesday morning we loaded up the van and drove to Nashville. First, we took in the beauty of the Opryland Hotel (but didn't take any pictures). The gardens and waterfalls are amazing. Then we walked over to the Aquarium at Opry Mills for lunch. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it. The food was delicious and the kids loved watching the sharks, stingrays, and other aquatic wildlife swim by. The kids were especially excited about the shark dessert we ordered! Afterwards, we took Mimi to the airport and then headed home. We were quite exhausted after our week of fun. The kids had missed our dog and were anxious to get home and play with him. Shadow was mad at us for leaving him so he went to my mom's house and refused to come home for a few days.

Dinosaurs, Caves, and Camping (part 5)

May 23-28, 2008---We spent Tuesday doing next to nothing. I took Anna Catherine and Jackson to the playground while Chloe took her morning nap. Rick, Chloe, and Mimi picked us up later and we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. Afterwards we came back to Jellystone where we played putt-putt and fed the ducks. Then it was back to the cabin for naps and laziness. Late afternoon/early evening, Rick was successful in building a campfire in the rain but soon the heavy rain overpowered the small fire. He finally decided it was a lost cause and they resorted to holding the marshmallows over an eye on the stove. The kids didn't care as long as they had s'mores. Then it was time to start packing, bathe, and go to bed.

Dinosaurs, Caves, and Camping (part 4)

May 23-28, 2008---Sunday we took the day off to lounge around Jellystone and take part in the activities they offered. On Monday we headed to Mammoth Cave National Park. We had a rocky start to the morning when I slammed Anna Catherine's arm in the door of the van. I slammed the door hard and it closed completely. Thankfully, nothing was broken or bleeding. There wasn't really a bruise either, just a small scratch. She put an ice pack on it and it was fine. We were very, very lucky!!! I vow to be much more observant when closing doors from now on!

We were six of a gazillion people who thought it would be a good idea to go to the cave on Memorial Day. A majority of the tours were sold out (including the "Frozen Niagara" tour that we wanted to do because it only had 13 steps and was 75 minutes long). None of the tours were handicap accessible so we would be carrying Chloe and possible Jackson through the entire tour. Rick was lucky enough, however, to book us on the two hour, 500 step "New Entrance" Tour (he failed to look at a description of the tour before buying the tickets). While waiting for our tour to begin we took a walk on one of the nature hikes at the National Park and hoped to do more after lunch. A sign said no cameras inside the cave so I had Rick take my camera back to the van. The sign was apparently there in error because photography was allowed inside the cave. No big deal though...I bought postcards. It would have been difficult for me to keep up with a camera and take pictures during this tour.

The tour started with a bus ride to the "New Entrance". From there we descended almost 300 feet below ground via 286 very wet and slippery steps that were extremely, extremely steep. I started off carrying Jackson because he went into a complete panic attack on the fist step. My poor baby is scared of the dark and every time his arm, leg, back, etc. touched a rail or rock he completely freaked out and tried to climb on top of my head. Rick had Chloe and Anna Catherine was walking on her own. Shortly after we began Rick and I swapped kids because I was also having a panic attack and could not handle Jackson. For those of you who do not know, I have a terrible fear of heights, falling, darkness, and tight spaces. This cave combined all of them into one horrific experience. You could see off the side of the railing and the metal steps had holes in them so you could see the drop-off as you were looking down to find your footing. Chloe was hanging onto me like a clinger monkey and I was so scared that I was going to fall or drop her. My heart was probably beating 200 beats per minute because it felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. No lying, sweat was pouring off of me--head, hair, face, hands, etc. My clothes were wet as if I had been sprayed with a water hose. My face was completely red and I couldn't breathe. If I could have laid down on the steps, curled into the fetal position and never moved again, I would have!!! Rick, Jackson, and Anna Catherine were ahead of me and I lost sight of them not far from the beginning. Mimi was behind me and encouraged me thorough the whole thing. At times I had to turn side ways, squat, and duck just to get Chloe and myself through the tight spots. Believe me, I had a few choice words for Rick when we got to the meeting spot. Jackson was still quite upset so the park ranger let him hold the flashlight. This made him happy for a little while. After a short Q&A session we continued with the tour and Rick held Chloe while Jackson and I panicked together. There were still over 200 steps throughout our tour but they were spaced enough that it wasn't as big a deal. We still had times of freaking out due to steep drop-offs and narrow openings but Jackson did walk part of it on his own. I really couldn't enjoy the cave because I was too focused on getting out. We were so proud to see daylight!!!

You are probably saying to yourself, "If you have this fear, why did you go on a cave tour?" Well, we went to Blanchard Springs Caverns in Arkansas last summer and it was a fun experience. We rode an elevator to get to the start of the tour. The tour was handicap accessible so Jackson and Chloe rode in the stroller while Mimi, Anna Catherine, and I walked. It had great lighting and interesting formations. Rick and Cliff took part in the Wild Cave tour there. I'm so glad Rick stayed with us on this tour or else we would never have made it to the end.

After our bus ride back to the visitor's center, we ate lunch at a cafe inside the Mammoth Cave Hotel. It began to rain so we weren't able to hike any trails. I think everyone was so exhausted from our whole cave ordeal that it wasn't a big deal. We all took a good nap once we were back at the cabin.


Mammoth Cave is the longest cave system in the world with over 360 feet of mapped and explored connected caves. People are continuously mapping this cave system. There were so many other tours that we could have taken. I wouldn't have a problem if the descent had not been so traumatic. Visit their website if you're interested: http://www.nps.gov/maca/

Dinosaurs, Caves, and Camping (part 3)

May 23-28, 2008---Saturday morning we were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and raring to go so we had a nice breakfast at Cracker Barrel waiting for Dinosaur World to open. Dinosaur World is a chain establishment with locations in Kentucky, Florida, and Texas. Jackson was sooooo excited!!! Anyone who knows Jack Jack knows he LOVES dinosaurs!!! He was so anxious he couldn't even eat his favorite breakfast, pancakes and chocolate milk. We arrived at 9 a.m. Of course, they have it set up so that you must walk through the gift shop to get to the dinosaurs. Jackson thought he had died and gone to heaven. It was a store filled with anything and everything you could think of with a dinosaur on it. His arms were filled to the brim with dinosaur stuff. We spent about 5-10 minutes trying to tell him that we would come back and get souvenirs after we saw the dinosaurs. He finally agreed, although somewhat hesitant. Then, off we went on our 2.5 mile journey through Dinosaur World where we encountered over 100 life size dinosaurs. He kept commenting on how huge the dinosaurs were. He was so excited!! He would lose his breath from trying to talk so fast. It was the biggest event of his little life so far (at least to him).
































Jackson pretending the T-Rex was chasing him (so funny):













Once we finished our hike Anna Catherine and Jackson participated in a fossil dig. Anna Catherine and Chloe played on the playground and went to the museum while Jackson went into the movie cave where he watched the same 14 minute movie three times (it was on a continuous loop). We had to make him leave by telling him it was time to go back to the gift shop. He cried. Poor fella...he LOVES dinos so much. He racked up on lots of dino gear--a rolling suitcase, backpack, toy, and puzzle.

If you have a child or know someone who has a child obsessed with dinosaurs, check out their website. It was a fun place and was the sole purpose of our vacation to Cave City, Kentucky.


http://www.dinoworld.net/

Dinosaurs, Caves, and Camping (part 2)

May 23-28, 2008---We arrived in Cave City late Friday afternoon and check into our cabin at Jellystone Park. There are not a lot of options for lodging in Cave City and we were actually excited about staying at the home of Yogi and Boo Boo. We rented a four bedroom 2 bath cabin titled Boo Boo's Bungalow (so appropriate for Chloe). Well, I can say it looked good on paper but reality was a different story. I have never stayed at a true campground and was totally shocked at the number of Billy Bobs and Bubbas surrounding us. It looked like Nascar was in town (haha--no offense to those of you who are into racing; you're an exception to the typical fan) . There were tents, RVs, and all their gear on every grassy surface to be seen. The cabins were all full too. Apparently it was standing room only at Jellystone. A lot of people were driving around on rented golf carts. You can imagine drunk rednecks racing on golf carts---quite an experience!

And don't even get me started on Boo Boo's Bungalow. We knew that each of the four bedrooms had bunk beds. One bedroom had one bunk bed with a full on bottom and twin on top. Rick, Chloe, and I took this room (even though Anna Catherine called it first). And no, we didn't put Chloe on the top bunk; we used it for storage. We brought Chloe's pack and play and put it in the corner. That filled our bedroom; it was the smallest bedroom. Each of the three other bedrooms had two sets of twin bunk beds. None of the bedrooms had a dresser or armoire but they did have a closet although it was smaller than a hotel closet. Jackson and Anna Catherine shared a room, Mimi had her own room, and the third was used as a playroom. The two bathrooms were very tiny as well. Each had a pedestal sink, toilet, and a standing shower and are very, very small. We did have a full size kitchen with a sink, refrigerator, stove, microwave, toaster, coffee maker, and a large table with eight chairs. There was no living room/den area. Very disappointed. We had to congregate in the kitchen, which is where most people gather, but there was no comfy furniture to veg on...just hard, wooden kitchen chairs. There was a flat screen plasma TV on the wall in the kitchen. It was the only television in the cabin and only received about six channels, one of which was auto racing 24 hours a day--very appropriate considering the typical clientele at this establishment. It was not working when we arrived and maintenance had to come out to fix it. Then it went out again Monday around noon and never came back on. Oh, I forgot to mention that the hot water heater sounds like Rick after too much Taco Bell. It belches and gurgles whenever you turn the hot water on. And it actually stopped working at least six times and had to be reset. We had our own bbq grill, fire pit, and a porch where the kids could play with their toys and blow bubbles. Rick, Anna Catherine, and Jackson toasted marshmallows and made s'mores.

I must admit Jellystone offers a lot of activities for families onsite. There was a swimming pool, kiddie pool, 300 foot water slide (which Anna Catherine went down at least twenty times one day), a putt-putt golf course, playground, indoor game room, outdoor movie theater, water wars, storytime with Yogi and Boo Boo, scavenger hunts, "hey" rides, arts and crafts, volleyball, basketball, bingo, karaoke, and dances.

Rick and his mom say it's not as bad as I make it out to be but honestly, I have not exaggerated any of my descriptions of the campsite. Maybe I have a negative opinion because I am not a camper. I must have a cabin with electricity, TV, and indoor plumbing in order to camp. I'm just not into becoming one with nature--to many critters, bugs, dirt, and boredom. I'm not high maintenance by any means but I'm just not into camping. I guess it hasn't been too bad and we will probably do this again. I'm trying. I really am. There are many Jellystone Parks yet to explore. There's even one in Mississippi between Jackson and Meridian. We may have to go down there for a long weekend. There are over a hundred Jellystone Park campsites nationwide.

The company website is http://www.campjellystone.com/

The website for our campground is http://www.jellystonemammothcave.com/

Dinosaurs, Caves, and Camping (part 1)

May 23-28, 2008---We took a vacation to Cave City, Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend. This was a trip planned especially for Jackson. We told the kids on Wednesday night that we would be going to Dinosaur World on Friday. BIG MISTAKE!!!! Originally, we had decided to tell them either Thursday night or Friday morning. For some strange reason, we changed it to Wednesday night. From the time Jackson woke up Thursday morning, with very stop we made in the car, he asked why we weren't at Dinosaur World. By the end of the day he was crying because we hadn't gotten there yet. We told him the Dinosaurs were asleep and we would go the next morning when they were awake. So, Friday morning rolls around. He is the first child awake and gets into the van while Rick is still loading all of our gear. He didn't even want to get out to get dressed because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to go. Once we were on the road, we stopped at Chick-Fil-A for breakfast. That caused a complete meltdown because it wasn't Dinosaur World. This happened with each of the six stops we made until we arrived in Cave City.



We had quite a slow drive to Nashville via the Natchez Trace Parkway. Not only is the speed limit 50 mph, but we were forced to detour several times due to closed bridges. We decided then that we would be taking a faster route home. We stopped in Nashville to stretch our legs. We chose the Rainforest Cafe at Opry Mills for my birthday lunch (yes, I was another year older on Friday). We thought the kids would love it---especially Jackson with his love of animals. This was not the case. It was a TOTAL DISASTER!!! Rick asked for the table by the elephants. Anna Catherine and Jackson totally freaked out when they moved and when they made noises the kids went berserk. They had their hands over their ears and were wailing. Chloe was mesmerized and never made a sound. I took the older two for a tour of the other animals. They liked the hippo, fish, birds, and butterflies. But when we got to the gorilla and monkeys, the rain storm started and Anna Catherine and Jackson completely lost it so we went back to our seats to eat. Anna Catherine screamed and held her hands over her ears the entire time we were eating---no exaggeration. She didn't eat any of her lunch. Jackson was unhappy but still managed to eat his pizza. Chloe didn't know what all the hullabaloo was about and had no problem eating. After lunch Jackson and I wandered the mall while Rick and the girls went to the airport to pick up his mom. We wanted to do some shopping and needed a little more time to stretch our legs. We took a sneak peak at The Aquarium restaurant and decided we will eat there on the way home. Jackson liked the sharks and sting rays. Rick, his mom, and the girls picked us up and we hunkered down for the last hour and a half of our journey.