Road Trip to NC

(A lot of writing, but I want to remember our move!)
After our fun visit in WA, it was time to start working our way across the country. My amazing parents were not only nice enough to let me stay with them for 6 weeks, but they even agreed to help us move. With many bursting-at-the-seems suitcases, we flew from Seattle to Chicago. All of our house stuff was in a pod being moved to NC, but our cars were still in IL. We stayed with my brother for a few days, just relaxing, searching for fancy houses, meeting up with some friends, visiting the ward for the last time, and getting in a few more IL restaurants (including Portillo's and Vans frozen custard...so good.)

Then we filled both cars to the brim and hit the road! My parents were troopers in the little Civic the whole time, with my mom navigating with her tried-and-true maps :) We were in the other car with Paige, who was an awesome traveler, besides getting a fever from teething. The first day we made it passed Lexington, Kentucky. The night was pretty rough with Paige up most of the night from her teeth and not wanting to sleep in the hotel crib. Although we were groggy, the next morning started off with an exciting spotting of the Wiener mobile!

Next we made it to the booming town of Pigeon Forge, TN. This place was hilarious, with random tourist attractions and the one of the biggest Christmas stores I've ever seen.

Then we headed 10 minutes down the road to adorable Gatlinburg, TN! Ben's family had recommended it and we were so glad we stopped! It's pretty much a random tourist town in the middle of the smokey mountains. We walked along all the cute shops and restaurants, Ben tried a deep fried Snickers, and my parents had their first funnel cake. Then we drove by Dollywood to try to catch a glimpse of Dolly, but they don't let you get anywhere near the park from the road.

After Gatlinburg we realized the Biltmore mansion closed earlier than we thought (huge bummer since that was the whole reason we took this route and one of the few things my mom wanted to see). We drove through Asheville and got as close to the mansion as possible, and then vowed we would make it back there while I live in NC.

The one thing my dad wanted to do on the trip was drive through the Smokey Mountains (he did it as a kid). So we started heading up the windy, 2 lane road. This was the first time I had driven during the trip, and all of the sudden the GPS and radio shut off and I lose power steering. I manage to get the car to the shoulder before it completely dies, and then it begins to roll backwards as I quickly pull the emergency brake. It was TERRIFYING! To add to the situation, we have no cell reception (we're in the mountains) and my parents were ahead of us and didn't see our car stop. So we're just stuck, hoping they realize we're not behind them anymore. Luckily my parents were observant, realized something must be wrong, and turned back for us. We got the car to turn back on, and due to my refusal to go any farther in the mountains, we backtracked and took a different route east. While we were on the freeway the car slowly began to die again. So scary! So the entire rest of the way to NC we drove with no radio or AC, windows down, in 90 degree heat plus humidity, with a teething-feverish baby in the back. Awesome. My parents were sure glad they chose the civic. At least our day was brightened by our first taste of Chick-fil-a, which we all loved!

We finally made it to Durham, got the car fixed (only a minor battery thing), and saw our town home in person for the very first time! Then we felt humidity like we've never felt it before as we unloaded the pod. So, so, hot. We were quite the team and got everything but the piano in (some awesome guys from our new ward helped with that). On top of that, there were some issues getting our water, cable, and internet on by the time we arrived....so we were some stinky, sweaty people for 2 days.

Of course while my parents were here we had to show them Duke!

My lens was a little foggy from the crazy humidity!

Beautiful Duke Chapel

And of course we had to give my parents a taste of the South with some good ol' Southern BBQ at Q-Shack. So so thankful my parents were willing to help us move and put up with all the craziness of the drive and unpacking. And so glad to be moved in and settling in out her in NC. Now we're just waiting for some visitors :)