Day 5 - Dollywood

So the original plan was to hike on Thursday.  After the horseback ride and the white water I didn't know if my aching joints could take the hike.  So I opted to go to Dollywood instead.  Partly because this too may give me the time to meander through shops and allow me some distance from teenagers, allowing them to go their separate ways.  Another thought in the equation was it's rained almost every night (thankful once we were safely tucked in for the night) and judging by the trails on Monday on the horseback ride (before 2 more nights of rain) it would have been a muddy mess. 

So we splurged on something not in my well laid plans or budget.  My kids love roller coasters and we vaguely discussed the possibility last night, they all seemed on board.  Well no one mentioned until AFTER we paid for 6 tickets that Marie (Cianah's friend) doesn't like rides.  Marie always the trooper was fine to walk around and look at things and see shows and whatnot, but Cianah was a little less of a good sport.  (Surprise?) 

And that is how she was for the rest of the day!!!  Aren't teenagers a joy?  So Bree and Tati went on to enjoy the rides as did Karl and I. 



Karl and I rode the mystery mine and didn't get the picture, that was a very cool ride.  Then we rode the Tennessee Tornado and I was done for awhile.  Karl liked it a lot, I however got an immediate headache from the twists and turns.  Lots of turns.   So we went on to ride the train (let down compared to Silver Dollar City)  We did eventually ride the Blazing Fury, which is almost a replica of Fire in the Hole in Silver Dollar City, down to the FIRE IN THE HOLE before the last drop.  That I liked.  As a child that was the only roller coaster at SDC and we rode it over and over again. 

Tatiana and Bree on the Tennessee Tornado.  I do have to say, Dollywood sells flash drives to load the pictures at a discounted price and with a copyright release, this I like!! 

This with the fist on chin and cheesy smile, is called the "Grace Face" and they have been trying to achieve this on the whole trip.  They tried on white water and didn't get it done...they finally made it.  I still am not sure the significance, but nonetheless, mission accomplished. 



Karl and I enjoyed a little alone time and it was NICE!!  He hates crowds and yet he didn't bat an eye to go.  He's such a good man!

About Dollywood.  I was totally expecting to be visiting Silver Dollar City, but in Tennessee.  It was not the same at all.  Sure there were a few people in period costumes and there was country music playing, but that is where the similarities end.  In Silver Dollar City you can spend days walking around watching blacksmiths, glassblowers, fudge makers, and on and on.  I have fond memories of the girls making wooded trains and rag dolls and watching shows in the streets and in the saloons. 

At Dollywood, there are plenty of stores but they are all filled with crap.  T-shirts, hats, the occasional leather store but not filled with handmade stuff, just more crap.  There were shows, but only a handful and all were just musicians.  Overall I was not impressed.  Silver Dollar City is way better and much closer. 

This train was even originally in Silver Dollar City.  They didn't have a "skit" on the train ride as they do at SDC either.  :( 

We stopped after Dollywood to do an old time photo.  This too was disappointing.  This is just a shot with my camera, I'll scan it when I get home and replace it.  Can't even see the kids in the back....BOOOOO!!

The shop in Dollywood was way over priced.  This place was $20 cheaper but not sure it was worth it at all.  :( 

If you are planning a trip to the area - Gatlinburg is much prettier than Pigeon Forge.  (and has fewer confederate flags) - you will have to pay to park there. 

For sure do the white water rafting - such a rush.  If you love Silver Dollar City - don't waste your money on Dollywood.  If you are going for the rides, also don't waste your money on Dollywood. 

If you want to horseback ride - prepare to have your butt hurt! 

Don't waste your money on Cirque de Chine.

If you don't like narrow mountain roads, make sure your cabin has "no mountain roads"

I wish we had more time because I would like to hike, the view from the top of Gatlinburg's Skylift was beautiful. 

I wish we had more time to walk around and enjoy Gatlinburg.  All in all not a huge hit, but not a miserable failure either. 

Off to bed, leaving bright and early tomorrow morning. I am sad that we are leaving TN on a low, but Karl and I enjoyed some alone time today, so it wasn't all bad.

Day Four - Take me to the River!

So today was the day most of us were looking forward the most.  Turns out it's a good thing we drove by the Arts and Crafts Community yesterday, even though we didn't visit.  We have gone in and out of the cabin the same way each and every day.  Who knew there was another way out?  So the directions we printed to go to Rapid Descent took us out another way all together.  We didn't pay any attention to the directions until we reached the Parkway and realized we were supposed to come out on a different street.  The directions did say however we needed to get to 321, which is at traffic light #3 in Gatlinburg!  We knew this from out failed attempt yesterday! Yay failed attempt.  Otherwise I would have been having an anxiety attack, crisis averted.

So we took the drive to the North Carolina state line and put our raft in the water.  It was one of the coolest things I've ever done. This was TOTALLY worth the money.  So far, this is the highlight of our trip. 

I debated buying the waterproof camera in the gift shop and decided against. So I have only the 10 photos the company takes on the the river.  This is the 1st set of rapids we hit, not the biggest or the best.  It does capture the fun we had!! 

No one fell out of the boat, but Marie, Tati, and Bree jumped overboard in a calm spot in the river.  It was a lot of fun. 

After the "float" we did stop by a few shops in the Arts and Crafts Community.  I fell in love with a Turquoise ring, that is until they told me the cost...not so much in love anymore.  :)

We also tried to hit the Nascar Speedtrack, unfortunately it started to rain as we were driving, no go-karts on a wet track.  By that time I was hungry so we decided to head back to the cabin to cook dinner.  Good thing too, as soon as we pulled into the driveway the skies opened up again.  I'd really hate to travel those mountain roads in the rain. 

So Philly cheese steaks for dinner were yummy.  We are all adequately full and worn out from the day.   We are debating a trip to Dollywood, a hike, Wonderworks, or something all together different for our last day in the area.  So tomorrow we may just surprise you with our quest! 

I hope the river pictures make you smile/laugh as much as they do us, that was an awesome trip.  I think Marie and Cianah are plotting to come here and be raft guides in college over summer breaks.  It was a really good time!!

Day Three - I've had better days

So the morning started off nice.  I got up, made some coffee, read a little and woke the family just before 11:00.  Since we had a long and tiring day yesterday I figured a little extra sleep was in order.  Since we stopped at the grocery yesterday we all have "brunch"  before we left for the show at 1:00. 

 We walked into the lobby to a juggler and girls with yo-yo thingys. 
Looked interesting. 

Tatiana in her typical fashion was just checking for cute boys.  Bryana was having a melt down because her hair didn't look just right. 


This probably should have given me a clue as to how the day was going to pan out, but it didn't. 



So we went on to the show.  5th row center tickets was nice.  It was an OK show, would I recommend it or see it again, probably not.  It was palatable though.  Although the magician was VERY bad.  Apparently he wasn't a good Chinese Acrobat but magic wasn't his thing either.  All 4 girls did think he was cute though, so he's got that going for him.

The Cast of the show posed with the kiddos after the show.



Since we wanted to taste Tennessee BBQ while we were here and since tomorrow we would likely not want to go to a restaurant after white water (girls are vain) today was the day to give it a try.  We stopped at Bennett's BBQ.  Well, Bennett has nothing on Karl Hobdy.  My steak was over cooked and fatty.  Karl said the ribs were good, but I don't think he was overly impressed.   And they were over priced!  The amazing meal we had at the Old Mill Restaurant was $20 cheaper and more than twice the amount of food.  So if  you are reading this preparing for a trip to the area, skip on Bennett's.  (but for sure hit Old Mill)

So we decided to take a trip back to Gatlinburg visit the Arts and Crafts Community. 

On the way to Gatlinburg there are parking pull offs along the road that overlooks this pretty stream.  I pulled over as Karl looked up directions to the Arts and Crafts Community. 

 Looks pretty huh?  I was climbing on the rocks and notice the WARNING sign below! 

So glad I stopped short of climbing down to the water. 

Kids however foiled the plan to look at the Arts and Crafts shops. No one was interested in walking around and looking at the crafty stuff. So instead, we were going to try and play a round of Hillbilly Golf. In the 5 minutes it took for Karl to walk to the ATM and back (note if you come to the area - Hillbilly Golf is cash only)  the kids began to bicker yet again.  I had my fill of the bickering and eye rolling and all the other stuff that comes with teenage angst.  So I decided I was done.  No golf, no anything, just back to the cabin. 



I did manage to finish my 1st of 4 new books on the Nook and enjoyed the quiet of the front porch swing.  All the kids apologized and have been on much better behavior ever since, how long will this last????

And to top it all of, there are hurricane force winds swirling about.  Not sure if you saw the pictures of the cabin?? There are window everywhere.  So as I type this we are all hunkered in the hallway with the least window view. 

Wish us luck as this storm passes, and wish us better luck at a positive day tomorrow.  Today wouldn't rank on my top 100 of best days ever.  Hoping for a better experience tomorrow. 

Tootles from the Smoky Mountains! Hope to see you all in once piece when we return!  (Oh and my butt still hurts.) 

Day Two, Ouch!

So today was an early day.  Since we didn't make it back out to the grocery store last night, we treated ourselves to breakfast at the Pancake House.  Which, as one would guess, served pancakes.  So not know what to expect as far as traffic in Pigeon Forge in the morning, we woke up MUCH too early.  And as my luck goes, there was a terrible storm that rolled through last night so I already didn't get much sleep.  

In case you are wondering, there is NO morning traffic in Pigeon Forge.  Seems that most shops don't open until 10:00 and most people sleep in.  So my worry about making it in and out of breakfast on time for our 10:30 check in at the stables was all for not.  We had an hour and a half to kill with only a trickle of shops open.  Oops.  I think we all would have benefited from an extra hour of sleep.  Lesson learned. Another lesson learned, breakfast cost almost as much as dinner the night before - we will not be doing that tomorrow.  :) 

 So we spent a little time shopping in the "General Store" at the stables.  Karl, Tati and I came away with new hats.  Bryana ended up with a cap gun.  We told her how the loud noises might startle the horses so we didn't have to hear the caps until we made it back to the cabin. 

 This is my new hat.  The one Karl is wearing is a loaner from my friend Vicky.  He liked mine better so we got him a similar one, but in black. 

Cianah and her friend Marie before the ride. 

Oh Mr. Gray, don't buck Karl off!!!! 

OK, in all actuality....Mr. Gray was the slowest horse of all.  Karl and Mr. Gray kept their space from the other horses.  :) 


We rode for close to 2 hours with a small break in the middle for "lunch" - not impressed.  Good thing we were still very full from our breakfast! 

 Let me tell you, 2 hours on a horse, let's just say I am sitting on pillows as I type!!  My bum hurts!!!






We were done with our ride by by 1:30, since it was such an early morning we could have probably called it quits and all went home to sleep.  Instead I decided that if we go to the Moonshine Distillery this afternoon, we can all sleep in tomorrow.  And so we did.

I must say Gatlinburg is much more quaint than Pigeon Forge. Still quite the tourist trap, but so pretty!!

Karl sampling his 1st taste of Moonshine!!

White lightning is brutal!!!

The apple pie moonshine was much easier to take.  We are bringing a mason jar of that home. 

We then stopped in from some ice cream and then headed up the Skylift!

We rode the ski lift type chairs to the top and were met with this gorgeous view!!

After a bit more shopping in the gift shops where my oldest child ended up wearing a raccoon tail attached to her pants for the rest of the day, we hit the grocery store and then headed back to the cabin.

                                                       Tatiana and Bryana hit the hot tub. 

 I settled in with my nook on my balcony and watched the sun set over the mountains. 












Karl and Bree played a little pool.

All in all it was a good day.  Tomorrow will be much less eventful.  I am ready to have slow day! 

 If you want to see all of the pictures from today:  

http://hobdypixphotography.smugmug.com/Personal/TN-Vacation/Day-2-Horseback-Riding-and/17663352_9Z2Kvq#1346946498_wNk5Q6L

The Trek to TN

So we successfully made the 8 hour drive from Missouri to Gatlinburg in one piece. 

On the way here Bryana and I tried to find as many license plates as we could from each of the 50 states.  We found 37.  Not bad!  I want to send a big thank you to the truckers out there for helping a lot in this game.   I do however wish you would please pull over when you are sleepy.  I have never seen so many swerving trucks.  Seriously, frightening! Most of the missing states are in the North East.  We did get Maine, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. 

So the drive through Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee was not very eventful.  Since Karl and I were generally the only ones awake and I  was driving the whole time, there are no pictures from the drive. 

We lost an hour as we switched to EST somewhere in TN, but we still made it here a bit before check in.  We decided to grab a bite to eat before heading to the cabin. 

The Old Mill Restaurant was one of the "must do things" listed on several of the websites I visited to prepare for this trip.  So we stopped in for dinner. 

I looked at the menu and thought at first "this is kind of pricey for home style restaurant."  Then the food came.  Each adult meal comes with homemade corn chowder, corn fritters with maple butter, a salad, two sides served "family style"  (ours were mashed potatoes and green beans,) rolls, and dessert.  I ordered southern fried pork chops (YUM!) and that gave me *3* pork chops (2 are in the fridge now) as is the chocolate cake. I chose chocolate cake but there was peach cobbler, pecan pie and one other choice.  The kids meals  (2 or my 3 ate from that) came with ice cream.  The adult meals were $18, and seriously Karl and I could have split what they gave us and still come away full.  WELL worth it. 

The Old Mill restaurant is a working mill and there are shops and musicians playing.  After the 8 hour drive we were ready to get to the cabin and unpack. 

I am SO glad we were early.  The twisty roads that lead to our cabin are not something I want to brave again tonight.  The plan was to unload and I'd head back out to the grocery store. After the hairpin turns on narrow roads, I vowed to make that journey out once and in once per day.  So we will survive the rest of the evening on the snack food from the car and our left overs from Old Mill.  :)  We will have to leave a bit early tomorrow so we can eat breakfast before our trail ride.  Grocery shopping will be a family affair tomorrow after our horseback ride. 

The cabin however is just as beautiful as the pictures we saw on the Internet. 

This is the view from the balcony off mine and Karl's bedroom!  The balcony clearly faces west because the sun is full on right now.  I cannot wait to have my diet cola and morning cigarette there tomorrow morning. 

It is a bit warm to hit the hot tub, maybe after the sun goes down tonight.  I hear pool balls clanking and Bryana is on the floor next to me using dominoes to cause chain reaction demolition.  Ahh, we are all settling in nicely. 

Ta-ta for the night.  Tomorrow more adventure from the Smoky Mountains.  (and more pictures too)

The hectic life!

I've determined that since I've effectively learned to tune my children out and they have become spawns of Satan....errr I mean teenagers, the funny just isn't flowing like it used to. 

I used to be able to tell cute little stories about the silly things they did or said, now most days what they do and say makes me too angry to want to relive through my blog.  ;) 

These are matching hats for

Julie and her sister Chloe. 

Both reversible. 



So my God Daughter turned one yesterday.  In asking Stephanie what Julie may want or need, she suggested a sun hat for their upcoming trip to Cape Cod.  So I searched the net and was not pleased with any of the selections I had. 

So I decided, in typical Nicole fashion - why not make my own. 



Reverse if the tan and pink. 

This one was made for Julie alone!

 I just shipped them off yesterday so with any luck they will arrive for her birthday party this Saturday!  fingers crossed. 

My brothers were in town over Memorial Day weekend.  I played my 1st game of washers, and am proud to say (with a little help from Karl) I am undefeated!!!

Mike stayed through the week and took the girls to Six Flags on Wednesday.  Uncle Mike the being the fabulous uncle that he is, purchased the flash pass. And not just the Flash Pass, the Platinum...

Platinum The Flash Pass allows you to enjoy riding our rides with the least amount of waiting! Consecutive Riding allows you to WAIT ONCE and RIDE TWICE.

Tatiana came home and said "I will never be able to go to Six Flags again without a Flash Pass....well, don't plan on going to Six Flags again then. 

Friday Uncle Mike took Tatiana and Bryana to the Science Center.  My budding scientists studding their cheek cells and reviewing DNA samples.   

They also learned the finer points in architecture and constructed the world famous St. Louis Arch (on a slightly smaller scale!

This week was a marathon week for basketball. Bryana had practice on Monday and games Tuesday, Wednesday, and another tonight. I did take some pictures last night, but haven't uploaded. There weren't too many highlights at last nights game, sad defeat as it was. Bree did post up for a 3 pointer and it hit the rim and bounced off. So close! And it was a beautiful shot. Other than that - no true highlights.

We are in countdown mode until vacation!  I planned this trip in 2007 after we returned from our Florida vacation.  Things have changed and other trips took it's place.  This year we are finally on our way. 

We depart on June 19th and return Friday the 24th.  The plans right now include horseback riding, white water river rafting, a moonshine distillery, a Cirque de Soleil type show, and a hike through Smoky Mountain National Park. 

I (being the nerd that I am) have been looking over the weather forecast.  As of right now we can't see what the forecast is for our trip, but I am hoping all the rain BEFORE we get there makes things cool and green.  And more over hoping that this weather patterns moves on to sunshine!  Wish us luck.