Sock Monkey's Summer Vacation 2010

Joshua and I are planning a much needed vacation.  We've invited Mom, Dad and Paul to join us. However, you might notice Joshua is camera shy, so you won't see him much.

Our suitcases are packed and ready to go!

One of our first stops was Phantom Fireworks, wow do they have a big inventory.  We didn't buy fireworks, but we found some really cool electronic launchers.

Just look at this selection....YEOWZA

Here's me and Joshua with the Phantom, man is he spooky.

Sock Monkey at White Castle

I saw a White Castle from the road, when I pointed it out, Mom said we had to stop there, she hadn't been to a White Castle for many years.  We get the frozen kind from the grocery store, but it's just not the same as a freshly made White Castle.

Ahhh....nice refreshing iced tea.  It was HOT on our vacation.

Mmmmmm....Pure hamburger heaven!

Sock Monkey at St. Louis Gateway Arch

Here I am at the St. Louis Gateway Arch.  Joshua is afraid of heights so he didn't go to the top.

Going Up!

The arch is casting a shadow on the Mississippi River.  Mom and Dad said the last time they were here in 1993 the area had flooded, almost everything you see in this picture was under water.  At the peak of the flood the river was 30 feet above normal.

Here's a picture of Mom, Paul and me looking out the window of the arch.  It was really hot that day too, mom was all sweaty and icky.

We stopped in Lexington Kentucky and had lunch with Mom's friend Marcia.

Here I am looking out over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

It is so beautiful here, look at all those trees I could explore and swing from!

I was excited to get to North Carolina, that is where my human sister Katie lives.

It's really colorful here!

Katie recently found out she's going to be a mommy, I tried to listen for the baby, but it's still pretty small.  Although I did hear Katie's tummy growling, boy was she hungry!

Mom, Dad, Katie and I went to Goldsboro to play BINGO!

Here I am with many of the unique siblings I have that now live with Katie.  Mom wasn't kidding when she said we were all completely different individuals.

Katie took me to the Air Force Base she works at, she must be pretty important to work around all these planes and pilots.

Katie taught me the proper way to salute!

We drove down to Wilmington so I could see the USS North Carolina which is a battleship.

This is the captains port hole.

Captain Jonah....hey, I wonder if I'll run into any whales out here.  Get it?  Jonah and the whale!

All hands on deck!  Man your battles stations!

After Wilmington, we went to the Outer Banks.  Here I am on Cedar Island looking for the ferry boat that will take us to Ocracoke Island.

The sunset on the beach was beautiful.

Sock Monkey at Cape Hatteras Light House

After Ocracoke Island we went up to Cape Hatteras.

Sock Monkey with Orville Wright

We went all the way up to Kitty Hawk, here I am sitting with Orville Wright.  Weeeeeeee!

After the outer banks, we drove back through North Carolina and Kentucky.  We stopped at Cumberland Falls to see the moonbow, it only happens during a full moon, so we planned ahead and made sure we were there at the right time.  Oh, this is our cabin.

There were signs that black bears were in the area, I sat outside and looked for one, but no luck.

Sock Monkey at Cumberland Falls, Kentucky

Here is the waterfall, this is where you can see the moonbow.  Mom and Dad took pictures of it at about 2:00 in the morning, I was already asleep.  Dad is going to get them posted someday, he's just been too busy lately.

Sock Monkey at Mammoth Cave National Park

One of our last stops was Mammoth Cave, we took a 2 hour tour that had over 500 stairs.  It was pretty cool, but after the tour I was ready for a nap.  When I woke up, we were driving back to Nebraska.  Mom said our vacation was almost over and it was time to go home.  I didn't mind, I was glad to be back in my own bed.   ***Home Sweet Home***