8.9.17

Our Big Kentucky Road Trip Part 6: The Grand Finale

You know what they say . . . all good things must come to an end.  (I mean, SIX posts chronicling our road trip?  I promise it's coming to an end today!)  

Our big Kentucky road trip was winding down quickly, and it was almost time to return home.  But, just like everything else, we had to do it in grand fashion.  Our last stop was Chattanooga (and can I just tell you how much fun my kids had saying, "Chattanooga?!").  After a week on the road and lots of walking and hiking and exploring, we decided it was time for an indoor activity.  Unfortunately, the urgent care clinic isn't exactly the kind of indoor activity I had in mind.  But that was our first time that first morning in Chattanooga.  

Mason was in the bathroom brushing his teeth when I heard Seth ask him where all the blood was coming from.  Now, all of this happened in less than ten seconds.  My first thought is that I'm not going to run in there.  I'm just going to let Seth handle it (and all the Mommas are laughing).  And then I hear, "You gotta go to the emergency room."  By this time I'm thinking we have two options.  Seth is either grossly exaggerating, and I have something in my handy dandy first aid kit that will take care of whatever the problem is.  Or we have a MAJOR problem.  I'm still debating on whether or not to walk into the bathroom, but it finally becomes obvious that I'm going to have to go (and all the Mommas are shaking their heads in the affirmative).

I'm not going to go into a whole lot of detail here, but when I saw the emergent problem, I thought Mason had gotten bitten by some kind of insect, it had itched a lot and he had scratched it so much that it became infected.  So, no, we weren't going to the emergency room.  But we were definitely going to an urgent care clinic because it was obvious no kind of over the counter cream was going to be enough for this big, bad daddy.  

When I was making hotel reservations the day before, Seth suggested we spring for a really nice hotel in downtown Chattanooga since we'd been rather thrifty elsewhere.  But I told him it wasn't worth it because we wouldn't spend enough time in the hotel and that I would rather save the "nice" hotel for another time.  It "just so happened" (because nothing ever really "just so happens") that our hotel was less than a mile from this urgent care clinic.

We all went to the clinic, but I was the only one who went in with Mason to see the doctor.  And I was floored.  The nurse told me initially that she thought he'd been bitten by a brown recluse spider.  Excuse me?  Yes.  A brown recluse.  But then she said she couldn't really be for sure and that the doctor would have to make that determination.  And, of course, you know she asked when this might've happened.  Well, I sure wish I knew!  Because, by this time, we'd already ascertained that Mason had this "place" on the inside of his thigh for at least two days and hadn't said anything to us about it!  I mean, how many times did I say when my kids were babies that I wish they could tell me what was wrong or what exactly was hurting.  Let me tell you.  Mason is 12 years old, and he's still not telling me when something is wrong!  Even Seth fessed up and said he thought he noticed Mason limping the day before, but he thought Mason was just being silly so he didn't say anything about it.  Yep.  And Seth is 40 years old.  But that's beside the point.

By this time, Mason is FREAKING OUT.  Totally.  He's trying so hard to be brave, but I can see it written all over his face.  I can see it in his eyes.  At this point, I really don't know much about a brown recluse spider except that it's poisonous.  So now Mason is asking me if it's venomous.  Because isn't venom the same thing as poison?  AM I GOING TO DIE?!?  He's nothing if not dramatic.

The doctor finally comes in and is all like, "Yep.  That's a brown recluse."  And then he goes into this dialog about how you have to be real careful because they can be in hotel bed sheets . . . um, EXCUSE ME?!  We have been in CAVES.  We have been in NATIONAL FORESTS.  I mean, I'm totally okay if this spider was in the cave or the park or on the hiking trail.  But THE BED?  Let's just say it was all I could do to get in another hotel bed after that, and we still had two nights to go!

So he doctored on it a little bit, prescribed some meds and that was it.  Or so I thought.  The rest of the story is that we were back in the pediatrician's office TWICE last week for said spider bite and two other places on Mason's legs that had since popped up and tested positive for MRSA.  Lovely.  Was he bitten by a spider to begin with?  It's possible.  But he also could've been misdiagnosed.  We'll never know for sure.  Regardless, it doesn't matter.  He just finished another round of meds, and it's looking a lot better now.

We gave Mason the option of going back to the hotel and spending the day there (but you better believe we were checking out the sheets!), but he said he felt fine and could do some walking.  We ate a yummy lunch and then went to the Tennessee Aquarium.  I was so excited about this.  We love aquariums and zoos, and I had never been to this one before.    

The Tennessee Aquarium did not disappoint!  I can see why it's one of the best rated.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

The aquarium was beautiful!  There were two separate buildings - freshwater and salt water.  We all agreed that the salt water building was our favorite, but the freshwater exhibits were really nice, too.

We took our time and just let the kids explore when and where and how they wanted to.  We got to watch the scuba divers feeding the fish.

Ellie and I were in awe at all the colorful fish.  And that cute little turtle down there at the bottom under the log.

The touch tank was a favorite spot.  We spent lots of time here touching stingrays and sharks.

The butterfly house was another fun place.  We called Mason the "butterfly whisperer."  Butterflies were flitting around everywhere, and if you were still enough and close enough, they would land on you.  They were constantly landing on Mason.  I still haven't figured out how he managed to be still!

Ellie tried and tried and tried to get one to land on her.  I've never seen her so still for so long.

And Mason is at it again.

Who doesn't love a good shark cage?  We all agreed we would NOT be okay with this!

Mason is still fascinated with sharks.  Maybe he'll be a marine biologist one day!

After we finished at the aquarium, we drove across the Tennessee River and visited Coolidge Park.  They all wanted to ride the carousel.  Usually I despise paying for a ticket, but this wooden carousel is over 100 years old and was lovingly restored by a master wood carver.  So I choked and bought tickets so they could ride.

And, of course, this one picked a crazy cat to ride!  And side saddle, no less.

Mason isn't too big yet to ride the carousel.

It was really warm, and the girls were begging to play in the fountains.  So we did.  Such a great view!

Mason opted not to get wet this time.  Because, you know, venomous SPIDER BITE.

We were pretty tired so we headed back to the hotel and went to sleep early.  The next morning we checked out of the hotel and headed to Rock City!  The kids were ecstatic when we crossed the Tennessee Georgia line and thought we'd head to Pop and Mimi's.  I had to explain to them that we would have to do that another time.  They loved the drive up Lookout Mountain.

We spent the morning exploring the trails and gardens and all the nooks and crannies.

We finally made it to the top.  It was pretty hot and steamy.  But we had a great view.

By this time, the kids were done.  DONE.  I don't think they fully appreciated the fact that they were looking out over SEVEN STATES at once.

I can't believe that in all of my growing up years, I'd never been to Rock City.  But I hadn't.

And here's the infamous Lovers' Leap.

They were so good to cooperate with another picture or two.

After that, we drove back down the mountain and started the trek southwestward.  We discussed cutting over to Nashville and spending the night there, but we ultimately decided to save that for another time.  We drove to Tuscaloosa before stopping to spend the final night.  Yep.  Still checking the bed sheets.

The next morning we stopped at Krispy Kreme before heading home.  It was a sweet ending to an even sweeter trip. 

I had the best time with my little family on this trip.  It was so much needed for all of us (especially me though). The kids did so. good.  They didn't complain about all the time we spent driving (although we limited driving time to four hours a day with the exception of the first day).  They didn't complain about cramped sleeping quarters some nights.  They didn't complain about having only one bathroom.  They woke up each morning, and the first thing they said was, "Where are we going today?"

If you ask Ellie was her favorite part about Kentucky was, she'll be very quick to tell you, "The cave."  I don't think Mason and Hannah Kate have decided yet.  My favorite part was just being with my people.

This road trip was also a way for me to figure out if there might be anymore road trips in our future depending on how the kids did.  And, YES, there definitely will be!  The hardest part will be deciding where to go first!  Our list is rather lengthy.

From the time we left our driveway until the time our tires hit our driveway again, we drove 2,158 miles.  I can't wait to do it again.  But I'm thinking it'll be even farther the next time!

If you missed it, you can see the rest of our trip here (if you've never been to Kentucky, you should totally go!):

Part 1:  Country Music, Fast Cars, Caves and Presidents

Part 2:  Louisville

Part 3:  The Creation Museum

Part 4:  The Ark

Part 5:  Waterfalls and Fried Chicken