Smoky Mountain Rain

The trip to the Smokies was a success in the sense that we didn't get kicked out of the motel. And in all honestly, we probably weren't even close to getting kicked out but I was on edge all weekend. Remember how I was worried about Bug making a fool of himself? Well, he was relatively good. Jack was the problem.

See, I forgot a little tiny fact about my youngest dog. He gets spooked easily. Especially by strange noises. And what is a motel full of? Strange noises. People coming and going in the hallway. Doors closing, etc. And this was a pet-friendly motel so, of course, there were tons of other dogs there, walking down the hallway, collars jingling, scents permeating the air.

That being said, the first night I hardly slept. I wanted to keep the air conditioner running all night to drown out any kind of noise that might creep in through the door, but then we'd freeze to death. And that was the thing. It wasn't like we heard anything coming through the walls of the other rooms. Just the hallway. But the air conditioner turning on and off woke me up more than the dogs did. Still, they would bark when they detected strangeness in the hallway. And stare at the door. Mostly in the evening, after our activities for the day were over and we were winding down after dinner. Pmo and I don't have much of a nightlife on vacation. After dinner, we're pretty much done for the night.

But we did get to do some shopping and wine tasting. And wine buying. Took the two trails that allowed dogs. Stopped at the lookouts and enjoyed the views. Spent the last day and a half in the rain mostly but we lucked out and only got sprinkled on when we were out and about. We did get kicked off the Clingman's Dome paved trail by a park ranger. Which I was thankful for because I was strenuously pushing Bug on the stroller up a very steep incline. Like I said, dogs are only allowed on two trails and they're located at the two entrances to the park. I did not get to use the baby carrier that I finally bought right before the trip. We tried it out at home. It's a little too snug for Bug but it would have served its purpose. But I forgot it on the first trail and the second trail was stroller friendly so I didn't need it. But I'm sure we'll use it sometime in the future.

It was very hard to relax on this vacation because I was too worried about the dogs getting out of control. When they were just being themselves. So next time, if there is a next time, I think I'll spring for the cabin, which was my original plan because there would be no worries about sharing walls with people. And there's a hot tub, bonus. But I'm guessing next time we go out of town, Bug and Jack will have their own little vacation at Grandma's.