This week, we took out first official summer vacation with Holden, heading to the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee to cool off some and relax. We rented a cabin outside of
Gatlinburg, and used that as our home base to take short trips to
Great Smoky Mountains National Park and downtown Gatlinburg (which is kind of cheesy, but also very beautiful). Holden had a blast in the mountains (probably because it was 20-30 degrees cooler there than it had been in St. Louis before we left). Here are some photo highlights of our trip:
First off, the cabin was very nice (rented through
Jackson Mountain Homes), with a deck that had a stunning view of the Smoky Mountains...
Holden seemed to really like the cabin, but not as much as he liked his trips to the National Park. I think we drove over to the park (which was super close to Gatlinburg) about every day, either
taking a short hike with Holden or simply driving around to see the sights. Our first jaunt into the national park took us to the highest point -- Clingman's Dome -- where it was raining (that became a daily event during our trip, as with most trips to the mountains). But we trekked up to the very top with Holden in his new Ergo carrier, and we all smiled triumphantly as we gazed down over the tree tops and surrounding clouds. On our way up, we got a whole range of comments from fellow hikers -- mostly accolades for hiking with a baby strapped to our chest, but one old lady made a super sarcastic comment that "Oh, 'cause he'll remember this." That was a stupid thing for her to say -- all of a baby's experiences have a very significant impact on who they become, especially at this age. Anyway, Holden really loved it when we got to the top, as this photo proves...
Over the next few days, we spent a lot of time hanging at the cabin, relaxing and enjoying the mountain air. We also went back to the park to visit the Cades Cove district and to take a hike to a waterfall (Laurel Falls, to be exact). Holden continued to enjoy his time in the mountains, and he especially seemed to like the hike to the falls (a bit tougher of a hike than the walk to Clingman's Dome, since unlike all the waterfall hikes at Shenandoah National Park, this trail went UP to the waterfall). During our drives around the park, we would stop to take breaks and see the views, rivers, and wildlife (the latter of which we didn't see much, unfortunately). In the Cades Cove area, Holden got to meet his first horse up close -- that was about all the wildlife we got.
Overall, the trip was lots of fun, and Holden was so good (even on the long drive there and back). I would definitely say now that "babies can travel," which still seems to be an issue of debate out there in the parenting community. I say that you should get your baby out there to experience trips like this, so that they can get used to traveling more. And hiking with Holden was much easier than we anticipated, so there will definitely be more of that in his future.
I'll end this post with another view of the "smoky" mountains from our cabin ... ahhhhhhh.
Have we talked yet about our newest baby carrier obsession, the Ergo? The Ergo is based on the philosophy that a baby should face inward (in other words, opposite of the bjorn), and babies basically 'sit' in them, with their legs wrapped around the parent, snug as a little bug. And the best part? They have lower-lumbar support, so they don't tend to weigh you down the way that bjorns can.
Although we have friends who swear by them, we were a little worried Holden wouldn't enjoy facing inward as much as he loves to face outward in the bjorn. But this new little carrier worked like a charm on our trip to Tennessee. Sure, there were times that he wanted to twist his head around, but when he got sleepy...he had a nice cozy place to fall to sleep. The ergo even has a hood that you can snap over your child's head when they start to nap, so that they can sleep peacefully in the darkness. The carrier seemed perfect for a 9-month old, who is big enough to wrap his legs around our waists, and perfect for us, who miss those days when the little guy would fold into our bodies to fall asleep. He only fell asleep once in the ergo during the trip--when Mike was wearing it, but it was perhaps the most adorable event of the entire vacation.
Yes, we've become those parents who own way-too-many carriers. But each seems to have served a different role at a different developmental period. And we don't regret buying any of them because Holden has loved them (and so have we). Already, we covet those backpack carriers people wear when they hike with toddlers--so I'm sure we'll end up with one of those next. We brought the Ergo on our vacation instead of the stroller because we just couldn't fit our wonderful--yet unwieldy--BOB in the car with everything else. And the wonderful thing about carriers (as opposed to strollers) is that you can hike, or walk in crowded spaces, with them. Which made hiking to "Laurel Falls" and "Clingmans Dome" a possibility.
