Friday, September 11, 2009

Girls Day out

Or "One with nature". I could have gone either way in naming this post.

You see, a few weeks ago Adam was doing some very important stuff (ahem...golfing) and my pal's hubby was out of town.

So we decided to pack a lunch and have a "girls day out" with a trip to the Smoky Mountains. It is only a 45 minute drive from our house, and it is a really pretty one too. We decided to hit a popular driving path called Cades Cove. It's an 11 mile loop that takes you through all sorts of terrain, from very wooded curvey roads to vast meadows with the mountains in the back drop.
It also has churches, houses and other structures dating back to the 1800's. There is even a working mill, which totally fasinated Simone. They used it to ground corn and wheat. The kindly gentleman working there gave Simone a full tour and she was rather impressed with the workings of it...the gears and the water and that it made corn meal.

We figured we'd eat our nice picnic lunch and tour a few houses, maybe see some wildlife.

Boy were we in for a treat! Now I love nature and all the wild animals. My second favorite critter, horses being #1, are deer.

Well very quickly into our loop we spotted this deer sitting in the woods. We stopped the car and oohed and aahed, and took lots of photos. The girls were equally impressed, which made it even cooler for us Moms.


A little further and we spotted three boys. It was awesome to see them running through the fields, so fast and light! Simone wants to know how they got all the way here from Gammie & Poppa's house! I informed her they were probably different deer...


Driving further along we saw this lady, right next to the road, eating grass and flowers. Just look how close we are!
And driving more~ we come around a bend and there are two deer crossing the street. Naturally we had to stop and let them pass, which I must say they took there sweet time in doing! Which was great, the girls were so excited, and Starla and I were just amazed.
After seeing so many deer we decided to stop and eat our yummy lunch and walk around to see some of the old houses. Now on a clear day there are rows of mountains behind the girls. It was still a beautiful site!
Our little diva's below.

We followed this trail through the woods and up a few hills and around a few bends and came to some houses and barns from the early 1800's. It's incredible to think people lived in these structures! Although well built~ obviously if they're still here today ~ they are very small. Talk about "scaling down"!

And here comes the "one with nature" part of this tale.
As we were walking back to the car through these woods below....
We noticed something moving. We slowed our pace and looked all around.
There had to of been 5 or 6 deer in the woods right near us. We literally walked amongst them as they looked cautiously at us and then continued to eat. The girls got within a few feet, the photo below was taken without zoom.
I/AAAAAAAAAyk/RjDdfmkZgjg/s400/Cades+Cove+036.jpg" border=0> (OK, this pic is giving me a hard time...promise I'll reload it once I get home...cause it's really cool! or click on link now)
Simone was my photographer - since it was too amazing to not let her have a hand in capturing the moment. So although I don't have any award winning photos of the experience we all left with a feeling of awe that we will remember. We spent quite a bit of time with the deer, just feeling...one with nature. It sure puts a lot into perspective, being so close to such gentle and sweet creatures.

I guess I should be glad it wasn't a bear too! We heard that there were a few spotted that day, though not by us.


So no news on that ever elusive Final Ruling.

BUT there was a cricket in Simone's shoe this morning when were getting ready for school. And you know what she says to me? She says "Oh Mama, that must mean good luck for my Sammy Wei news". That's my girl! I looked it up and yep, crickets are considered good luck in Asia.
And then when I got to work, you know what was on the lock...
do you?
Yep, you guessed. Another cricket.


We'll see.
It'll be 5 weeks on Monday. So while I'm not complaining...Oh okay I am, I am complaining. I just want my Final so I can go get my dumpling and bring him home!!!!!!

I'll keep ya posted

J

2 comments:

Lisa said...

The photos are amazing and your day sounds so wonderful! What a grand way to spend a day with the girls!

I have not been to the Smokey Mnts FOREVER it seems, but I remember how regal and mysterious they seem! The mill and 1800's structures sound like a gem of a find and I have a feeling you guys will be back again SOON, BUT with a baby stroller or backpack in tow! :)

5 weeks is oh, about 3 1/2 too many weeks to suit me.....come on Final!!!!.....here's hoping those crickets bring just the luck we are all hoping & praying for!!

Hugs and happy weekend...I hope you have fun things planned for this one too!!

Terry said...

What a great trip you guys had! The pictures are so cool, and you were sooo close, that's amazing.
I think the crickets, not once, but twice they appeared, are definitely a good sign! The ruling will be here soon! How about I have a chat with all of our crickets here and ask them to please send the good wishes to you! More good vibes!
Can't hurt, right ? :-)

Thinking of you and keeping my fingers crossed for some good news, SOON!!!!