Summer Vacation 2016~ Part II

The next day, Sunday, we went to Mass at Holy Trinity, which is a beautiful church set up on a hill, with a view of the Smokies in the distance. I had the immediate impression that it was a very liberal parish, but was impressed to hear father mention a retreat which involved adoration for kindergartners, and a lengthy discussion of some of Pope Emeritus Benedict's writings.

From there we headed to the Smokies! This was our first view of them, and we immediately realized why they were named! We also had no idea why there were three lanes going in both directions towards the mountains, when all the interstates only have two lanes. 

We soon found out! Probably the most touristy place I have ever seen in my life! Within ten miles, there were three different helicopter-touring companies, think about the amount of traffic you would need to keep three of those afloat!

We stopped at Wendy's and had a quick lunch near a fledgling apple orchard.

The park really is astoundingly beautiful, and I can understand after seeing it why so many people flock there for vacation.

The popular hikes are unbelievable, they are like hiking Old Rag on the most crowded day ever, and then multiplying that number of cars by 10. It is one of the most insane things I have ever seen! We were planning on doing a hike, but there was no parking~ the parking lots overflowed and people parked along the edge of the road as far as possible.

So we kept driving, and noticed that there were many pull-off areas near the river, and families would pull off and have their own private area for swimming, picnicking, or fishing! So we pulled over and did the same. The kids LOVED it and so did we!

Determined to keep her dress dry

The water was so nice and cool and refreshing! We definitely would have gone swimming in the deeper parts if we had our suits that day. These photos don't show it, but the water is at least 6 feet deep in some areas here (and much deeper elsewhere) and absolutely crystal clear!

There was poison ivy lining all areas on the lower altitudes in the park, which made me wonder if it just doesn't grow above a certain altitude or what! There was absolutely NONE in the higher areas, so perhaps. I was shocked when neither kid had any rash, I was sure both of them must have completely tuned me out by the end as I was shouting, "Don't touch that plant!!!!" every 5 seconds.

 Not surprisingly, the kids were completely soaked after this, and so we headed back to the hotel for another Smokies game! It was a blast and no more broken bats were hit in our direction!