Red Roof Johnson City

... for ton's of rain. It really was beautiful country as you cross the western side of West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and into Tennessee. Unfortunately, much of it was obscured by torrential rains. We had to stop three times to wait out the really strong rains but ended up riding through most of it. All our gear is wet but we will be ready to go again tomorrow (despite pretty wet forecasts for our planned trek). The ...

... for the TRI left at 1:01p.m. and by 2:30 we were back home and beginning our jet lag recovery. The trip was not quite over though. Laura's family came back over that evening to view pictures and enjoy that delicious trout I caught in Seattle. Yes, it made it back fresh and found its way into our tummies!!! A fine ending to a fine adventure in the Northwestern part of our country.
Kingsport, Tennessee, United States snlmalaypen

... Miller's blueberries in Watkinsville).

After our hike, we asked the kids if they wanted to go to Linville Falls for a picnic or Banner Elk playground. Guess which one won? So we drove into Banner Elk and ate our lunch on a picnic table by the playground. After eating the kids had great time playing, swinging and sliding. They both got on their crocs and waded in the stream too.

Then we took David Andrew so he could get a nap. We stopped by ...

It was another rainy day today, so we stayed in. The kids played downstairs a lot. There are bunches of toys that are all new to them, so they really enjoyed it. After lunch, we put Star Wars 2 in to watch with Caroline. We popped some popcorn too. A great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

Some work had to be done on the well pump ...

... the Thursday night concert at the Banner Elk park. We went to one last summer too and it was really nice. They have vendors with food for sale and the playground and stream and there too. We let the kids play first and then we had dinner and sat and listened to the music.

... Grandmama & Grandaddy bought while we were in NC last summer) for the kids to float in the water and have boat races. They had a great time and got pretty wet too!

The afternoon was spent relaxing at the cabin, we even got a couple of rain showers. We had leftover night for dinner and then roasted marshmallows for smores on a little grill we bought.

... they got dry and we got back in the car. We drove to the Mast General Store. David Andrew fell asleep while David had him in a swing on the back porch. Caroline bought some candy from the barrels and we got a Cheerwine to try. It was relaxing rocking back there.

We headed back to pick up our fish and stopped by the grocery store for the rest of what we needed for dinner. We grilled trout and had a great night.

... airport, we actually had to completely leave one terminal and walk to another to catch our last flight which included having to go back through security again (and I was carrying a laptop). Fortunately, no flight delays. By just before 4PM Pacific Standard Time, we found ourselves in the Portland International Airport.

I managed to ...

We headed out through Virginia toward Kingsport, TN. Along the way we stopped at Checkers and had a great bacon cheeseburger (the first of several!). We finally made it To Tennessee! Then Ashley learned how to play Pente (we didn't know we were creating a Pente Monster!).