Down South with a Detour of Drama....

After a morning of cleaning our home in Lexington and celebrating Zach's first birthday, we finally got on the road to head down to Corbin around 5 PM.  We didn't drive for long.  We spent a good hour at a Wendy's along the way while a huge thunderstorm passed through. 

We finally arrived at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park just after 9:00 PM.  I was relieved and excited to begin our little vacation.  I ran into the main lodge to get our cabin number, location and key.  When I exited Rich informed me that we had a flat tire (driver side rear).  My heart sunk.  We couldn't get to our cabin since it was a bit of drive down the highway, we were in a remote location and we were supposed to be driving down to Gatlinburg, Tennessee in the morning.  I knew now the next day would be spent in some random fix-it shop getting our tire repaired.  I suddenly was faced with the stark truth that our vacation would not go as planned.  I nearly cried.  I was so excited for this break from reality and I could feel it slipping away.

Not to worry, my Knight in Shining Amour came through and with the help of a park repair man had our spare tire on the car in less than an hour.  In fact, Rich was so fast AAA was nowhere near getting to us before he was done.

The night was hot and steamy and the kids and I were lucky enough to wait out the repair in the beautiful Dupont Lodge.  It reminded me of Yellowstone.  It was a place we would have otherwise not visited.  There was A/C and cable.  The kids were in heaven.

The lesson learned that night was how blessed we throughout this whole ordeal.  We didn't have a flat tire on the freeway, but instead were in a safe flat spot next to the lodge.  We had access to a phone (no cell phone reception), flashlight and help.  We certainly were being watched over and I made sure the kids knew it and we thanked Heavenly Father for keeping us safe.

The next day we had the spare tire checked out at the local Wal-mart Supercenter and discovered we needed a new tire, but that the spare was safe to drive on the freeway.  We were directed to a Toyota dealership in Knoxville, Tennessee where they had our specific tire.  We got to spend two hours in the hometown of the Volunteers.  Yes, it set our Gatlinburg arrival back by about 3 hours, but we got lucky.  Blessed really.  It could have been so much worse.

The other story of our stay in Corbin was our cabin.  We were so excited to get there after our flat tire ordeal.  The boys rushed inside while Rich and I unloaded the car.  Kaitlyn came out to tell me that the place smelled like bacon.  Sounded odd, but I wasn't worried.  Then I walked inside.  Oh my goodness.  I can't describe the smell that emanated from this house.  Think of a meat smoke house that is 100 years old and is only 800 square feet.  It was suffocating.  Toss in 95 degree heat at 10 PM and a bit of humidity (90%) just for fun.  I actually dry heaved after I'd been in the house for a while.  We only took out what we were going to wear the next day and put the rest of our items back in the car.  We basically slept, got up early showered and ran out the door.  It was nuts, but we survived.  Maybe this is why we don't go on many trips because once we do, we get a healthy dose of drama to go along with the fun.  That's life.  It certainly keeps you on your toes and helps you enjoy the journey and focus on the positive.  And gives you lots of great stories that will be told for years to come.