Wrap Up

Well, its been over a month since our trip to Tennessee.  I've had time to reflect on the things we did, the places we visited and the fun we had.  I've sorted through each of the snapshots in my mind and have attempted to finish this post.  But I'm never quite sure how to finish, how to summarize what I feel.

It occurred to me, then that I cannot summarize the trip because traveling changes us.  Spending time as a family, sharing experiences, enjoying one another.  We can't explain it unless someone joined us on the journey.

So that's exactly what I'll remember about our trip this summer... the laughter we shared and the memories we made.  The snapshots I took in my head will forever remind me of how we grew.

Thanks for taking the journey with me.  Scott, Tyler, and Sammy... you were each a critical part of how this trip helped me grow and change!  I will never be the same... and I suspect, neither will you!

Trip Home, Part B - Day 9

It's tough sleeping in a truck stop... The constant engine noise, the revs of the engine as trucks came and go.  But we did get some sleep!

Tyler woke up a little before 4:00 am.  Assuming it was time to wake up, he watched a full length movie.  When it finished, he got up and only then realized the time, so he climbed into bed with us and fell back asleep.

Around 7:00 am, Sammy woke up with a stomach ache, so I got up with her and watched some tv in the living area.  Around 7:30 she threw up... That's a first for the RV!  

Scott wasn't feeling well either so he jumped in the shower and had some cereal.  We woke up Tyler and got him breakfast as well.  We knew we better get on the road as soon as possible.

It was 8:00 am when we left Beaverdam, with 4.5 hrs to get home.  Tyler rode shotgun to help Scott navigate, while I hung out in back with Sammy!  

I wish I could say the ride was quiet and uneventful but it wasn't.  Sammy was sick the entire ride home.  Luckily she could lie down and we had a toilet and sink readily available.  

We pulled in around 12:42 pm.  The kids and I went straight inside to get Sammy settled.  Scott parked the RV and unhooked the JEEP and came in for a shower.  We will unpack later!

I'll do a follow up with our vacation highlights after Sammy's feeling better.  But for now, it was a great trip!  But boy, am I glad to be home!

Trip Home, Part A - Day 8

After a good night sleep, we all took showers and had a big breakfast.  Scott and I worked on getting prepped for the ride home.  Scott took care of the bikes and our tow car last night so today he focused on all the outside prep: water, electrical and sewer.  I worked inside to get cleaned up and stow our things for travel.  The kids were a big help as they are now starting to understand the steps it takes to be ready.  

We pulled out of the Dell a little after 11:00 am.  We were met with some slow traffic as we left the greater Sevierville area but after 45 mins or so, we found our highway and got up to speed.  The kids settled right in!

We stopped at a Loves station in Kentucky around 2:00 pm.  I made lunch while Scott filled up with diesel.  While eating lunch, the boys say up front to watch a UPS truck hook up to a new trailer.  Sammy and I enjoyed our tacos and salad from the comfy dining table.

We were making great time until we hit Cincinnati, OH around 4:30 pm.  There was just no way to avoid traffic... Head west and the highway drops to a single lane over the only bridge to cross a river and the state line into Indiana OR go 20 miles out of our way but right through the city with its Friday night rush hour traffic.

We took our chances with the road work, figuring traffic cannot be too unbearable when you have a bathroom and kitchen along for the ride.  I brewed Scott a cup of coffee and we made the best of it.

We spent just less than an hour in that construction traffic.  I took advantage of the time to bake chocolate chip cookies.  We even offered some to a truck driver next to us.  He was so excited, so I hopped out on the highway and have him some. I think we made his day!

I fed the kids their supper on the road and they settled in to watch a movie right about the time we hit a stretch of rain showers.

We stopped for the night at 8:30 pm at a Flying J in Beaverdam, OH.

We haven't left the RV in 9.5 hrs and have travelled 441 miles.  It's been a big day but everyone is doing great!

After the kids were settled in for the night, Scott and I ate supper... tilapia with broccoli & cauliflower.  Who says you can't eat well while traveling?

Its 10:36 pm and its time to sleep!

Side note:  Sammy left her hair in a French braid so she would have curls today...

Mining, Minions, and Ziplining - Day 7

Today flew by in a whoosh!  We woke up just before 9 and decided to expedite our breakfast and just do cereal.  We were all dressed and ready to head out at 10.

We were trying something new today... I found this place online prior to our trip that offered gem mining.  In essence, you pay for a bucket of dirt that is preloaded with fossils, gemstones, rocks, etc.  Then you take it over to the "river" and sift through the bucket to collect your treasures.  It looked a little hokey from the parking lot but we figured the kids would enjoy.  Boy, were we right!  They LOVED it.  It took about an hour to sift through our bucket, wash our treasure and have it assessed.  The kids were so proud of their collections... amethyst, emerald, topaz, fossilized squid, clam and plants, petrified wood, shark teeth, several sea shells, and an arrow head.

We could take home all of our finds but decided to have one of the amethysts cut for Sammy since its her birthstone.  We'll decide later if she wants a piece of jewelry made.  Tyler had his choice for a souvenir and zeroed in on the Megladon teeth.  He is SO excited about this one!

We wrapped up at the Gem mine and decided to take yet another go at seeing the Minion movie.  And, the third time was the charm!  We got in just in time although we did have to sit in the very front row.  Seriously, I've never seen a theater so small.  There weren't even 50 seats in it.  We all enjoyed the movie and the air conditioning.  The weather was warm today - over 90* - we just aren't used to that!

We headed home to have some quiet time, hoping to be well rested for tonight.  I made supper at 3:45 and we got on the road by 4:30 to head south-east to Pittman Center where we would go Ziplining at ClimbWorks.

This is the same company we used in 2014 and it was gorgeous...  9 zips, the longest over 1250 ft long... At times over 100' off the ground.  It takes about 2.5 hours to complete and the entire way down the mountain you are staring into the National Park.  BEAUTIFUL!

Disclaimer:  Sammy did have a hard time for the latter half of our evening... she just couldn't deal with the heat.  So there aren't a lot of pics of her smiling but we did have a great time.  We had an amazing guide (again) who has experience with autism who helped make it fun for her in spite of her frustration.

At the very end, we got to repel down out of the trees.  It is so intimidating to just step off that platform.  But so much fun!

We headed right home after we finished the zip lining.  Sammy was back to her sweet self once the A/C kicked in and she had cooled down.  Kids were both in bed by 10:00 pm.

We all agreed it was a great week and today was the perfect way to finish!  Tomorrow morning we will pack up and head for home.  

Ober Gatlinburg and Over it! - Day 6

After breakfast and showers, we headed out to spend another day in the Smoky Mountain National Park.  But if yesterday taught us anything, it was the importance of staying flextible.  So after being stuck in traffic for 1:15 hrs and only travelling 8.7 miles, we decided to stop there and spend the day in Gatlinburg instead. 

We found a place to park and walked to the an air tram ride to the top of the mountain.  After the 10 min ride, travelling appx 17 mph, we arrived near the top of the mountain at Ober Gatlinburg. 

 

First the kids wanted to take a ride on the swings.

Then we took a turn on the alpine sleds.

 

 

Next we headed in for lunch and then took a quick walk through their animal preserve. 

 

We headed back down the mountain and back to our motorcoach for a quick rest time before heading out for our helicopter ride.  This was a highlight for me!  It was an 60-mile tour covering Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, the Smoky Mountiain National Park and then the return trip.  There isn’t nearly enough room for all the pictures… but let’s just summarize by saying it was beautiful!  I’m so glad we did it.  Tyler sat shotgun beside the pilot and loved every minute of it!

After our ride, we headed home and fired up the grill for some Ribeyes right from Sobies.  We watched the recording of the dinner show we went to the other night, highlighting Sammy and Tyler’s cameo.  After enjoying a bowl of ice cream, our neighbor Mr Doolittle invited us over to watch the fireworks from Dollywood (from afar).  We did and then it was a bedtime story and tuck in.   

Today was another great day!

My favorite quotes from today: 

• "I miss my cats..."(We all pause thinking how sweet that was) "But I want to stay here forever"
• (At the top of the alpine slide)  Me:  Sammy you remember how to drive these right.  Sammy:  yup.  See, there's a sign (pointing to the directions between her legs in the cart)
• Scott:  Sammy, keep the gun inside the window while we drive (pause). Wow, I thought she'd be older before I had to say that!
• Sammy:  this is my best day ever (as the helicopter takes off)
• (We couldn't figure out why Tyler didn't stop talking the entire time we were in the helicopter.)  When I asked him why afterwards... Tyler: "well, I didn't want it to be awkward... you know, the silence?!?".  We explained that it's totally ok, if not preferred, to have long stretches of silence while using pilot headphones.  To which he replied, "oh, sorry". Ahaha

The Unexpected - Day 5

Well today certainly didn’t go as planned…

We woke up to some heavy rain with storms overnight.  Scott wasn’t feeling good so he slept in trying to ward off a migraine.  The kids played quietly while I did my devotions.  We had breakfast and  based on the rainy weather forecast, decided that we would see a movie at 2:00 pm.  We were scheduled to go zip-lining at 6:00 so it would all time out perfectly. 

I used the few hours we had to get caught up on some emails and computer work.  Scott nursed his headache and the kids did their homework and played.

We decided to eat snacks at the movie and then a hearty meal at 4:00 pm on our way to the zip line place.  However, when we arrived at the theater, the movie was completely sold out.  So, disappointed and really hungry we walked across the parking lot to Five Guys and ate lunch at 2:00 pm.

After that we headed back to the RV.  Scott took a nap while I watched the weather… we had severe storms coming in and 2 confirmed tornadoes.  We called the zip line company prior to our leaving and they decided to cancel our trip.  So, we hung out for a little while longer before deciding to try a new restaurant for dinner.

We landed at a local Pizzeria that the neighbor Mr Doolittle recommends and it was AMAZING!  Everyone raved about our meal… and it was just a pepperoni pizza!!!  They even brought out dough for the kids to play with while we waited and then baked and covered them with cinnamon sugar for dessert.  It was fun!

  

We purchased tickets online for another showing of Minions so we wouldn’t run into the same issues we had earlier.  So we rushed over to the theater right after dinner, only to wait in line 15 minutes.  When we finally headed into the theater we were so incredibly frustrated to find not even a single seat available.  The manager apologized and gave us vouchers to return later in the week. 

Sammy and Tyler handed it like a rock star!  We decided to play mini golf instead.  So we wandered around the mall to the entry to get prepped to play.  EXCEPT that there was an incredibly long backup at the first four holes so we decided not to stay.

Ugh!  We grabbed the Jeep and drove across the street to another course and actually got to play!  Finally, something went right!

 

After golfing, we headed home for bed.  Its been a disappointing day but we made the best of it.  And very likely, the slow schedule and down time is just what we needed!

Today with Autism Goggles - Day 4

* You might want to read today's normal entry first before reading my thoughts today through the autism goggles.

"Though she be but little, she is fierce!"

This morning was pretty extreme…  The bouncing, the jerking, and the noise of the engine of the Gater.  Then add in the 90* heat and high humidity and the discomfort of wet clothing.  If that wasn’t enough, then we added the exhausting climb up the iron mine.  I was ready to quit and I know the kids felt it too but they didn’t give up.  Sammy led the way up our climb and had no one in front of her to show the way.  She tried and tried and lo and behold she made it.  As we came back down the hill, I could tell she had had enough.  We were way out on the course and far from any drinks, snacks, or anything familiar to help her stay calm.  Then she fell down and let out a scream that near brought the entire staff running.  But she pulled it together and was the second to make it back to our ride.  You could see her physically struggle to hold off her melt-down.  And she did it!

Sammy took a short break, she didn’t get upset or yell, but informed us all that she was done talking.  Even as the guide tried to cheer her up, she ignored him and stayed calm.  Within five minutes we arrived at the waterfalls and it was just the ticket to “reboot her system”.  Sammy was back at it again!  

The Wielhouwers once pointed out that it is nothing short of a miracle, that when we travel, we so often end up with guides that have a child or close relative with autism.  That was the case again today… thank you Jesus!  It makes it so much easier to know they understand!  I was particularly grateful at how patient and kind both of our guides were with Sammy… shouting up words of encouragement to urge her on and trying to make her ride as fun as possible. 

Sammy has come so far through the years.  As we walked into the dinner show tonight, we reminisced about the hoops we jumped through to attend our very first dinner show four years ago.  Today she blew us all away by not just sitting through and behaving at dinner, but laughing and participating in the cheering of the event.  Then the frosting on the cake was watching her out on stage, competing in the event, with the crowd cheering her on.

I am so grateful for the opportunities Sammy has had.  I consider travelling and the outings we take some of the best therapies we have found.  They help her grow and try new things.  Please understand, though, it is not without a cost… days like today can be hard on Sammy.  It’s tiring to try to understand the world around her and I never want to make light of the work it takes.

Autism is a strange yet beautiful thing… it has been an amazing journey watching Sammy blossom firsthand.

I'm sure not everyone will recognize the accomplishments from today in my regular post, so for our sake, I’ll share these milestones to remember:

• Climbed the iron ore mine
• Held herself together during what could / would have been a tantrum
• Finished her day at Fox Fire Mountain and the hour ride home in wet clothing
• Handled the disappointment of NOT getting a souvenir in the gift shop
• Politely told the waiter what she didn’t want at dinner
• Cheered for her team appropriately during the dinner show
• Celebrated Tyler’s success in the sling shot competition
• Competed on stage in the sling shot competition herself
• Chose to take her headphones off part way through the show

Today was nothing short of a miracle folks!  M-I-R-A-C-L-E!!