RARARA 2016

Another cross-country road trip in the books, y'all, this time to the South. The Rasmusson family reunion was in Gatlinburg, TN. We thought it would be fun to leave a couple of days early and visit Monticello in Charlottesville, VA. It was a successful trip, with no vehicle break-downs. The real hero of this experience was our wonderful Swagger Wagon. What a champ the ol' minivan is.

Nothing like being blinded before driving for 31 hours. 

Clouds in Kansas

Monticello is awesome, and we all enjoyed our day there. I've always wanted to visit it, so I'm happy to check an item off the bucket list. They do a great job of making it fun for kids as well, and it's super neat to see how the house/plantation has been preserved. Thomas Jefferson was a fascinating person. Also, it was really, really hot, and the humidity almost killed these desert rats. After about 4 hours, we started to melt. But I digress. Go to Monticello if you can! It will make you feel patriotic and thankful for smart people like Thomas Jefferson.

 This is the ice house, where they would store ice from the winter, and it would last most of the summer. Whuuuut?

Writing with feather quills. Fancy!

Inside the children's exhibit.

Trying out the polygraph 

The kids get to pretend to be slaves... so that's fun?

Overlooking Thomas Jefferson's garden

The back of Monticello

Word 'em up, Tommy J.

We used Airbnb for the first time in Virginia, and it was great. Such a nice break from hotels. Here's Nils, enjoying a gourmet breakfast. 

The kiddies thought the hammock was just swell. What a novelty to have trees to hang a hammock from. Sigh. Desert problems.

We found an orange with a bum. We will never grow up.

Found this amazing hat at a rest stop on our way to Tennessee. 'Merica!

After a couple of lovely days in Virginia, it was time for RARARA! We drove about 7 hours to TN, which felt really long at that point. But it was worth it! We basically didn't see our kids for 4 days. Between cousins and a ginormous cabin, they were in hog heaven. Tennessee was also really, really hot and humid. Just have to mention that.

Tosh

Addie making a scarf on Haven's loom

Hooligans together again

Ari

Tie Dye extravaganza, courtesy Uncle Shiloh!

Crantzdorf Lodge

Ava and Saada

We visited Wonder Works in Pigeon Forge. 

Downtown Gatlinburg. Quite the tourist trap!

Ripley's Believe it or Not- skip it. Not impressed.

But, I got to spend some time with my boyfriend Optimus Prime, so I suppose it was okay.

It was a fun and memorable trip. I'm thinking it's time to start flying places, though. These buns are getting too old for all that driving.