National Lampoon’s Ipe Family Vacation – Day 8 (Saturday)

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Joel
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Take a break before loading up the car.

We were up bright and early for another hotel breakfast. The kids watched a little Disney while we ate in the lobby / dining area, then we all packed up the car and got on the road.

Next stop was Luray Caverns in Luray, Virginia. There seems to be quite a number of caverns in the area, and we received recommendations for both Luray and Shenandoah Caverns from two sets of friends. We ultimately decided to go with Luray Caverns. Once you get off the highway, it’s a 30 minute drive up some windy mountain roads to get to the Caverns. By the time we got there a little after midday, there were a thousand cars and a long line to purchase tickets and enter the caverns. As there are a few small side attractions at Luray, we purchased four tickets for the caverns itself, and two tickets for the kids themselves to go on this rope challenge.

The caverns were really nice, albeit crowded. I would recommend trying the Shenandoah Caverns next time. It was picturesque in the Luray Caverns, but hard to move around on the narrow paths. After our 90 minute journey underground, Nums and I sat while the kids navigated the rope challenge attractions. Also nice, also crowded. The kids spent a good portion of their time waiting at various crossing points for people ahead of them to move on.20150915-Luray Caverns Family Photo 09-05-2015

After we found our car, we drove into the town of Luray, and ate a very nice lunch at Gathering Grounds, a cutesy coffee house and café. Nice town overall, actually.

The rest of the drive home was uneventful. Not even that much Beltway traffic either. We ordered dinner while on the road, and we were home after 9:30 pm. The cats were happy to see us.

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National Lampoon’s Ipe Family Vacation – Day 7 (Friday)

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Joel

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On Friday morning, we had one last delicious home cooked breakfast, loaded up the car, and took a walk to see nearby Hickory Lake. We took one last photo together, said our goodbyes, and then we were on our way East. First stop? Pigeon Forge!

You may be asking why. Three reasons –

1. It’s a good four hours away, and a decent place for a pit stop to rest and have lunch.
2. Josh wanted one last chance to finish off some of his MagiQuest challenges and become a “full Magi.”
3. Lily originally also wanted to play at MagiQuest, but changed her mind (as she is wont to do) and instead wanted to drive a go-kart.

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The four hour ride to Pigeon Forge was uneventful and still scenic. We only found one TN state police with a speed trap, but no worries here. We pulled into Pigeon Forge around 1 pm, and hit a lot of local traffic. We decided to make a unplanned stop at Smoky Mountain Knife Works, supposedly the largest knife showroom in the world. Not sure what to expect, I was absolutely amazed. If you can imagine anything with a sharp edge, they had it. Everything from kitchen cutlery, every Swiss army knife imaginable, samurai swords, famous swords from movies and games, hunting knives, etc. It even had an animatronic singing bear jamboree. Yes we had to purchase a few items there and take a picture. How could we resist?

We grabbed lunch at Mellow Mushroom, a gourmet (?) pizza restaurant that was highly rated. Nums took Josh to play MagiQuest (they also bought him a wand), and I took Lily for go-karting and bumper boats. Lily and I finished up earlier than they did, so we also went to MagiQuest to help Josh complete his quest. 🙂

It was getting late, so we got back on the road to drive home. Our next stop was the Holiday Inn Espress in Salem, Virginia, just outside of Roanoke. It wasn’t until 9pm that we reached the Salem / Roanoke area. While driving, Nums found a nice Chinese restaurant called Salem Szechuan that would still be open for a very late dinner. We found it in a strip mall, and we were the only patrons, as they were shutting it down. We kept it simple, and for around $20, the four of us had some really good Chinese food. If the drive time wasn’t so long, I’d come back for a second helping.

Not long after dinner, we arrived at our hotel for the evening. Very nice again — I gotta say that we’ve been pretty happy with the Holiday Inn and Hampton Inn hotels that we have stayed at this trip. Very inexpensive but still nice quality. Ok, the WiFi at this hotel was excruciatingly slow, but you can’t get everything.

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National Lampoon’s Ipe Family Vacation – Day 6 (Thursday)

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Joel

Thursday was a simple day. No grand plans. No long distances to drive. We bummed around for most of the day in town, for the most part. I helped Doug load up a large cathode ray TV and a broken bathroom vanity sink and table in our Highlander, and dump them at county recycling center. Doug and I also met a fellow working at the dump who looked a very old Elvis Presley. We should have taken a picture with him, but we didn’t think Old Elvis would have agreed to it.

Afterwards, we all had lunch, then Nums, Josh, and I went into town. Nums got a massage, Josh & I got haircuts, and I gassed up the car for Friday’s drive home.

In the evening we grilled up BBQ chicken and corn on the cob, made a huge bonfire, and stayed up late roasting marshmallows (and ourselves) by the fire.

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National Lampoon’s Ipe Family Vacation – Day 5 (Wednesday)

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Joel

Wednesday was a fairly quiet or easy day. Doug and Kathy had a few errands to run, so we took the kids to Cumberland Park near that pedestrian bridge that I liked. We had the kids wear their swim clothes, packed a few supplies, and drove into Nashville. From the online pictures and the map, we thought this park was large and easy to find.

Um, no. We circled around and around outside of the Tennessee Titans Nissan Stadium, and found (1) no park and (2) government parking only signs (with firm “Violators will be towed.” warnings.) Eventually we did find a parking lot entrance where we saw mothers and children in swim attire walking away. Had to here, yes? We took our chances by parking in the same lot with the tow warnings, took our gear, and went walking.

Finally found the park practically under one end of the pedestrian bridge. While it’s certainly a nice little park, I can not stress how small it was. Proves once again that one can be very deceptive depending on your camera angles. Well, whatever. We parked ourselves under a foot bridge for shade from the Tennessee sun, and let the kids play for some time. Eventually, we walked them over to the tiny rope climb and a tinier rock wall. And that was basically it. There was supposed to be another spray ground and we found it nearby, but it was off and devoid of people.

Not at all what we were expecting, based on the pictures. Oh well. Kids still had a good time. I think they were visibly tired of all the driving and sitting, including the trolley tour yesterday.

We wanted to walk across the pedestrian bridge, but it was 100 degrees and humid, so we decided to go home.

Once we got near home, grabbed lunch at a nearby Buffalo Wild Wings, then we relaxed at home for a short while.

Wednesday night dinner at Merchants in the heart of Nashville

Wednesday night dinner at Merchants in the heart of Nashville

Only a few hours later, we freshened up, then all 6 of us got back in our car to head to Nashville for dinner at Merchants. It was a fairly swanky restaurant for Nashville. We were meeting a friend of Kathy and Doug who lives in the area and works for CMT. Really nice dinner, by the way.

Around 8:30 pm, we settled up the bill, and made our way via taxicab to the Hermitage Hotel. We were meeting up for a walking “ghost tour” of Nashville — Haunted Downtown Nashville Tour. We walked around for about 70 minutes with our tour guide telling us some potentially tall tales. Every so often, Josh wanted to take photos looking for ghostly orbs of light…. the presence of ghosts. Hey, it’s all in good fun, right?

After a few photos in front of the famous Ryman Auditorium, that was it for the evening. Drove home to finish the laundry and get some much needed rest.

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National Lampoon’s Ipe Family Vacation – Day 4 (Tuesday)

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Joel
On board the Music City Trolley Hop On/Off Tour.

On board the Music City Trolley Hop On/Off Tour.

Tuesday morning, after a delicious breakfast, we all piled into our car. Next stop: the gas station!

After that? Nashville!

We drove in, parked the car in a lot, and purchased tickets to this hop on / hop off trolley tour of Nashville. While the big perk is that one can “hop off and hop on” at one of 17 various stops to further delve into Nashville, we didn’t have too much time for that.  Apart from lunch at the Farmer’s Market, and Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park (which was across the street from the Farmer’s Market), we stayed on the Trolley. Next time, we’ll try to make more time to hit up the cool attractions we saw, such as the Johnny Cash Museum.

At lunch time, we stopped at the Farmer’s Market, but toured Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park before we went to eat. Nice Farmer’s Market, by the way. Looked like many state employees walk over to eat and enjoy the park grounds.

One gets very thirsty after touring a town like Nashville. The drinks are always flowing at Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery. And we're out on the patio! — with Joel Ipe, Doug Kondorf and Kathy Connelly at Rock Bottom Brewery Nashville.

One gets very thirsty after touring a town like Nashville. The drinks are always flowing at Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery. And we’re out on the patio!

Back on the Trolley, we toured a few more locations, including Music Row. Eventually, we got back to the starting point around 4 – 5 pm. We walked a few blocks to Rock Bottom Brewery, because we were…. thirsty. We grabbed some seats on the patio in the shade, ordered drinks and some appetizers, and chatted for a long while. 

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National Lampoon’s Ipe Family Vacation – Day 3 (Monday)

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Joel
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We are about to enter… “The Tomb!”

Monday morning, I kinda wanted us to get up early and get an early start, but some short people wanted to sleep in a little while longer. We gave them a little extra time to snore, then we got them ready and downstairs for the Hampton Inn breakfast. Not a lot of selection, but they did have two full size waffle makers.

Once we checked out, we drove over to The Tomb adventure. Didn’t know what to expect from I exactly. We tried to go to it last night but they closed early. Thankfully they were open this morning. We went in and waited in the lobby, and watched scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark. There was an Egyptian motif. Eventually our “guide” showed up and started our adventure. They had “recently” discovered a new Egyptian tomb 10 years ago, but couldn’t get in. A professor back then had tried to enter, but seemingly got locked in there, never to return. Now it was our job to try to unlock the tomb and its mysteries.

I had no idea what to expect, but it was a fun little interactive adventure / activity. We ended up “trapped” in the tomb with our guide, and the spirit of the Pharaoh came alive and challenged us with multiple tasks in various room. There were puzzles, jokes, etc, etc, and it was fun to do it together. I’d highly recommend it. Afterwards, we went back to MagiQuest to redeem and use our previously-purchased tickets for the Mirror Maze (good but disorienting), Laser-something-something-challenge (kids only, parents chilled out), and then we wrapped it all up with a pirate-themed mini golf game.

when they pirate

when they pirate

We grabbed a quick bite at Steak ‘N Shake, which was enjoyable, except Lily seemed cranky and out of sorts. Not sure what the deal was, but she ate a tiny bit of her lunch. Maybe 20 minutes later in the car, she got sick, so we had to pull over to clean up both her and the car. Once that happened, she was feeling much better. No, we have no idea what the deal was. Something from breakfast?

Back on the road for the next 4-5 hours, and we passed through the Smoky Mountains as well as Knoxville. Great sights driving through all those mountains and valleys. We arrived in Mount Juliet, in the suburbs of Nashville, around 4 pm or so. Doug and Kathy were still doing errands, so we waiting around outside for them to return. They arrived eventually, and we got the tour of the place. Really nice. Doug and I later made a run to the nearest Publix to pick up some key groceries, and then we had a delicious pasta night.

Finally made it!

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National Lampoon’s Ipe Family Vacation – Day 2 (Sunday)

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Joel

20150830-20150830_095543Refreshed by our complimentary hotel breakfast, but not sufficiently caffeinated by complimentary hotel coffee, we packed up our stuff, and checked out of the hotel. We took a leisurely morning drive through Roanoke, and found it to be a nice small town. Certainly some nice areas (like the downtown area where we had dinner the night before), but also a lot of churches, as well as poorer residential and old industrial areas. Definitely worth another visit in the future.

After a brief stop at a nearby Target to pick up a new iPod wall charger for Lily, and some decent coffee from the nearest Starbucks (inside Target), we were back on our way. Next stop? Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

If you’re not familiar with the grandeur of Pigeon Forge, please let me explain the allure. “P Forge” is this strange Mecca in heart of the South situated within the Great Smoky Mountains. There should be nothing there, but you would be surprised to find this large resort town. Restaurants, attractions, museums, and the most famous attraction of them all? Dollywood. Named after country singer Dolly Parton, it is a full-fledged amusement park.

15 years ago, Namita and I were secretly dating, and we both attended a 4-day Christian conference there. Kinda remembered it as a fun place, so we thought it would a good choice for an overnight pit stop, and maybe even go to Dollywood.

We ultimately decided against spending the $200+ for Dollywood tickets, as we wouldn’t be able to spend a full day on either Sunday or Monday in order to make full use of the tickets. Instead, once we arrived and checked into the The Hampton Inn & Suites, we researched a number of pamplets about various area attractions, and solicited some recommendations from Facebook friends. We decided on a Sunday dinner at Bullfish Grill, and purchased a four ticket package to MagiQuest and this The Tomb  attraction,  which came out to half the price of what Dollywood woudl have cost us. MagiQuest itself would include four attractions like mini golf, a mirrored maze, etc.

Bull....Fish? I don't get it.

Bull….Fish? I don’t get it.

Dinner at Bullfish Grill was nice, and the glasses of wine helped. We only completed one of the attractions at MagiQuest before closing time, but we had one year to use the rest of the tickets. The kids had a blast walking around MagiQuest to find “magical” items on their scavenger hunt . We decided we had time Monday morning to go back to finish The Tomb interactive attraction.

Once we went back to the hotel, Nums had to catch up on some work, so I took the kids down to the hotel’s outdoor pool for an hour.

What a great day!

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National Lampoon’s Ipe Family Vacation – Day 1 (Saturday)

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Joel

We left Saturday between 11 AM and 12 PM, and surprisingly, the car was only mostly stuffed to the gills, and we only forgot Lily’s iPod charger. That was a victory in of itself. The mail was held, my Dad was coming every day to check on the cats, and thermostats were on ‘Vacation’ mode.

We had hoped for smooth sailing, but hit quite a bit of traffic in Delaware, Maryland, and northern Virginia around the Beltway and US 66. Even on a Saturday, people? Yes it slowed us down, but we pushed through it. We made our customary Waffle House stop in Northeast, Maryland. Not bad, but since we ate here last, Waffle House has added calorie count information to their menus. If you weren’t sure the food was healthy, now you can be sure. There aren’t a lot of options, so I made a mental note to cut down on my midnight glazed donut habit. 😉

A late lunch in Northeast, Maryland at the same Waffle House we always do. Please ignore the random Josh forehead attempting to photobomb us.

A late lunch in Northeast, Maryland at the same Waffle House we always do. Please ignore the random Josh forehead attempting to photobomb us.

We wanted to stop in Luray Caverns on this first day of the trip, but between the late start and all the traffic, there was no reasonable way and still make it to Roanoke by the evening. We pressed on. I drove most of the day, but I found it very enjoyable. Compared to the dullness of driving through Pennsylvania and Ohio, driving through the mountains in Virginia was a treat. Very scenic. Also, little-to-no police presence, so everyone was making good time.

We arrived in the Roanoke area around 9 pm. We considered checking into the hotel and getting dinner, or picking up dinner and taking it to the hotel. We ordered takeout dinner from a nice place called Cedars Lebanese restaurant while on the road, and had planned to bring it home. Once we parked in the nice downtown area, and walked into the restaurant, the fellow working there (a really nice south Indian guy named Matthew) convinced us to sit and eat and relax. Excellent decision. Matthew unpacked our food orders, got us plates and utensils, and let us relax while he closed down the restaurant. A really nice guy.

After a long day of driving, dinner at Cedars Lebanese restaurant in Roanoke, Virginia .

After a long day of driving, dinner at Cedars Lebanese restaurant in Roanoke, Virginia .

After we checked into our hotel, we relaxed for a bit before lights out. Halfway to Tennessee!

Relaxing in our room at the Holiday Inn Express, Roanoke, Virginia

Relaxing in our room at the Holiday Inn Express, Roanoke, Virginia

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National Lampoon’s Ipe Family Vacation – The night before the trip

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Joel
Jason and I enjoying some beers and wings on a Friday night

Jason and I enjoying some beers and wings at Jody’s party

During our Michigan trip last July, the Ipes – Kondorfs – Connellys agreed to a joint vacation down in Tennessee at the end of the summer. Doug and Kathy have a summer / vacation home there outside of Nashville, and we thought it would be fun to get together for a week. It would also be more cost-effective for us than flying four Ipes somewhere for a week. Lastly, it would afford the Ipes an opportunity to do a bit of relaxed sightseeing along the journey.

That last bit was key, and I’ll briefly explain why. Many of our trips involve a hurried rush from Point A to Point B, with a quick return to Point A again. And we never have time to see anything along the way. Our July 4th 2015 Road Trip to Michigan Extravaganza was the tipping point. Here we are arriving in Pittsburgh (first time, mind you) at midnight, with enough time to fall asleep for a few hours. While we are getting dressed and packed for the 2nd leg to Michigan, the kids and I are perusing one of those typical city guide books.

Our thoughts? Wow, Pittsburgh seems really interesting! But sorry! We have to hurry somewhere else now. Didn’t seem right. Pair that sentiment with our constant “Go go go!” lifestyle, and we saw a trend.

Let’s do it differently. For this road trip, we built in some relaxed sightseeing time. After much research, we decided to:

  1. Leave on a Saturday.
  2. Sight-see along the way to our sleepover in Roanoke, Virginia. Hopefully see a bit of this town too.
  3. Drive to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, see the sights, maybe hit Dollywood, and sleep over.
  4. Make it to the Tennessee vacation home by Monday.
  5. Relax and see Nashville for the next few days.
  6. Leave Friday for Virginia, sight-see some more, and stay overnight.
  7. Arrive home Saturday.

That would leave us the Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend to recuperate and cycle up for the 1st day of school.

Over the next few posts, I’ll publish the trip photos. Overall, it was a great trip. We didn’t get to stop and see as much as we wanted to, but we had to balance the sightseeing vs. still getting to our various destinations within a reasonable period of time. It was a lot of fun to hang out with Doug & Kathy, and to finally see this Tennessee home they’ve been working on for a few years now. It personally felt really good to unwind and not worry about catching a train, TPS reports, and other things.

I’ll start with the Friday before the trip. We are nowhere near finished with packing all of the stuff we would need to be gone for a week. I’m back from work late, then we are all off to a birthday party for our friend Jody in town. Planning to be there for only an hour or so, um, we stayed longer than that. We packed some more, but we ended getting too tired to stay up much longer.

We decided to make it a big deal, get some rest, and leave later in the morning. So that’s what we did. We made Saturday night hotel reservations at a Holiday Inn Express in Roanoke.

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Plexy’s birthday and a little BBQ too

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Joel

Last month, we all drove out to meet with friends at Plexy and Sheba’s house on a warm July Saturday afternoon. It was Plexy’s birthday, and instead of dinner at a restaurant, we’d be doing a little BBQ. Nums and I brought chicken for grilling, and I somehow managed to grill up the chicken without my handy dandy meat thermometer fork thing, nothing burned, and it tasted awesome.

Oh, and other people were there, and we ate, drank, had a water fight, and had dessert. Did I mention our chicken came out damn good? And I didn’t burn anything? 😉

Plexy's birthday party -- Plexy, Sheba, and Ivan

Plexy’s birthday party — Plexy, Sheba, and Ivan

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