{All In a Day} Elizabethton, TN

Hubby and I have always said that it is so much easier to get in the car and GO, than to stay at home cooped up in the house all day.  Now, when I say GO, it doesn't have to always be somewhere.  It can be a hike at a park, a walk around the neighborhood, whatever.  Of course, we are known for just hopping in the car and going on an adventure, too...

Today was one of those days...

Anyone that reads this little blog knows that B is our resident expert on the U.S. Presidents and is always interested in learning more about them.  We've decided to visit as many homes (of the U.S. Presidents) as we can from birthplaces to where they raised their families to their final resting places ~ and everywhere in between.

So, because we are nearly *complete* on all of the homes of U.S. President #17, Andrew Johnson, today we popped up to Elizabethton, TN to visit the site of the home of his daughter, and where he died while visiting her on July 31, 1875.

 

Evidently the original home was moved a couple of times and was most recently purchased by a local doctor and restored on his property...

 



Though it is not open to the public daily, I did find out that they hold a yearly event on the property and give tours of the home at that time...

So, it proved to be a quick and uneventful trip up, but a nice way to get out of the house and go on an adventure...

More to come, I'm sure!

{All In a Day} President Jimmy Carter Site + a Sighting! - Plains, GA

Probably our wildest trip to date - not where we went, but the fact that Hubby and I decided at about midnight that we were going to do it the next morning...

One of my friends from high school works for the Secret Service, and a few years ago when she was working President Carter, she told us about how he teaches Sunday School a couple of times a month at his church in Plains, GA.  Evidently, I had forgotten this little tidbit and was recently reminded of it, figuring that it would be a really neat opportunity for the littles to actually meet a former President face-to-face - the added bonus, of course, being that the U.S. Presidents are something that B is very interested in learning about.

So, we went to sleep only to wake up a few hours later, transfer the sleeping littles from their beds to their carseats and hit the road.

It was a fairly quick and very quiet trip to Plains, GA, and we arrived about 30 minutes before Sunday School started.



I actually enjoyed his lesson after I got over the fact that I was sitting in a small church sanctuary listening to a former President speak.  What a really unique experience, to say the least...

I have to add that I am absolutely thrilled with how our "one photo from one camera" (that's all that is permitted) turned out!

After church, we took the time to explore Plains and take in the President Carter sites in town.  Our first stop, just down the road from the church, was the big peanut...

 

{it was built by a few citizens in Indiana for a political visit in the 1970s}

before heading out to the Boyhood Farm...

and checking out the commissary store right next door.  President Carter's father operated the store on the weekends for other families and farm workers to buy supplies.  If someone needed something during the week, it was President Carter's job to go over and open up the store...

On our way back out of town, we stopped at the old train depot, President Carter's former campaign headquarters...

 

which was truly like stepping back in time...  B was so proud of himself for pointing out the telephone (a rotary dial model from the 1970s/1980s) in the depot and telling me what it was and how it worked.  I'm not sure if I should be flattered that he didn't think I was old enough to remember such a "dinosaur" of a gadget (which of course I am) or insulted that he didn't think that I could figure out what it was!  He even went as far as to show me how you dial it ~ sweet boy...

Before leaving town, we popped into one of the stores for fresh peanut ice cream - yum!

As the littles were conked out and napping in the backseat, Hubby and I both agreed that we were so glad that we decided to make this trip, even though on a whim...

No matter what side you support or who you vote for, I'd recommend this trip to everyone.  If you want to meet the President, make sure to check out the church's website here for his teaching schedule, and grab some peanut ice cream before you leave town!

{All In a Day} President James K. Polk Site - Pineville, NC

We ended out the year with another little Presidential Day Trip  - this time, to Pineville, NC, and the birthsite of President James K. Polk...

There is a memorial to President Polk honoring this land as where his family's home, the place where he was born, once stood...

Though the structures on the site are not actually from his family, they are authentic and of the correct time period...

The little ones loved going inside to tour them and running around to explore the outside of the homestead, as well!

We learned that they didn't actually keep animals in barns, but that barns were used to store their equipment.

The museum showed a great movie that taught us more about B's most favorite (who knows why, but that he is #11) President...

On the way out of town, we stopped a the possible NC birthsite of President Andrew Jackson.  I believe that it is mostly accepted that he was born in SC, but since the borders were not so clearly defined and NC claims him as well. 

Awhile back, Hubby took both B and L to the SC site, so with today's stop, B has officially been to BOTH of President Andrew Jackson's possible birthsites - phew!

{All In a Day} President Andrew Johnson Site - Greeneville, TN

Today marks the 205th birthday of our 17th President, Andrew Johnson, and I've been itching for a little family road trip anyway!

So, armed with our trusty (National Parks) Passport Books, we headed over to Greeneville, TN (about a 2 1/2 hour trip from home) after lunch, and learned a little bit more about Andrew Johnson.  Unfortunately, our resident family expert on all things Presidential got a little queasy riding the winding mountain roads we took to get there, so he isn't in a lot of the photos.  He mustered up the energy to tour the two houses, but didn't really feel like smiling, opting to skip dinner and sleep the entire way home.

We made it!

How neat to see Andrew Johnson's REAL tailor shop inside the Visitors Center!

We checked out the early home...

and then headed over to the main homestead...

 

 

before checking out his gravesite (at the very top of Signal Hill)...

 

 

and bidding farewell both to the President and to Greeneville, TN!

{All In a Day) Hiking + A Dive

 Baby it's COLD outside!

 After church, we headed up to one of our favorite outdoor spots, DuPont State Forest, to spend some time outdoors with Uncle B, Aunt E and Cousin A.

The stump chair...

 

 Beautiful falls...

 

 

Where did they go???

 

 

Hey!  Wait for me...

 

Our adventurous B...

 

 

The covered bridge...

Sweet M...

 

Examining the path...

 

 

Group shot!

 

It was seriously COLD, but we had a good time!

 

After our adventure, we headed to one of B's favorite dinner spots...

  

 

 I think that this...

 

 {they take your order by phone}

or maybe this...

{banana split - 5 spoons, please!}

 

is why he likes it so much!