It's always good to get out of town and have a change of pace. And it's always good to get back home. We went to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge this week. Will (Vicki's brother), Darice, Cameron, Zachary and Emily were vacationing in the mountains too and we had a good time with them. Pauline went with us. (Darice's mom, stepdad and a nephew were in Gatlinburg as well and we saw them a couple of times.)
On the way home we asked the kids what their favorite part of the trip was. Ben said he liked climbing on the rocks in the mountains (at the picnic on Wednesday). Jenna said she liked holding Emily the best and judging by how he hung around Emily I'd say Nate enjoyed her too.
WE LEFT HOME ON SUNDAY MORNING and drove to Knoxville before stopping to eat lunch and make our traditional stop at McKay's Used Book Store. I mention McKay's because they have moved to a new location and their store is really nice. If you like books and are traveling through Knoxville it is worth a stop.
When we got to Pigeon Forge we checked into our condo (Which Jenna accidentally called a hotel and somehow Ben twisted it into our "show and tell" for the entire trip--I don't know why.) Then we met up with the Jones family for a short visit in Gatlinburg. We also dropped Pauline off with them.
PANCAKES, GO CARTS AND SWIMMING. The next morning we all met at Log Cabin Pancakes in Gatlinburg for breakfast. From there we went to the Sugarlands Nature Trail and walked it (0.5 miles). Then we went to the Wild Woody Fun Center to ride go carts and bumper boats. By then it was time for lunch so we all went to our condo for sandwiches and a swim.
That evening our family went to the Black Bear Jamboree. This included a meal and a show and we really enjoyed ourselves. Poor Nate did not have a nap so he was out of it by the time we arrived at the theatre. He woke up just as the show was starting and was a bit out of sorts. Once he composed himself he really was fascinated with the show.
ON TUESDAY WE got up late and all met later that morning to go fishing. Angi, her son Jackson and nephew Chris met us and showed us an out of the way park in Gatlinburg where kids can fish for free (anyone over the age of 12 is not allowed to fish at all). Jenna was the first to catch a trout but it was so small we threw it back. Cameron was the only other successful angler and his fish was large enough to keep. We all had fun with "Grizzly Ang" and enjoyed her expertise.
After fishing we went to Will and Darice's condo for lunch and swimming. For supper we went to the Smokey Mountain Brewery in Pigeon Forge (we had really enjoyed this when we were in Gatlinburg in February). After supper we took our kids and stopped at Wild Woody again to let them ride some of the kiddie rides before bedtime.
WEDNESDAY WAS PICNIC DAY. It has become a tradition while vacationing together in the Smokeys to drive up to the Chimneys picnic area and eat lunch one day. There is a really nice mountain stream next to the picnic area where everyone can play in the water (cold as it is) and climb on the rocks.
The plan was to go swimming that afternoon but it was raining with a hint of lightning when we got back to town so we spent the afternoon visiting the condo and cooked supper. The rain cleared off by early evening and we strolled the strip in Gatlinburg for a couple of hours.
BY THURSDAY IT WAS TIME TO GO HOME. We all met at the Applewood restaurant for breakfast that morning. After eating it was time to say our goodbyes and head home. The nice thing was that everyone settled in for a nap pretty quick and we made great time.
CONGRATULATIONS BLAKE. Our pastor's middle son, Blake Owen, is a student at Belmont University and a pitcher for their baseball team. Blake was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the sixth round this week. We are really proud for him.
Joe
