Taking a vacation and going somewhere is always great but cominghome is always a relief. And for this particular vacation, I neededto come home just to rest!

Don’t get me wrong. I really enjoyed my vacation and it went by waytoo fast but my husband Dennis wanted to go, go, go the entire timewe were away.

His reasoning was “we’re on vacation and we’re gonna do stuff.” Andwe did a lot of stuff. The Smoky Mountains is a great place to takea vacation and it is very family friendly with lots of attractionsfor the young and old.

Dennis is a very hands-on type of person and can’t sit still forvery long at a time even when we’re home. Anytime we go out of townhe’s always on the lookout for a zoo or any type of attractionwhere he can actually put his hands on any type of creature. So ifthere’s a petting zoo within driving distance of where we’re goingwe are most likely going to visit there if he knows about it. Healso loves touring caverns.

The above held true for our visit to the Smokies. We ended up goingto the aquarium in Gatlinburg. He fed the parrots and petted otherbirds at Parrot Mountain. We also ventured out on our last full dayin Tennessee to the Smoky Mountain Deer Farm and Exotic PettingZoo. It didn’t matter to Dennis that it was drizzly and raining offand on all day. There were animals there and he had to go seethem.

He fed and/or petted a kangaroo, exotic cows, reindeer, elk,camels, pigs, goats, zebras, donkeys and horses that came in twosizes, either really huge or miniature. It didn’t matter to himthat all of the animals were damp, and they all smelled like wetdirty dogs. He was determined to see them all. I’ll admit, I didstick my hand in a few pens to pet a few wet muzzles, too. Theupside of going to a zoo on a wet day – we were the only gueststhere and had the run of the park. No waiting … we got to stepright up and stick a hand in a cage!

After one fun-filled day of activities, I really wanted to enjoyone afternoon soaking in the peace and quiet of the woods aroundour cabin, but Dennis wouldn’t have any of that. We were just goingto be there for four days and there were things to see and placesto go.

Even when were back at the cabin at night, he had a hard time ofjust sitting still. Each evening he ended up washing a load or twoof clothes in the tiny washer and dryer that came with ourcabin.

When the time came for us to return home, we had all clean clothes.He had even washed and dried all of the towels, a job usuallyreserved for the cleaning service.

As we made our way home, Dennis had fully intended to make one laststop at the Lost Sea in Sweetwater, Tenn., but he missed the exitand just kept going.

I don’t think he was going to “touch” any animals there, but Iheard there were a glass bottom boat and an underground lake withlots of fish to see.

The Lost Sea would have fit in two of Dennis’ must-see categories:there were some types of creatures to see and/or touch and it wasin a cavern – two birds with one stone if you ask me. We missed ourchance. He said we’re going back soon. I bet he won’t miss the exitnext time.

I guess if I’m going to get Dennis to relax on a vacation it’sgoing to have to be on a deserted island somewhere. But knowinghim, he would still be looking around for something to put hishands on.

And how was your week?

Lifestyles Editor Tammie Brewer can be reached at The DAILY LEADERat (601) 833-6961 ext. 134, by e-mail at tbrewer@dailyleader.com oryou can write to her at P.O. Box 551, Brookhaven MS 39602.