The High Country Inn

The High Country Inn should not be misconstrued as "high class". I had the privilege of heading up to the Smokies last weekend with Andy and Ryan, my college roommates. We had a great time. And I must say that part of our entertainment came from our hotel room. Being the cheap guys we are, we went for an economy place that really wasn't all that economical in our opinion, and undoubtedly poor value for the buck. It was entertaining enough to deserve documentation with the camera.

Below is a nice rip in the comforter.
And a lovely wallpaper border around the place.

And extremely safe electrical work.

Even the 1970s TV managed to be a bit lopsided.

And yes, the bathroom matched the rest of the place.


A few gaps in the ceiling didn't seem to let any water in at least.

No comment...


All said and told, it was clean and it was fine for us--hey, were guys and it doesn't matter to us. It just beat camping out in the rain. However, you may want to try somewhere else if you are looking for accommodations in the Boone area.

Ethos

Do you like Starbucks? My wife does...as we were there the other day waiting in line with other addicts, I saw a sign that grabbed my attention. Water bottles were for sale that touted every bottle sold helped poor children in the 3rd world obtain clean drinking water. Sounds good.

However, upon further scrutiny, donating 5 cents towards charity after charging $1.80 /bottle seems less than charitable. Okay, normal bottles of water (at least from recent observation) seem to sell for $1.00-1.50. So using poor children as a marketing tool and donating only a fraction of the already exorbitant price to charity hardly obtains my support. I suppose 5 cents is better than nothing, but if you are going to market your product that way, give a quarter a bottle or something more to the cause...just my thoughts.

By 2010, Ethos wants to give $10 million to help get clean water to children. Admirable and I applaud their efforts. But I have to wonder if they couldn't do more per bottle for a $1.80...perhaps I should just celebrate that something charitable and a worthy cause is being supported and check my cynicism at the Starbucks entrance?

Quotes by Kacy

Some recent quotes by Kacy...most of these come from our recent trip to Tennessee. It was through this trip that we totally confused our daughter on where in the world we were.

Are we in 'merica?

Are we going back to our real house or pretend house?...Our real house is in Korea and our pretend house is in NC.

Where are we? Korea, North Carolina or Tennessee?

I'm hungry.

I'm thirsty.

When are we going to be there?

Recent Pictures

Kacy and Sara are making progress with jetlag, but sometimes it is really tough to wake up!

Kacy had a fun motorcycle ride.

Sara loves to swing!

The Bobbsey Twins

Laura and Lisa have similar tastes in clothes. On a recent overnight, both just came from Korea, having packed separately, and packed only one set of clothes. When they returned, they looked like this... (Sara is just there for additional decor and I believe designed to distract from the real issue.)

Is this a gene or something?

On the road again...

Despite the tough times he has had, every time I start my annual travels, Willie Nelson lives on in my head..."on the road again, I just can't wait to get on the road again..."

It is a little past 6:00 am and I have been up since 2:30 am this morning. Sara screamed and woke Kacy up. They have both been doing well with jetlag the last 2 nights, but tonight was awful. Kacy has been up most of this time but may have dozed for a bit after watching some Clifford footage. Sara laid down for about 15 minutes around 5:15 am before screaming again. I think it was at the point where she puked on me and then I cracked my elbow on the door jam trying to get a tissue to clean it up that I was about to lose it and physically injure something or someone. Sara went back to sleep just in time for Kacy to get up.

Here is Sara at 4:08 am.

Cirque de Soleil

Life is happening fast the last couple weeks as the school year winds down. We end a week earlier this year than we have in the past so I think it makes the end of the school year come even quicker. We have been trying to take advantage of the beautiful weather and enjoy the outdoors. Kacy has been in the yard pool at the ELC or Grandma/Granddaddy's house on many occasions.

We had the opportunity recently to see the Cirque de Soleil in Seoul. A very nice parent sponsored a number of staff to go see it. It is a Canadian acrobatic show that is fairly well known. It was neat...they seemed to have a story that was pretty abstract and probably takes more withitness on your artsy fartsy side than we typically exhibit. But anyway, it was fun and Kacy & Hayley enjoyed the show. On the way in, we got there about an hour early, but hit the jackpot with a petting area for bunnies. Kacy and Hayley fed them clovers. Hayley literally tried to crawl into the bunny house and REALLY wanted to pick one up. We managed to keep everyone safe, including the bunnies, despite the fact she nearly had one by the tail at one point. She is quite the animal lover while Kacy is a bit more cautious, reminiscent of her mother.
Seth had a his big 2 year birthday pool bash out in the yard on Grandma and Granddaddy's. That was fun for everyone. Kacy worked on her baseball skills.


Sara continues to get bigger and bigger. She is sitting up on her own very well now. She loves to sit and play. This week she has been sitting and pooping all over with the most recent bug being passed around the little ones. However, she is almost better.