Mentone {Spring Break 2020}

Do you remember how and when you found out that the world was shutting down?

I was at work when I heard the news of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Alabama. The kids were at school and set to be released from school for spring break that afternoon. By that afternoon, parents received the phone call that their kids would not be returning to school after the break. Over the weekend, my workplace had contacted me about our new work schedule in order to keep employees socially distanced. Did I mention that in the midst of all of this, my husband was in Ecuador on a missions trip?! We began to worry that he would be stuck in Ecuador for an indefinite amount of time. God was on our side though, as Chris and the missions team were able to book the very last flight back to the U.S. from Ecuador until the following July! ~ 3/22/2021

The kids and I planned a trip to Noccalula Falls Park in Gadsden to stay in a cabin for spring break while Chris was in Ecuador on his missions trip. In addition, the kids were set to compete in our JBQ State Semi-Finals at Camp Springville following our stay at the cabin. We were ready for a fun and competitive spring break. 

Due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the JBQ competition was cancelled. In the meanwhile, Chris had made it home from Ecuador (Hallelujah!) and we were still planning our trip to Noccalula Falls. However, we received a call the day before our trip that the park was closing and our cabin stay was cancelled. It was understandable, but the kids were disappointed. I knew we could still plan a fun, socially distanced trip, so I booked an amazing secluded cabin in Mentone. If you remember my post about our camping trip at DeSoto State Park with the cousins, Mentone is in the same area.

Before checking into our cabin, we made a pitstop at Little River Canyon Falls.

We also hiked to Martha Falls and we actually made it to end of the trail this time.

We arrived at the cabin a little while later. The cabin was situated on a bluff that overlooked part of the Little River. The kids had so much fun hiking and exploring the area.

We hot tubbed and relaxed at the cabin for most of the next couple of days. We did, however, venture out to Desoto Falls one afternoon for a picnic lunch and to view the Falls. Here were a few of my captures.

A sweet lady offered to take this picture of the whole family.

On our way home, we decided to have a final picnic lunch at Brow Park. We stopped by Mentone Market, a favorite stop during our trip, and picked up some grub. While the mountain views were incredible, this probably wasn't the best idea. It was bitterly cold outside and mountain winds were blowing around our lunches.

I'm glad we were able to salvage our spring break. We enjoyed our socially distanced getaway. It was nice to have lazy days at the cabin and to get out in nature, something that has become a rarity with our busy schedules.