D took the plunge and began to train at Level 6 after his last meet. It was a shock to his medal gathering mindset to approach the medal ceremony with scores that reflected a gymnast who had been training at Level 6 for 1 1/2 months.
All Around 73.8 (20th out of 28 competitors - age 10 category)
The competition here is a bit tougher than a GA meet and more in line with what he'll face at a regional meet. After the initial sadness, he headed off to the gym this week with determination to "train harder."
Weather: Teens - 20's, clear skies Audio Books: Joy Hakim's Book Seven: Reconstructing America, 1865-1890 and Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson.
We used D's gymnastic meet as an excuse to travel. On the road by 6:30 a.m. we made it to Scaly Mountain Outdoor Center by 10 a.m. for a fun morning of playing in the snow. This year's experience was more pleasant than last year due to the clear skies (though the temperature was a bit nippy) and earlier arrival (the crowds came in buses as the morning wore on.)
Around 1 p.m. we began our 3 hour driving tour to Knoxville, TN. Our route took us though:
Cherokee, NC: K enjoyed pointing out what was familiar to her from the mission trips she has been on in the area.
Great Smoky Mountains: Driving through this park on a day with clear skies and snow on the ground we could see why this is the most visited National Park in the country. The drive north via Route 441 through the center of the park brought us along the Oconaluftee and Little Pigeon Rivers. As we slowly wound our way on the curvy roads we saw many tourists taking pictures of icicles and snowy river banks and trying out sleds on small slopes. We finally joined them. The boys were taken with throwing rocks into the ice and were amazed that they couldn't break it. I've added this place to my I-want-to-camp-here list.
***L enjoys her new camera.
***Mischievous C waves from his strategic site after pelting J with snowballs.
***The boys try hard to break the ice.
Pigeon Forge, TN: Here the kids ogled at one tourist trap attraction after another. It has been placed on their I-want-to-go-there list.
We arrived at a Marriot in downtown Knoxville to enjoy take out pizza in our adjoining rooms. After an episode of Dirty Jobs and Survivor Man, our weary bodies enjoyed sinking into the soft beds!
K was excited to attend the Preview Weekend at Covenant College (http://www.covenant.edu/) on top of Lookout Mountainas a piece of
the information needed to explore the options for her future. The weekend
went according to plan. She stayed in a dorm with a friend, toured the
campus, attended classes, was entertained by campus events (battle ball, a
talent show, movie on the lawn, etc.) and enjoyed eating in the
cafeteria. All in all, she decided she'd like college life and could see
herself benefiting from the education offered at Covenant.
Since we can never pass up an opportunity to make an adventure out of the
ordinary, S and E joined K on her adventure. We celebrated E's birthday
touring the campus and then leaving K at Covenant while we checked into a local
hotel. K's friend directed us to large shopping mall where E could pick
out a few birthday gifts. We ended the evening eating ice cream in a
comfy king bed while watching the Palin/Biden debate on a large screen TV
without the reception fuzz of home. What a treat!
Meanwhile at home: C had the experience of packing the dog and the 5 remaining
children into the suburban and traveling up to Chattanooga to join us. He managed to
do this while "working." The kids were respectful enough that
he could get in a few calls between stories of Hank the Cowdog. S did
laugh as they arrived at the hotel at about 5 p.m. M was still wearing
his pj bottoms, A had no shoes and several were in need of redressing so as to
look respectable before we headed to the restaurant for J's birthday dinner. (S feels secure that she can keep her job :-) )
***The girls in the restaurant.
If the Lord sees fit to send K to Covenant, we’ll enjoy
visiting her and exploring the nearby interesting city of Chattanooga.This weekend the incredible weather added to the fun of the trip.After dinner we walked around the city and
across the Walnut Street Bridge. Built in 1890 to span the Tennessee River and repaired in the 1980’s for use
as a pedestrian bridge, it has the distinction of being one of the longest
pedestrian walkways in the world (all 2,376 ft of it.)
***C carries A over the Walnut Street Footbridge Birthday boy J surrounded by 5/7th of his siblings.
On Saturday C joined K to check Covenant out for himself.The rest of us were amazed by the abundance of
variety of life in the ocean and rivers at the Tennessee Aquarium. Sea horses, Fish, Penguins, Rays, Turtles, and more fish! http://www.tnaqua.org/index.asp
**On the way to the musuem we played with bubbles outside the Creative Discovery Museum (a children's musuem)
***A, now 2, gets to carry her own provisions.
***M, L and D play "inside" the king crab exhibit. ***L and D with a replica of a Stupendemys Geographicus shell. The largest fresh water turtle that ever existed is now extinct. ***M enjoys watching a butterfly at the butterfly house.
Crater of Diamonds State Park, Murfreesboro, AK – beautiful
wooded campground. We walked on a trail
down to the Little Missouri. Wildlife
was abundant: Heard a coyote and owls, saw a fox, J stepped on and killed a
snake (without knowing!), and saw a fisherman with a huge catfish.
Weather: Sunny and 70’s
Audio Book: Four
Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright
Our first day of getting up and on the road to meet the time
allotted on the itinerary surprised us all by running fairly smoothly. We departed TN by 8:30 (not too bad!) and got
to Crater of Diamonds by 2 p.m.
Enthusiasm for paying for their college education was dampened
as they walked out onto the 37 acre field of hardened mud. Where in all this space was a diamond? We had all the tools – shovels, a bucket,
screens, and most importantly, our eyes. On this day 7 diamonds were found but we were not one of the lucky ones
(Providentially, of course). Actually L
did find a teeny curious stone after the identification booth shut down so we
may never know what that is. We spent an
hour and half digging, sluicing, and gazing until our enthusiasm gave way and
we headed back to the campsite. I had
more understanding of the life of a gold miner – many searched but only a few
found.
***Picture: C, A and M wash the dirt looking for diamonds.
(Status of C’s weight loss goal: Progress made with burning much wood at an
evening campfire and dumping the grey and black water tanks that were filled
while the camper was in the shop.)
C’s goal is to lighten the load by 500 lbs. He was not there as everyone squirreled away
their treasures regardless of weight. Now seeing the pressure on the hitch, he
determined that something must go. The
6-7 miles per gallon emphasized the situation. S now understands why the car was hopping down the highway through AL! Though we teased about collecting rocks like
Lucile Ball in the movie The Long, Long Trailer, we honestly haven’t!
“I didn’t know
the Mississippi River was this big!” Ahh… the acknowledgment of understanding is a reward to any teachers’
ears.
Behind schedule
we decided to chance it and take the camper into downtown Memphis. We got there with the crowds of people headed
to a rock concert on the river. People-watching
made wandering the city streets looking for parking much more
entertaining. We came upon the Welcome
Center that had free RV parking within a short walking distance of the Mud
Island River Park. Hurrah!
After a monorail
ride over the Mississippi River to Mud Island we took a quick audio tour of the
River Museum. Our January school studies
began with a study of the Mississippi River using the Beautiful Feet Geography
guide to Minn the Turtle by Holling C. Holling and we listened to Mark
Twain’s Life on the Mississippi. Much of what we studied came to life at the museum and through the half
mile Riverwalk model of the Mississippi carved into the sidewalk.
Daddy Joins Us!
We picked up C at
the Memphis Airport in the evening. Now
it seems like the trip is really beginning!
Meeman-Shelby
State Park, Millington TN
With such
potential of a great Mississippi River experience we arrived too late and left
too early to explore. We ate a yummy
meal of meatloaf (one of the Dinner A’fare meals that K and I made and froze
before we left. – www.dinnerafare.com)
at 10 p.m. Crawled into bed hoping to
get more sleep than the stormy night before!
(Picture: L crossing a bridge on the Mississippi River walk.
)
