Vacation Day 10 Farewell

Our last day of vacation was Friday August 12.  We had an early check out time 9:00 am and my parents had to drive back down to Georgia to catch a flight home.  Before we left the beautiful Smoky Mountains, Bruce and I wanted to hike just one more trail.  We got up at 5:00 hoping to finish the trail and pack up before check out time.  It was so nice that my parents shared the suite with us so we could leave our sleeping children under their watch care while Bruce and I hiked the Laurel Falls trail.

The trail was only a mile long, so we knew we could do it with no problem.  It was a lot darker than I expected it to be, and the only light we had were from our cell phones.  We decided early on in the trail to ditch the "flashlight" and enjoy the trail.  It didn't take long for the sun to come up and light the way.  It was so great to hike with just Bruce.  We had a chance to just talk without any interruptions or distractions.  I can't say that we get that opportunity very often. It was nice to talk about what a frustrating, difficult, and disappointing year we had, and out thoughts and opinions about our life and our goals for the future.  We were literally the only people on the trail.  We didn't see a single person or animal the entire way up or down.  We counted this as our anniversary date since our anniversary was coming up in a week.  When we got to the top, the sun was just coming up, shedding enough light to give us a great view of the waterfall.

Selfies is all we could take with no other hikers on the trail.  

It was really neat.  This is a view standing on a ledge from above the waterfall.  I'm not sure if I was supposed to climb up there, but it wasn't difficult so I did it.

A view from the side

And the best view I could get from below the waterfall.  

There were actually two separate waterfalls at this hike.  We spotted this second one on our way down the trail.

                                This view of the mountains just after sunrise was amazing.

We made it down the trail and back to the resort by 7:00 am.  I'm so glad we decided to squeeze in one more hike, even though we were so tired having stayed up too late watching Olympics the night before.   By the time we arrived back, no one else had even cracked an eye lid yet.  We busied ourselves in packing up - it always takes a long time to pack up the leftover food from the kitchen.  We got the kids up and finally made it all packed up and out the door.  We met my parents for breakfast at the Waffle House.  After breakfast, my parents hit the road to catch their flight, and we headed over to the Boot Factory Outlet.  I really wanted to find myself a pair of cowboy boots.  The boot factory had a sale going on buy one get two pairs free.  Yes, cowboy boots are pretty expensive but with a sale like that, you have to take advantage of it.  I tried on lots of different boots.  I came to the conclusion that I really like the look of cowboy boots but I don't really like the feel.  I couldn't find a pair that fit well and didn't feel funny on my feet.  I must not have been made to wear them.  Instead, we settled on buying 2 pairs of boots for Bruce and a pair of boots for Eliza.  

We spent more time at the boot store than we realized, but we still hit the road at a decent time that morning.  We had originally planned to drive halfway again and stop for the night.  However we ended up making good time.  Everyone, except Bruce, was so exhausted from our week of fun that the kids and I slept for nearly 4 hours in the car.  By the time we woke up, we had already passed the half way point we thought about stopping at.  We pressed forward and made it all the way back home around 11:00 pm.  We arrived home a day earlier than originally planned.
This vacation was such a blast.  The Smoky Mountains in Tennessee have been on my bucket list as a place to visit for years. It was so worth it.  I think we will probably go back in a few years.  I'm glad my parents got to attend with us as well - Tennessee is so beautiful, I'll miss you Smoky Mountains - till next time.

Vacation Day 9 - more Smoky mountains

Thursday August 11, we headed back to Smoky Mountain National Park, but this time, we took the long driving route.  I really cannot even begin to describe the beauty that is Eastern Tennessee, yet alone the Smoky Mountains.  Yes, they are every bit as beautiful and majestic as everyone says.  My pictures can't do them justice.  We were careful to drive slowly so as not to invoke any unwanted car sickness.  This was definitely not the most exciting thing about this trip for the kids, but they did catch up on some much needed sleep - by this time in our vacation we had a lot of late nights.

About halfway through our drive, we discovered this cute little swimming hole.  Bruce was in heaven.  We were not prepared to do any swimming, but that did not seem to stop Bruce.  It was a good thing the kids were asleep during this part of the journey because I'm sure they would have been right behind Bruce, and we didn't bring any spare changes of clothes.

                                 Always one to jump off nearly any cliff - Bruce had a blast!

I stayed on the side observing not only him, but other families.  Sometimes people watching is just as fun as doing something crazy like cliff jumping.  

After Bruce got his fill of the water, we continued on our scienic drive.  Bruce really enjoyed the farm land like countryside.

This area of the park was full of rustic cabins, cottages, and small churches.  We got out of the van for a little while wanting to hike the rainbow falls trail.  When we finally found the trail head and discovered that it was 5 miles round trip, we decided to pass.  I know our young children wouldn't have made it, and I didn't think my parents wanted to sit with them for that long.  Plus my arthritic body probably wouldn't have tolerated such a distance.

Our drive through was beautiful - awe inspiring really.   

 No trip to the Smoky Mountains would be complete without a picture by this sign.  It was actually difficult to get this picture.  At least they had a post we utilized as a camera stand and set the timer.  It turned out pretty good I think.  

Vacation Day 8 - More fun in Pigeon Forge

Wednesday August 10 found us once again enjoying the sunshine in Pigeon Forge, TN.  We didn't head out until mid-morning, but when we did we headed straight for the Alpine Slide

This is a self-guided roller coaster that takes you through a small part of Smokey National Park.  You climb onto a cart like the orange one pictured below.  

A track takes the cart to the top.  Once you reach the top, you use the foot and arm controls to determine your speed as you wind back down.  They don't actually get going too quickly - only about 25 miles per hour, but in an open cart with such a windy track, it seems a lot faster than that.  

 Eliza and I rode up together the first time.  I wanted to see the scenery so I didn't "drive" my cart too quickly.

We had such a great time, that we decided to go again.  This time I went with Zabien, and didn't hold back on the speed.  There were times I felt like we were going to fly right off the track, but it was a blast.  

Hazel wasn't old or big enough to go, and she had fallen asleep in her car seat on the way there.  Gratefully my parents took turns staying with her in the van.  I didn't get a picture of my dad, but I did manage to snap one of my mom.  

Although extremely nervous at first, she agreed that the Alpine Slide was a blast.    

After the Alpine Slide, we headed further into town to take advantage of the tourist attractions.  We went into this souvenir shop to see the live sharks.  The sharks were tiny in comparison to the wide mouth entrance to the store.  We did end up buying Smokey Mountain National Park t-shirts for everyone as souvenirs.

Later, we drove over to "The Island."  Here we are waiting for the shuttle bus that took us from the parking lot to the attractions.   The Island is an isolated piece of land full of fair type rides and specialty shops.  We wanted to walk around to see if there was anything of interest.  There is also a large fountain in the middle that performs synchronized light and water shows to music every half hour.  That's mostly why we went.

After a short visit to the Island, we headed back to the resort to grab some dinner, and get ready for our entertainment for the evening.   

Yes, we were headed for the Smoky Mountain Opry.  We got a great deal on our tickets because we bought tickets for the Hatfield and McCoy dinner show which we saw the evening before.  I was a little hesitant bringing in small children to this show considering that the room was full of mostly elderly people.  

However, my children didn't disappoint, and neither did the show.  Lights, surround sound speakers, talented singers and dancers, and don't forget the costumes.  Eliza's favorite part was all the different dresses the girls put on.  I could tell she wanted to wear every single one of them.  She was in awe of the dancing - especially the ballerina, who danced from 2 strands of fabric that hung down from the ceiling.  I don't think she moved throughout the entire show.  Zabien also did remarkably well.  I think he was raptured by all the lights and special effects.  He only got out of his chair once to go and sit on Bruce's lap.  Hazel actually surprised me most of all.  She sat on my lap the entire time - sometimes dancing to the music, sometimes sipping her bottle, and always clapping after the end of every number.  This was a 2.5 hour show.  I still can't even believe how well behaved they were the entire time - I wish they behaved that well in church.  I can't tell you how many comments I had by surrounding people at how well behaved my children are.  Honestly, I couldn't believe it either, but the Smoky Mountain Opry did put on one spectacular show.  

The auditorium cleared out pretty fast - guess that's what happens when it is full of elderly and you are the only couple with children there.  The kids even got to go up on stage, and take home a souvenir beach ball which was used as props for one of the numbers.

I'm so glad we decided to spend the money to go - it was well worth it.  I hope to go again someday.   

 The experience was so neat, I almost hated to go.  But, we were the last ones out and they shut the doors behind us.

After the show, we headed back to the Island to see the water and light show at night.  It was so cool and really not that crowded.  We all got great seats.  Granted it was a Wednesday night, I'm not sure how busy it would have been on a Friday or Saturday night.

      As you can hopefully tell from the pictures below - it was pretty fantastic.

Vacation Day 7 - Gatlingburg/Pigeon Forge

Tues. August 9th, we found ourselves back in the Smokey National Park - this time with a hiking backpack and kids in tow.  We really wanted to do some hiking to waterfalls, but it was difficult to find a trail that wasn't too challenging or too long for 1 grandma, 2 parents, a 5, 3, and 16 month old to handle.

 We chose the shortest trail, but it was definitely not the easiest trail.  It was steep and rocky with deep drop offs.  Grandma ended up calling it quits early, and headed back down to keep grandpa company.  The rest of us decided to press forward.  Both Eliza and Zabien had stumbles, falls, scratches, and bleeding.

Hazel thought it was a pretty relaxing hike.

We stopped several times to rehydrate and refuel on goldfish.

Despite the hard work the rest of us were enduring, Hazel sure thought this was an easy, breezy hike.

After a few more rests, and a lot more words of encouragement, we eventually made it to the top.  

                                                

 But...eventually we made it to the top.  Seeing the waterfall made the hike worth it.

It was neat to walk behind the waterfall as well.  I took some pictures standing from behind the waterfall.

Everyone was having a great time wading in the water until Zabien decided to be a little more daring than he should have.  He slipped and fell in the mud, scraped his leg, and called it quits.

 Luckily, another more prepared hiker had several band-aids that we used to console the poor boy.

Many other hikers thought we were pretty brave to bring so many little kids all the way up this rocky trail.  Really Bruce had the hard job of lugging Hazel all the way up.  Several people were more than happy to take a family photo by the waterfall for us.

When it came time to go, Zabien wanted to "help" his sister go back down.

This would have been a good idea had he not fallen and scraped up his other leg.

We had to borrow even more band-aids from the kind stranger.  With both legs scraped up, I thought it would be an even longer journey back down with such an inconsolable boy, but Eliza came up with the perfect game to play the whole way down.  We played 20 questions trying to guess her favorite toys or what she was thinking about at the time.  This distracted Zabien enough that he totally forgot about his discomfort, and even joined in by thinking of his own favorite toys.

We were all famished and ate lunch out of the back of the van on the side of the road.  The roads were narrow, windy, and one way.  Despite the crowdedness of where we were able to park, the kids still managed to wave to everyone else driving by between bites of sandwiches and chips.

The drive back down the mountain from the trail head was extremely windy - beautiful but windy.

 Bruce had to pull over to the side of the road because my mom and I were getting extremely car sick.

When we got back to the resort, we took a quick but much needed break.  We fixed the boo boos, and cleaned everyone up to head to Pigeon Forge.  We had tickets for the Hatfield and McCoy dinner feud show.

We were seated on the McCoy side, so we had to cheer for the McCoy family.   The food was great - a buffet of traditional southern food like grandmas old fashioned cooking.  They didn't waste anytime serving us dinner.  We were served almost immediately after sitting down.

The tables were small - only seating 4, so our party had to split up into 2 different tables

Hazel didn't waste anytime digging in.  

As a precursor to the show, all the kids were invited to come on stage and dance. They were supposed to follow one of the cast members, who was demonstrating the next dance move.   Zaby and Eliza were so cute, although I think Zabien had a bit of stage fright - the deer in the headlights look indicates that.

The show was cute - full of guitar and banjo playing, fake shoot outs (which the kids didn't like at all, they kept their hands over their ears throughout most of the show), tap dancing, singing, and yodeling.

The banana cream pudding for dessert was delicious... as Hazel can testify

We had such an enjoyable time and the kids were really well behaved.  Despite the loud noises and special effects, it kept their rapt attention.  We didn't have to leave early, stand in the back and pace the halls, or take screaming, uncooperative children out.  It was great!!  Our dinner appointment was at 5:00, so we got out early and had plenty of time to take pictures around the outside of the dinner house.  

We still had time to enjoy the pool later that evening back at the resort. When the kids were finally in bed, the adults enjoyed a game of Seafarers while watching the summer Olympics.  What a great day!