Update from the Smokies

Weyyyy, we have wireless! I'm perched precariously at the edge of a loft ladder in a grossly over priced cabin - location, Yogi in the Smokies (of bear fame) camping, North Carolina.
After I got over the sheer joy of being reunited with the world wide web and checked the mail, I figured I'd squeeze in a brief update before hitting the hay.

Wednesday we left Ohio and drove to a cheesy but fun, wigwam motel type place near Mammoth Cave, Kentucky. We had a not planned incident that evening as I found a tick merrily burrowing it's way into our two year old's head. Uggghhh. Poor little guy. I'm happy to report that one very late night trip to the hospital and some antibiotics later, he's doing just fine and cracking us all up as per usual. Funny kid.

On the way down, we visited the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hills (north KY). As it was late in the day they were very sweet and didn't charge admission but we still got a couple of hours to look around and missed the couple of hundred school kids that they'd had through earlier on in the day. The staff there are brilliant. I'm sure they were ready to knock off but took time with our guys, engaging them in conversation (not hard if you've met them) and explaining everything to them. Although the religious sect dissolved in the early 1900's and there are only three known Shakers alive today, the community has been wonderfully preserved and the handcrafts sold are all made locally. I'd recommend a visit and really can't praise all the staff highly enough. Will write about it in more depth at a later date on my other blog. New photos

In the Mammoth Cave area we visited Kentucky Downunder. Although it's not a big flashy park, it is unusual in that the kids get a real hands on experience and included in the price of the admission, is a tour of Onyx Cave. After the large groups of kids left around 2pm, we basically had the park to ourselves and few other tourists. Not realising that we were on central time an extra hour was gained, thus enabling us to squeeze in all the activities they had on offer.

Miss T got to feel a rabbit and Kangaroo (which she wasn't too sure about). The older ones touched some reptiles and snakes and had a lesson on the didgeridoo! Nothing prepares you for the bird feeding. Yes I'd been told that when I entered the enclosure, carrying some nectar that these things would land on me, but it was still unnerving none the less!

Some more of the way too many photos, here ...