We had a good trip, but I learned a valuable lesson. Pregnant women shouldn't tent camp when there is a heat wave going on. It's usually quite cool this time of year in the gorge, but it was mid to high 90's and humid while we were there. As long as I was in the water it was fine, but sitting around outside doing nothing was not an option.
We had planned for Daniel to do the Ocoee Thursday morning. Unfortunately, we did not consider the time change so we were an hour late getting there and he missed his trip (we later rescheduled). Our first full day we did the Nantahala in Yahoos (sit on top of kayaks). Before anyone freaks out about a pregnant woman doing the river: 1. I've done the Nanty about a million times and consider myself a decent paddler, 2. I put in below Patton's Run and didn't do the falls (thereby avoiding the higher class rapids) and 3. I wore a helmet and a lifejacket and paddle pants so the worst that could happen would be i take a float down the river (which I didn't of course). That night we went to Relia's Garden for a lovely dinner and took pics at the top of Big Wesser Falls during our stroll afterwards.
(I just love that my cheeks are expanding along with everything else on my body)
The next day we took lunch up to Queen's Lake and spent the day floating on innertubes! It was relaxing and cool! We drove up the nice paved Winding Stairs road rather than the scary, stupid, mountain bike trail excuse for a road that the girls took up last year.
Wow, what a coincendence! Those are our initials. Wonder how that got there?
That night we attending a beer tasting at a new river side pub called the Pourover pub. They had local brewery's giving free beer and had a live band. Daniel got to do quite a bit of sampling. I got to do quite a bit of sitting and watching. :(
On Sunday we woke up to a big thunderstorm and lots of rain. By this point I had had enough of being damp, hot, and uncomfortable so I requested we cut our trip short a day. We packed up everything in the rain and made our way back to the Ocoee. Daniel was able to reschedule his trip down the river for that afternoon, so we had some time to play around the Ocoee Center.
I bought my first baby outfit while there. I thought it was too cute to pass up!
I think this may be the only picture we have of the two of us that Daniel didn't take by stretching his arm out.
There are some great trails going along the Ocoee that seem to be well cared for and clear. They range in distance from about 2 miles to 4 miles. Next trip I would definitely like to take the time to hike these!
After Daniel finished the Ocoee (which he loved, by the way), we spontaneously decided to get a hotel in Chattanooga, go out for a nice dinner, and do some site seeing there! I was pretty desperate for AC and a real bed, so this plan was right up my alley. We got a room at the Sheraton Read House in downtown. It was a beautiful old hotel inside with an amazing indoor pool that unfortunately we didn't have time to hit up. Below are a few pics from the lobby.
I meant to get a pic of the hallways by the rooms because they looked JUST LIKE the hallways in the shining! Red carpets and all!
After a long, hot, bug free shower, we ventured out for dinner at Tony's in the Bluff View Art District. We passed several museums and got to walk over this see through glass bridge.
View looking down through the glass bridge to the road below.
Pedestrian bridge across the TN river?
This is not a great picture, but outside the aquarium are lots of water features and pedestrian bridges covered with greenery and trees.
The next morning we went to the aquarium before our LONG drive home. Below are some pics from the aquarium.
This blue tang hung out by the window and stared at us forever! We figured he was trying to tell us something...never figured out what.
Son, you've got a turtle on yo head.
If you've made it all the way through this long post, I thank you! I'll post pics from the river and queen's lake when I get them. On the baby front, I'm getting quite a belly. I will maybe take a pic this week to share with you. My skin is finally clearing up which is fabulous! I feel pretty great (other than feeling like a cow). I think maybe I've been feeling the baby move, but don't know for sure. Ummm...most of the maternity clothes I borrowed from Sherri are getting too tight in the bust, so looks like I'll need to go get a few more things to wear to work at some point. that's about all i know!
