ARK ENCOUNTER

Our final destination when we stopped in Nashville, was Kentucky. You see we had reservations at an RV park there. It wasn’t one of our normal stop-overs but one of our anticipated destinations. Two years ago when we made this same trip, we had the opportunity to visit the Creation Museum. 

This time, the sister museum was completed and now open to the public. It is a life-size replica of Noah’s Ark. It is located about 40 minutes away from the Creation Museum.

We pulled into the RV park where the driver had made us reservations and the owner personally showed us to our spot and helped us pull in. They had a pool, so the kids were set!

We touristed all over the Ark the next day, and let me tell you, it is definitely life size!

They have incredible amounts of information throughout the museum, backed up with fantastic research and science. It was very fascinating to read about all the science and evidence of the Ark. And having little ones with us, they also do a good job of balancing heady information with fun and interactive creative kid displays.

And after walking the entire ark, it's clear that Noah & family did NOT need to bring a treadmill! :O Phew! 

They did an amazing job with the museum inside & outside. We’d highly recommend it! There is even zip lines, a petting zoo and a full restaurant on the property. I know they have many more future development plans as well so it will be exciting to see it again sometime. 

PS. Rabbit trail... after returning to the tin can after our day of walking to and fro in the largest wooden frame structure in the country, the driver let our new, very new driver, actually turn the tin can around and drive it to the edge of the parking lot. He was quite excited and the rest of us were shaking in our boots for dear life. lol Just kidding! He did an awesome job - plus it helps the parking lot was empty!!! ;)

PSS. And we all lived to tell about it too! BONUS! 😂

15 minutes?

From Texas, our drive took us to the CRACKER BARREL!! Lol Just kidding! (see previous post) No, really, our goal was an RV Park in Kentucky but on the way we drove through Arkansas…

And then up into Tennessee, a NEW state for all of us!

We quick text our dear friends who know that area and asked them for any suggestions of any tourist sights that we might swing by. We didn’t have a ton of time but we were in NASHVILLE for Heaven’s Sake! You can’t just drive right through Nashville without seeing something, right!??! They gave us a couple suggestions and so we decided to just quickly stop by one of them…

If you know anything about the Grand Ole Opry, there is NO just stopping by! Lol So we put it into the GPS and followed the directions to the destination and then followed the signs for RV/Bus parking. At this point, we really can’t see where we are going, we really are just following the signs to some entrance. We park and walk towards this illustrious entrance, on the way we stopped and asked a nice parking attendant….’if you only had 15 minutes, okay, maybe 30 minutes, where would you go in the Grand Ole Opry?’ After she stopped chuckling at our silly question, she did give us a few suggestions but basically just pointed towards the door and we went.

We walked around a bit and then discovered there were basically four hotels all put together under one roof. Oh and I should point out, that I guess, well versed people know this as the ‘Opry Land Convention Center.’

And yes, I did take this just to have on my phone to help us navigate the place and stop walking in circles. I think entire families have gone missing in the place for months! 

There was everything you could imagine in this hotel, all under one roof! A river with a boat ride, a gazillion restaurants and every other store you can imagine, spas, gigantic conference halls, grand pianos, 9 acres of indoor lush gardens, and cool things like fountain concerts…

The day before we arrived, the KLOVE Fan Awards were just finishing up.

We did walk down the way and attempt to see the main and most well known Grand Ole Opry, where all the famous people have played throughout the ages. It seems to be an iconic country music stage, but I'm sure musicians of all genres have celebrated their arrival here. Unfortunately they only let us into the gift shop and otherwise you had to pay for a tour or be attending an event there.

So we saw what we could see and then walked across the street to a rather large mall.
I know, a mall, right? We didn’t really drive across the country to go shopping, not that there is anything wrong with that but, well ya, not so sure the driver would’ve been keen on that idea. What we WERE looking for in the mall wasn’t air conditioning, although that was a huge bonus, but our infamous Starbucks mug. If you aren’t aware, we collect the “We Are Here” Starbucks mugs as we travel. We walked through the mall a bit to find the Starbucks, maybe stopped at a few other stores along the way, I mean we were there already anyway. 😏

And then when it was time to go back to the tin can, the little people’s feet started rebelling in anticipation of the walk. Don’t forget we’d just walked through 4 hotels, out the other side to the Grand Ole Opry and then through the mall. Plus the heat, well, enough said…

If you haven’t gotten the drift yet, the AMAZING driver and the eldest volunteered to go fetch the tin can and bring it to US! Just AMAZING, right? I tell ya – he’s a keeper! The 3 youngest and I gallivanted around the stores a bit more trying to kill time until our chauffeur & his assistant showed up. And I was trying desperately to make sure all three of my minions stayed with me amidst the throngs of people at the mall.  It wasn’t Kansas, Dorothy. 😉 But there was packages and bags and LOTS o people! And so we came up with a little system to get from one end of the mall across the food court to the doors we should exit to find the chauffeur.

Reed held my hand, I had the bag in the other hand and Esther held my purse backpack strap and Tate stayed in front of me leading the way. And if I look tired & exhausted here - I WAS! Phew! 

No. 2 was a great help in herding the littles and making sure we all stayed together.

We entered the tin can to embrace the air conditioning and were greeted with a napping driver – hmmm! Lol 👀

Well I guess that was very clear sign #1 that I was up for driving! And so, I hopped in the driving seat and took us back on the road. So much for the QUICK Nashville stop, a few hours later, but it was worth it and a fun, unexpected experience. Thanks Grand Ole Opryland Hotel maybe we'll be back someday to see more and stay a little longer!?! 

SLEEP WHERE? SAY WHAT?

We interrupt the normally scheduled blog post to bring you this crucial update on overnight accommodations.

So yes, one of the many benefits of driving a house on wheels is that in theory it allows you the freedom to pull the tin can over and sleep anywhere, right? If you’ve read any of the past blogs, you might be slightly familiar with the fact that I don’t actually prefer sleeping in parking lots, ie. Walmarts, etc… I know call me crazy and a true glamper! I don’t deny the fact – self admitting that right now! It possibly could have something to do with having small children aboard that can’t protect themselves, strange places, strange people, safety, lighting, security, safety, small children, and if the weather is warm normally the driver wants to sleep with the windows open/cracked – YA NO NOTTA NOT HAPPENING! Not a flying chance! Any questions? Didn’t think so! Okay now that we have that out of the way – back to the topic at hand. Our in-between stop before our next destination landed us in Little Rock, Arkansas. We did not have reservations at an RV park anywhere (odd for this trip) so it was a bit of fly by the seat of our pants. Actually, that’s not true, the driver ‘thought’ we could just Walmart-it for ONE night. Hmmm……… Ya – about that!?!? Honestly, the conversation probably went something like this….

DRIVER – "If you want to find us a place to stay tonight, you can do that, otherwise I’m just heading to the Walmart."

CO-PILOT – "Oh okay, so I should get on that now!"

By the time, I got on the horn and tried to get us a reservation anywhere, everything was already closed and it was obvious by their after-hours message or website that their entrances had gates. That means there is no pulling in late at night, finding a spot and doing necessary paperwork/payment in the morning. I’m sure the gates were just an aesthetic thing, and had nothing to do with safety, right?

{SPOILER ALERT}…. If you are out of time and want the end of the story now, here it is. We stayed at a Cracker Barrel and lived to tell about it (barely).

Sadly, I had to admit defeat in this round. It was dark, late and we were all tired and looking forward to bed. ☹ I’m not determined at all normally {insert sarcasm} but I had to give it up this time. And so to the W-mart we drove. I gave the driver the route and turns necessary to pull us into the superstore. (My co-piloting skills might be judged in a future episode but for now, I still have a job.) Normally, we see at least one or two other tin cans, not real ones, driving ones, but this evening, not a one in the superstore parking lot. Hmmmm………… we’d check the list (yes, there is a real list) and overnight stays were permitted at this W-mart, so that’s not the issue. We drove around the parking lot a few times to make sure we weren’t missing ‘the spot.’ I believe we even passed a security car vehicle {that can go one of 2 ways…. feel comfortable they are there or wonder why they HAVE to be there}. At least, the driver and I were both a little uncertain about our night luxurious accommodations. 

So out of the parking lot he drove and only then did we see a Cracker Barrel across the street. Not so much on this trip, but on past road trips, Cracker Barrel, has been a staple food stop. I mean Cracker Barrel is a family restaurant, right? It attracts only wholesome and upright clientele, right? Just go with me here, I need all the convincing I can get. So I did a quick search and read online that others have boondocked at Cracker Barrels before. They normally have RV/bus parking, which is nice. But some sites suggested just checking in with the manager beforehand. We pulled in and found a spot…. That’s a whole ‘nother rabbit trail – do you want the spot by the big annoying parking lot light for safety or do you want a different spot more in the dark away from said annoying light so sleep is more comfortable? What do you think I urged the driver towards? Well yes, of course, the annoying bright parking lot spot – DUH!!! It does help that I go to sleep in the blink of an eye. The driver put on his nice innocent homeschool father face and went in to speak with the manager about our overnight proposition. He probably had at least 2 minions following him in also, you know, just to help the character development of ‘innocent homeschool father.’ I attempted to get the others ready for bed and driver returned with positive news. 

Obviously, tonight was NOT going to include putting the slide out. I mean a get-away tin can doesn’t have that kind of time. You just gotta get up and go, if necessary! There was one other tin can parked in the parking lot with us all night so that did make me slightly more comfortable, to say the least. There’s a possibility that I did some undercover surveillance work out my small bedroom window as some employees were exiting the back door of the restaurant. But trust me, I was extremely inconspicuous and sly. 😉  Because you know, by this time, the ant crossing the street could have been part of the illustrious plan to harm us.

Our initial plan was to get up and go into eat breakfast with everyone. However, we did want to get on the road and attempt to arrive at our night’s destination while it was still light. And when we got up to leave, all the chitlins were still fast asleep, so it would’ve meant waking them up and dragging them in half asleep. As much as we would’ve liked breakfast, the quiet solitude of morning driving while everyone is still in dreamland, is a sweet peaceful start to a day. So we opted for plan B and just got on the road. The chances of us patronizing another CB on this trip multiple times as a thank you for the overnight stay, was strong, so we ‘checked out’ and said farewell to Cracker Barrel. They were good to us and we appreciated the parking spot.

Phew – possible news story averted...

{“Homeschool Family of 6 on Cross Country Trip Accosted by Gargantuan Orangutan in Cracker Barrel Parking Lot”}

Thanks for being concerned for our safety and coming along on this rabbit trail.

Now back to our normally scheduled posts!  

Texas!

Texas is soooo big that it clearly deserves it's own post, don't you think!?!?

Our destination in Texas, was actually in Frisco. And her name is Sarah Beck. Sarah is part of our family after nannying for us for 5 years. When she found out we were pregnant with no. 4 and it was a GIRL, she promptly took that as her cue to get out of dodge pronto! lol Totally kidding! No, really she had an incredible opportunity to go back to school where she grew up. And so as much as we tried to tell her how HORRIBLE Texas is, she still abandoned us for bigger and better! But we still love her dearly.

And so, to Sarah I drove, through that horrible spaghetti bowl of freeways. My end goal was precious so it was worth the white knuckling. Did I mention that all the freeways also had construction going on, which wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that it made all the lanes more narrow! Sure - no problem, we'll just all suck it in, hold our breath and hope not to kiss the guardrail or some car-the-cost-of-a-house zooming past us... think tortoise and the hare {the tin can is NOT the hare, just in case I threw you for a loop there.}

Okay, onward to.... SARAH! 😃 Of course we start out a reunion with a fabulous Texas meal...

And then she even homemade us an apple pie! That in and of itself, would've been incredible but not only did she make us an apple pie, she made us a GF & DF apple pie {YES - 2 of us are THOSE!}. It was amazing and certainly hit the spot for our first Texas eve. We enjoyed it for dessert and every last bit for breakfast the next morning. Yes - breakfast - EAT PIE FOR BREAKFAST people! It will rock your world! {not that I know - I've just 'heard!'}

Yep! It even had an "L" on it - she's THAT good!

Side Note: when 'some' people get stressed about a particular slide, they organize and clean. I know could be way worse, right!?!? He They might get a little short too - but shhh..... let's just keep that between us. 😉

Remember our Sunriver Nature Observatory membership from our Phoenix stop? Ya – that! So it also got us into the Perot Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas too!

We’d heard great things about the museum so we were excited to go. It also so happens that it was Memorial Day weekend so it was only us and our 10,000 closest friends. 😝 But it’s all good – we still had a great time…

Take a guess now & you'll find the answer at the end! ;)

 

And the answer is.....

I KNEW that would make your day! You're welcome! lol 😛

Sarah then introduced us to the coolest concept EVER!!! She took us to iCream!

Have you heard of it????? 

It was a match made in heaven when some of us have allergies and some could careless how much sugar is in their food. 😉 It is ice cream made with any milk, any flavorings, any toppings, any kind, any sugar and then mixed and frozen with liquid nitrogen which sits in a tank as tall as the ceiling. The liquid nitrogen is piped into each Kitchen Aid mixer that combines all your yummy choices magically into “ICE CREAM,” as healthy or not as your heart desires.

Some of us might have gone back for a 2^nd serving – I know – Ridiculous (with a capital R) and absolutely overindulgent. I totally tried to put my foot down but no one listened so instead of fight them, I might have joined them! I mean it’s not like we can get this any time we want so we might as well live it up, right!?!

Oh ya and I can’t forget the special girl date that Sarah and I got as our toes were pampered and word count rejoiced! We caught up quick over our toes and left with 10 beautiful piggies. This special occasion only made possible by the sacrificial driver, turned kid entertainer, who graciously left us and drove away to the mall and occupied the offspring during our toesies make-over. Isn't he just AHMAZING!?!? 💘

Saturday was splendid and led into Sunday when we were privileged to join Sarah at her wonderful church, Providence Church, in Frisco, Texas.

You should absolutely check it out! And guess what? Small world.... there was a family saying goodbye on their last Sunday because they were moving to BEND, OREGON!!! I know, right!?!? lol 😄

Ya - they did NOT have any fun whatsoever riding with Sarah!!!

Our Texas time went all too fast but was so worth the drive across the forever long state. We love you Sarah! Thanks for our incredible time together! 💕