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.
But...eventually we made it to the top. Seeing the waterfall made the hike worth it.
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.
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.
This would have been a good idea had he not fallen and scraped up his other leg.
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.
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
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.
Hazel didn't waste anytime digging in.
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.
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!
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