South of the Border!

As a fan of Roadside America I have of course heard of South of the Border. It is a legendary bit of tacky kitsch in South Carolina. It was never close to where we were going on a trip, but when we drove to Willmington to pick up Millie, our route took us right by! I hadn't done any research about our route before we left, but we started seeing billboards and I started freaking out!

This place is super dated, but it is a beautiful example of a mid-century tourist trap. And there are a million photo ops!

We had two dogs with us, so we couldn't go in any of the buildings, but that was fine. There was so much stuff to pose with outside!

I would love to have this guy in my yard!

Kabuki is a great poser!

I'll take this guy as well. 

Every single building was adorable.

We had only had Millie a few hours when we stopped here, but she was already settling in. She LOVES riding in the sling! She was happy to just hang out in there.

I love this too! I wanted to get a picture with it, but there was always a family getting their picture, or kids playing on it.

Family portrait. 

How many dog pictures is too many for one post? 

LOOK AT HER FACE!!!!

There is a bridge over the main road that has a nice view of more attractions. Like reptile lagoon and a restaurant in the shape of a sombrero. You can see "Pedro" the mascot in the front here. They could definitely stand to lose all the representations of him in the place. It is pretty racially insensitive for 2016. I would love to see this place updated a little (aka take out the racist stuff) but keep the vintage style charm.

I love the snake on here!

And this giant shell!! 

Travis and Kabuki listening to the ocean. 

He was very worried about this.

Guys, this is such a small fraction of the photos we took of the dogs. There were just too many places to pose! And Millie and Kabuki are so cute.

I mean, look at her!

Another family portrait. They painted jeans on this gorilla and it was so hilarious looking. 

Travis sat in the car with the air conditioning on so I could look around one of the many gift shops. It was FULL of so much junk! Some of it awesome, and some of it seemed like it has been there for 40 years!

I bought this mug, I couldn't resist!

I wanted one of these ash trays, but I resisted.

They were selling the BEST postcards for 10 cents each. I think I sent three to Crystal because I liked them so much! They seemed really old, I wonder how many old boxes of postcards they have stacked in the back. They had a post office box right outside, perfect!

I bought this too. Obviously. 

I mean.

We drove from South of the Border to a hotel for the night. The pups slept in bed with us, and the next morning we continued on through Asheville. Of course we had to stop for some doughnuts at Vortex. Delish! 

Then we went home. It was a LONG couple of days. Over 20 hours of driving from Friday night until Sunday afternoon! But it was so worth it. Mildred is a perfect addition to our family.

Fun in the Cabin

It's finally here, my last post about our trip to Gatlinburg. Like I mentioned a few days ago we rented the most amazing cabin! When we go to the Smoky Mountains a great cabin is key because we're going to spend most of our time there. Here are some photos of what we got up too.

One morning Aubrey gave us makeovers on the porch and Kimmie taught us all about the wonders of fiber lash! The best part was Aubrey did mine in the bright sun, so the base was WHITE when I went inside. Like, mime white! It was a good look.

Our combined supplies. 

It was a very exciting time for the boys. 

Especially Kabuki. 

Turns out we are all huge Office fans! So we played this game. I got to be Phyllis.

Look at all those Schrute Bucks! We never finished the game because I was hangry and we had to go get lunch.

Kabuki is so cute! He cuddled up under every blanket. 

Again, I loved the little bar by the stove in the kitchen. It made it so easy to hang out while someone was making dinner. Aubrey suggested we do a baked potato bar and I think it is going to be a new staple! It was so fun and it makes it easy for all of us with different diets to eat together!

Oh yeah!

Crystal hiding her face because she wasn't wearing eyeliner, haha!

Yum! Potatoes with Earth Balance and broccoli and fake chicken strips and hot sauce. Perfect.

We brought tons of games as usual, but only ended up playing two. This was our Kigurumi night.

We played Heartthrob. Have you taken my advice and found this yet? It is SO FUN. We laughed the whole time we played it. We have big plans for our own version of it, coming soon.

Kimmie was a cute panda. She is drinking our signature trip drink, the Hot Tub Club! It was sprite, vodka, grenadine, vodka soaked gummy bears, and strawberries. Very fancy.

Jamie was a devil, I was Totoro, and Travis was a dinosaur. I wish we had gotten a big group photo!

Marc doesn't have one, but Crystal has a Rilakkuma one. Marc is probably laughing at one of my jokes. Maybe.

I posted this on facebook and someone commented that Beiser was praying for Jamie to go away, and now that is all I can see. Hahaha. The devil one was so cute!

And last but not least, here is us being creepy in the tiny room. This is moments before we turned the lights out and tried to scare Travis. It didn't work.
What a great weekend! We are hoping to make it an annual thing. And I can't wait to get back to that cabin!

Pizza! Go Karts! Mirror Maze!

When we got done doing the Fantasy Golf thing, Travis, Kimmie and Jamie had to head back to Nashville so they could work Monday morning. The rest of us headed to find lunch. I told everyone we could go wherever, I would be happy with just a plate of fries but Beiser confessed he loved Mellow Mushroom and wouldn't be mad about eating there a third time. So there we were, third time in three days.

We decided it was time for some mid afternoon vacation cocktails! Aubrey got this cute blue one.

I ordered a strawberry daiquiri thing, which apparently is made with whipped cream and ice cream. I'm pretty sure that isn't standard, the waiter acted like I shouldn't have been surprised. This cute picture of me will always remind me of my disappointment.

Don't worry though, I got a little margarita instead. 

I also got a little personal vegan pizza with some of their yummy tempeh on it. Delicious. 

I love being on vacation with friends who like posing for photos. It makes it even more fun!
After we got pizza we went and rode go karts at the big three story track we like. No photos because I had to drive myself around this time, not just ride with Travis. I wish there was a fun go kart place in Nashville! There is a fancy one, but it is something like 20 bucks for a 4 minute ride or something insane.

After go-karts we headed to Hannah's Mirror Maze! The website looks super lame but I promise it is really fun and worth a visit if you are in town!
You watch a video with really bad computer animation about a vain princess who gets cursed by a witch to live in a mirror maze forever. You have to go save her and only have 7 hours 7 minutes and 7 seconds or something. You finally get let out of that room and go through one of those rooms where a bridge is over a spinning tube. Do you know what I mean? It is so trippy and makes you feel like you are going to FLY off the bridge even though it isn't moving.

Then you go through this cool hallway and up light up stairs. We always have to pose a lot in this hall.

Then you are into the maze! I don't know how to accurately describe it, but if you get a chance, try one out. It is so freaky and fun. There were so many times I would think one of my friends was walking towards me, to only have them come up beside me and freak me out! This maze and fun music that makes you dance in the mirrors.

We always stay in for a long time and backtrack once we find the exit. Too fun to rush!

So freaky! You wear plastic gloves so the mirrors don't get all smudged. That adds to the illusion. 

Beiser was very good at creeping us out in the maze.

There are photos of me like this on someone's phone. I love this photo op spot!

When you find the end you go into a room with black light fireworks, then into another room with fireworks and mirrors on the walls, ceiling and floor! I love it so much. This place is our new tradition!