Ice! Ice!! Ice!!!!

We ended up staying with our friends an extra day after seeing the weather channel anchors freak out over a tornado sweeping across Georgia and headed to the Carolinas. Chrissy demanded we stay another night, saying, "We gotta hunker down!!" Albert was excited, but we were let down, we didn't see any gray funnel clouds or cows getting swept into the air, just listened to the rain come down and the wind push the trees around.

The next day we made it on the road in the late afternoon and headed back to North Carolina to check out The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Definitely smoky, definitely beautiful and definitely icy. We saw a bunch of mounted dead animals in the visitor center and turkey cross the road, but we really want to see the park in the spring or summer to see the Unicorn Beetles, colorful salamanders and plants.


We had decided to do a hike, before we realized how icy it was, and headed towards Chimney Tops hike.

A: We went about halfway and one of us decided that she isn't into hiking anymore and went back to the truck. She left me to fend for myself in the frigid weather and and risk death going to the top with nobody to help if I break a leg or something.

M: We went a little over halfway. I told you that I wasn't hiking to the top, before we even got there. There was icicles everywhere and ice in the middle of the trail! The sign at the beginning of the hike showed the steep rockiness at the top, I imagined it with a layer of ice, and said nope. no health insurance, can not afford to break a leg. not going to the top. I told you that you could hike back with me, but you preferred to be tragic and tell me, "If I'm not back by four, call someone," when you knew perfectly well, there is NO cell phone service out there!

A: in reality the top was the driest part of the trail, just like the old people told us (old people on their way down from the top) It was not the Matterhorn but there was some ice and I fell on my butt once. I didn't expect you to climb the rocks but that's just the last 50 feet.

M: Of course the last 50 feet are the driest of the trail, because the sun has melted the ice! But the part I turned around at was covered in ice. What it comes down to, is that next time, you should go hiking with the old people that have health insurance and can afford to break their hip instead of shaming me for my decision.

A: Pshhhh, old people rule! Health insurance, shmelth insurance. So there is a little woosie-itis associated with new things and being cold. turns out nobody broke a hip and it was nice up there, just like the old folks said.

Now we're in Georgia and are going to head to Atlanta, we're not sure what we're going to do there yet, but Marisa's wanting to get some duck at the Public Market and there's a puppet museum...Then we're off to Savannah, to do what? Again we're not sure, but it'll be cool. We're looking to getting into Florida and not waking up to frost in our sleeping area.