Memorial Day 2010

The Memorial Day camping tradition lives on!

Despite taking a respite from "roughing it" last year when we traded in our tent for a bungalow near Barcelona (such a sacrifice), we happily resumed our camping ritual this past Memorial day. My generous parents spent an entire week with us as we romped around the southeast, exploring new territory. Poison ivy, spider bites, no showers except for the rain--it's hard to believe that we consider this fun, yet it's always a blast.

Home sweet home--on the banks of Little Grassy Lake in Southern Illinois.

While the grown-ups set up camp, the kids directed the proceedings from the comfort of their camp chairs.



Brooklyn and Talia both mastered the art of climbing trees...




...while Eli mastered the art of, well, lounging.

Granted, he did find some unusual places to perch.

There's actually quite a history behind this potty chair. Twenty five years ago, my parents lived in southern Illinois, in a town called Carterville. On Sunday, we attended church in our old chapel. While my parents doubted that anybody would still remember them, we were greeted at the door by the Dunkels, family friends who recognized us immediately. The Dunkels invited us over for lunch, and we enjoyed a wonderful afternoon together catching up. Here's a photo with Kara Dunkel (I love her name):

While at the Dunkel's home, the-other-Kara pulled out this ancient potty training toilet that belonged to Callie and I all the way back when we lived in southern Illinois. Apparently there was no room for it in the moving truck, so she's hung on to it in her basement for two and half decades!

So here's the infamous toilet, with potty users past and present. We thought the entire scenario was so amusing that we actually strapped the pot on top of our trailer. (Not to mention the fact, that every other inch of space was already dedicated to camping gear.)

I'm sure that the people behind us in the McDonald's drive thru must have thought we were an incredibly amusing sight.

After a few days in Southern Illinois, we continued our journey into the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The drive may have been long, but we figured out ways to pass the time in the car.

Brooklyn, on the other hand, was too busy to sleep.
(Of course, bumps on the road can make the lines a bit wobbly.)

When we finally reached the beautiful green rolling mountains, we knew the trip had been worth it. I was worried that Talia would be disappointed because she thought the "smoky" mountains should quite literally be smoky. Fortunately, the vistas satisfied her expectations. The clouds are often so low that they truly do appear to be rising like smoke out of the green foliage..

After setting up camp again, everyone enjoyed a bit of cuddle time with Eli.

The poor guy struggled with lingering ear infections the whole time we were gone, so he really wanted to be held. Good thing everyone was accommodating!

(Especially NomiAnn.)

Papa Kay pontificated...

...and doubled as a pack horse on a day hike.

Here we are, at beautiful Laurel Falls (minus Jason, our faithful photographer):

Such a sensory photo--can't you hear the rushing water?

Talia's preferred hiking style--one thumb in her mouth, a bag of goodies hidden behind her back.

So sneaky--we hardly noticed. :)

Of course, we couldn't stop with Laurel Falls. No trip to the Smoky Mountains is complete without hiking the Appalachian trail over to North Carolina.

Brooklyn scaled rocks to get there.


We enjoyed sights so pretty...

...and sights slightly scary.

The Andrus-mobile ate a lot of bugs to take us on such an ambitious journey. We had plenty of bonding time with the seven of us stuck in the faithful mini-van. But in the end, I think we were all grateful for our shared experiences...

...and ready for a nap.

Here's to more Memorial Day camping!