Tag: USA road trip

Travel

The Happiest Place on Earth

Sarah James-Wallace

4B7A03A7-B0A4-4B4E-93A6-4586E6AEC6BC Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando, Florida – is it really the happiest place on earth? I guess it all depends on your perspective. It’s certainly an enchanting place to be, and one where you can leave behind life’s cares and enter into a magical world of make-believe. People generally seem to either love or hate theme parks!  As a family, we are definitely in the camp of theme park lovers. There’s something cathartic about parking all the worries of the world for a day and abandoning yourself to the thrills and spills of theme park rides and entertainment.

We started our day with breakfast (which we had pre-booked) in the Be Our Guest Restaurant. The restaurant is modelled on the beast’s castle from Beauty and the Beast. The girls loved dining in the enchanted atmosphere, watching the portrait of the prince change to the beast and watching the petal fall from the rose.

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The rest of the day was spent in a happy blur of rides, meeting Disney characters and watching the parade and fireworks later that evening. Some highlights were : Its a Small World (just so cute), The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (really cleverly done), Gaston’s tavern (where you can sample “beer” made from apple juice topped with toasted marshmallow foam), Space Mountain and the Winnie the Pooh ride.

You could easily spend a couple of weeks in Disneyworld. As well as two water parks, there are four worlds to explore : Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Magic Kingdom (which we chose because it’s the most traditional) and Hollywood Studios. Universal also have two theme parks in Orlando. More than a few people were aghast that we only allocated one day of our itinerary to Disneyworld.  However, it wasn’t the focus of our trip, and although a lot of fun, we were more interested in seeing the natural wonders of America. After a day of Disney princesses (and other delights, which I’m sure they secretly loved), we placated the boys with a day trip to The Kennedy Space Centre.

8EED7E74-FD6E-46FB-8451-82392F0DACE8While we were in Orlando visiting Disneyworld and the Kennedy Space Centre we stayed at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. This added to the experience and was a lot of fun for the kids. Each section of the Resort was themed from a different Disney movie. The section we stayed in was Nemo themed (as was the pool complete with underwater speakers). The Cars themed area was also amazing.

A skywriter wrote a special message (pictured above), just as we were embarking on our journey to Miami. This was a great reminder of the source of all our happiness here on earth and into eternity.

Have you visited Disneyworld or Disneyland? Are you a theme park lover or hater?

Travel

Of faith and bears . . .

Sarah James-Wallace

 

FE327A32-67D1-45EC-A12D-F153363AC472The next stop on our trip was an Airbnb house on the outskirts of Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains. We spent our time here visiting Cades Cove, a valley containing the remnants of a 19th century settlement. It’s a fascinating place to poke around old churches and farmhouses on hiking trails. It’s part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (America’s most visited national park), which was established in 1934. The park is free, due to a proviso written in its original charter.

For a recount of what happened here, I’m going to include a guest post from my husband, Murray (previously published on his Facebook page):

From the historical significance of Gettysburg and Washington to the hysterical significance of bear spotting in the Appalachian and Great Smoky Mountains. These great mountain hiking wildernesses of the US offer the unique opportunity to trade the perils of Lyme disease for those of black bears, and still get to keep the exotic novelty of the rattlesnakes.

My wife and youngest daughter were praying that we would come across black bears on our hiking trips. I, on the other hand was praying we wouldn’t see a bear at all, this placed us in a familial theological bind. This is because I knew that the US “Bear Advisory” says that should you come across one, you are advised against running away from the bear, instead you should stand and face the bear, wave your arms in the air, make loud noises . . . and in turn be summarily eaten. It sounded to me like the “Bears Advisory” was written by the bears. On into Cade’s Cove where the animals are “seen in abundance”, just not by us. We circled the 11 mile loop road one and a half times seeing not so much as a chipmunk before retiring in disappointment to the Visitors Centre. Slumped in the disappointment of not seeing any bears we decided to slink into the Visitors Centre and order ice creams that only came in a size as big as your head.

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Murray with his “head sized” ice-cream

I managed to assuage my guilt that I hadn’t divulged that I hadn’t actually got around to praying to see no bears (on account that the Bears Advisory only mentions prayer when cornered by a bear in a tent and the fact we all like ice-cream). While standing outside the Visitors Centre in the humidity and rain, I should see four or so black bear cubs sauntering across the car park of all places. My wife and youngest daughter, ignoring all advice from the “Bear Advisory” and US Federal laws to keep 50ft distance, chased off after the bears to get a photo. I was left holding the ice-creams.

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Bears in the forest near the Visitors Centre

The next morning as I was sitting down to a bowl of Captain Crunch with the fam, I had just finished explaining to my youngest daughter that it was prudent to keep the waist high gate shut on our enclosed verandah to keep the bears (nobody sees) out. Just as I was making up this addition to my own “Bear Advisory” nek minute a black bear moved silently past the window, walking with ease along the railings nonchalant to the fact we were some 30ft above the ground. It became a race between me and the bear to get to the open flywire kitchen door first. Having closed it I was then able to count the kids to make sure I hadn’t locked one outside still sitting in the outdoor hot tub on the verandah.

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After climbing down to the decking and examining the kid’s wet bathers he disappeared by descending a tree that was adjacent to the verandah railing.

What excitement and what an answer to prayer! We continued the high with another “high” generated by the sugar and artificial flavourings available in an assortment of breakfast cereals. These were number one on the kid’s list to try!

B2203F33-33B1-48CA-AB67-15369B38C551More excitement to come – next stop – Disney World!

Travel

Mountain Lodgings

Sarah James-Wallace

7142D248-4D6A-424A-9008-516AD00979BDOur next stop was the beautiful Mast Farm Inn in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. We chose to visit here as it had a great write up in the Lonely Planet Guide and was tucked away in the mountains, off the beaten track. We met some Americans holidaying here, and they were quite amazed that we had managed to travel halfway across the world and to stumble on such a cosy bolthole!

The Mast Farm (on which the inn is situated), dates from the late 1700’s when Joseph Mast travelled to the mountains and traded his rifle, dog and a pair of leggings for 1000 acres of fertile Watauga River Valley land. The first house was built on the land around 1810 and is the oldest inhabitable log cabin in North Carolina. Today you can stay in the inn, some new chalets or in some of the beautifully restored farm buildings. A delicious two course home cooked farm to table breakfast is served each morning in the inn’s dining room and local provisions and homemade cakes are served in the afternoon. The help yourself cookie jar is always full of freshly made cookies!

There were some amazing thunderstorms during the evenings while we were staying here and we felt so cozy tucked up in the inn while the storms raged outside!

We spent our time here doing some hiking in the mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which stretches 469 miles from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina.

564AC640-54E8-4914-804C-B9D9F727FBF8The countryside is spectacular and surprisingly for us West Aussies, very hot and humid in the forest. Back home I spoke to a Canadian who said she really misses the humidity when hiking in Australia – not me, give me dry heat anyday! Flowers which can often be found in our gardens (rhododendrons, azaleas and magnolias), grow wild, making for a particularly beautiful hike when they are blooming.

We also visited the swinging bridge and the animal habitat at Grandfather Mountain, a Unesco Biosphere Reserve. The black bear was nowhere to be seen, much to our dismay. However, if we had know what was to come in our trip, we wouldn’t have been worried!

Before we headed onto Gatlinburg the next day, we visited the Mast General Store just near the Mast Farm Inn. The store opened in 1883 and still sells much of the same products as it did back then. It’s a great place to spend an hour or two sifting through the cornucopia of merchandise and its a good location to buy some souvenirs. In the winter the local old timers gather around the potbelly inside to trade yarns of yesteryear. You can feel the history oozing out of the walls! We also made a stop at the Foggy Mountain Gem Mine to pan for semiprecious stones. This was a blast for adults and kids alike. Once we had panned out the semiprecious stones we were given a very informative talk about them. You get to keep what you find, and also have the chance to have them polished and shipped home to be made into jewellery at a later date.

After lunch at a local diner we drove onto our next adventure involving BEARS!!!

Travel

A BIG Day Out in Washington DC

Sarah James-Wallace
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US Capitol

At this rate, I may get through our American road trip by Christmas next year! I’ve been away for a few weeks (yes, again), but have plans to commit to blogging more often in the coming weeks.

I have to admit that going to Washington DC was not high on my agenda for our travels. Happily, it was for my husband, who likes to do things properly! I’m glad I didn’t miss out on the nation’s capital with its huge collection of museums and iconic monuments and buildings.

We started the day with a visit to the Library of Congress, the world’s largest library, containing over 164 million items. It is an awe inspiring place to visit, with amazing scope and architecture. The library also contains a Gutenberg Bible from 1455. This was the first major book printed using mass produced moveable metal type in Europe. Forty nine copies of the Gutenberg Bible have survived and it is considered amongst the most valuable books in the world.

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The amazing architecture of the Library of Congress

After our visit to the library (and a walk past the Capitol) we traipsed off down what is known as the National Mall, or what is often called “America’s Front Yard”. This is America’s public space where citizens come to protest their government or simply to connect with their nation’s ideals and history. There are many free Smithsonian museums lining the Mall and it would take weeks just to scratch the surface of their amazing exhibits. As we only had one day, we chose to briefly visit the National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of American History. Our kids love museums and could easily spend days in them, but we had to limit ourselves to only a few key exhibits. The highlights from the Natural History Museum were the giant squid exhibit, as well as the insect zoo on the second floor where they do tarantula feedings. The highlights for me in the American History Museum were seeing Julia Child’s kitchen (I have hopes of one day cooking my way through her cookbooks like in the book and movie entitled Julia and Julia), and hunting for Dorothy’s red shoes from The Wizard of Oz.

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Julia Child’s Kitchen

The next stop on our romp through America’s iconic buildings was the White House. This is only viewable (unless you arrange a tour in advance), from a distance behind a security barrier. President Trump arrived in the presidential helicopter while we were there. Quite a thrill to see the helicopter flying overhead flanked by several decoy helicopters! The White House Visitor Centre was fascinating, containing many anecdotes from, and photos of past presidents.

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The White House
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View of the “Needle” or Washington Monument from outside the White House Visitor Centre

By the time we reached the Lincoln Memorial at the opposite end of the Mall we were exhausted! Washington DC is very hot and humid in Summer and we had walked at least five miles in the heat. Before visiting the US, I was unaware how much Americans revere Abraham Lincoln.  One of our children (who will remain nameless), had been reprimanded for climbing on a small statue of him at Gettysburg (something which wouldn’t perturb us at all in Australia)! In general, it seems Americans are much more respectful of their presidents than us Aussies, and in particular of Abraham Lincoln due to his decisions which lead to the end of slavery and preserved the US as a united democracy.

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Lincoln Memorial

Martin Luther King Jr delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech on the steps of the memorial and you can see a small engraving marking the spot.

It was getting late in the day, but we were so close, yet so far from the famous Arlington Cemetery across the Potomac River! Despite having blisters and mild heatstroke we crossed the bridge (some requiring a piggyback) and walked our final mile to this iconic landmark. Once here we were able to visit the Kennedy tombs (marked by an eternal flame) and to see the changing of the guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The cemetery contains some of the dead from every war the USA has fought since the Revolution and looks very familiar, having been in many US movies.

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Arlington Cemetery

This was a BIG day out! It was topped off by the excitement of seeing fireflies at dusk as we walked back to our hotel, for a big sleep, ready to move on to more adventures on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Have you ever had a big day out while sightseeing and thought you couldn’t walk one step more?