Chillin' at the Cabin

After two big days at Dollywood we spent some time resting at the cabin today. We were all very tired, plus we didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. One of the cabins above us has a large group of people who were very noisy laughing and partying between 3:00 and 5:00 in the morning. I woke up to the racket at around 4:00 and went back to sleep after a while, but Darrin was awake more. One of our neighbors got in a pretty heated argument with them. He told them it was 5:00 AM and one of them responded, "COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO!" Today a number of people called the office to report the group, and fortunately they are being dealt with. Hopefully they will keep quiet tonight.

After things finally settled down a loud rain shower came through. There was no lightning nor thunder, but it was a downpour that was loud! Obviously, we didn't sleep as well as we would have liked. It was a good day to rest and chill. I did, however, take Rebekah to The Christmas Place on the main drag in Pigeon Forge. It is the one store I like to visit every time we come to the Smoky Mountains, and I thought it would be fun to share the experience with Rebekah. She seemed to really enjoy it as well, although she did tire and was ready to head back to the cabin before I was quite ready.

Here is the view from our cabin. It is really beautiful, and the pictures don't do it justice.



Here you can see actually how close the cabins are to one another.


One of the activities at the cabin we have enjoyed is playing pool: Joshua-style. Every time Darrin would take a turn hitting the ball Joshua would pick it up off the table, as long as he could reach it, and drop it in a pocket.







This evening we had plans to hit the pool after an early dinner since it closes at 7:30. However, Rebekah was really tired, and although she wanted to go swimming we felt like she needed some time to rest. I really wanted a dip in the water, so I decided to enjoy the hot tub. Rebekah didn't want to join me at first, but she really wanted to spend time with me. She finally decided to try it (in her own words) "for just a little bit". She surprised us and loved it!


When Joshua came out with Darrin a while later he wanted in the spa with me too, so it wasn't long before our entire family was enjoying the hot tub together.


It wasn't so relaxing with Joshua trying to walk everywhere and falling constantly, but he sure was having a blast! Plus, we got to enjoy some time out there before a big thunderstorm came through, of which I'm enjoying the last few rumbles in the night.

Dollywood Day 1

If you have read my blog for very long or if you know me very well then you know that we visit the Smoky Mountains fairly frequently, at least once every year, and sometimes more. We usually visit in the fall when the colors have changed, but this year we decided to come when we could enjoy the outdoor amusement parks. We visited Dollywood today and will revisit tomorrow. We are planning to go to Dollywood's Splash Country this week as well. Rebekah has been hesitant in the pool lately (which I don't understand at all since she just had swim lessons for two weeks), and we are unsure if she would like Splash Country now, so we'll wait and see.

We decided to rent a cabin in Pigeon Forge instead of Townsend this time since we would be spending so much time in this area. We like the cabin quite well, and we have a beautiful view, plus the parks are not very far away. The only thing we don't like is having neighbors right next door who sound like they are on the other side of the wall at times. Not that they are being particularly loud, but at 11:00 last night we could hear them since our bedroom is just outside their cabin. The cabins are only a few feet apart, and we prefer the privacy we had in Townsend. However, it has been a really good trip so far.

We began our day by heading out around 10:00 this morning for Dollywood. By the time we got inside the park it was already 10:45. We are definitely going to get an earlier start tomorrow! As we started to walk through the park we saw Strawberry Shortcake.


The first ride we took was the Dollywood Express to take a tour of the park. This was Darrin's favorite ride.



They took our picture before boarding the train, and the photo was really good, but we didn't want to spend the money. You could buy a package, but all we were really interested in was a 4x6 which was going to cost $10 alone. It ended up our lunch was way overpriced too. I guess that is part of vacation and amusement parks, but it is highway robbery! When the cashier told me the price I had to ask her to repeat it just to be sure I had heard correctly. Yes, nearly $40 for two burger meals and two kids meals! HELLO!

Anyway, we hit the carousel after the train. Although it's a nice carousel, I have just found none other that matches up to the one at Coolidge Park. Its animals were handcrafted and handpainted, and they are just beautiful! Still, a carousel is a fun ride no matter what, and we enjoyed it.




By this time we were ready for lunch then we hit the theater to see a performance of "The Little Engine That Could". I think this was probably my favorite part of the day. Both the kids were showing fatigue by now because it was 1:00. It wasn't excessively hot out, but it was warm, and it was getting close to Joshua's naptime. The kids really enjoyed the show, though. Joshua was pretty fidgety before the show began, but as soon as the music started he settled down. The kids never showed great excitement due to fatigue, but they were glued to the stage the whole time, so I know they really liked the show. Flash photography was not allowed, so the pics I took were blurry. I had my little point-and-shoot camera, so I was not able to play with the settings much, or if I can I haven't learned how yet. Anyway, here are some pics from the performance.






"I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could."


Finale


Posing with "the funniest toy clown you ever saw" and a "doll with blonde hair and blue eyes".


After the show we hit the kiddie rides. Rebekah immediately wanted to ride the "Lucky Ducky".


Rebekah has a pretty smile here.


Next they rode "Busy Bees". This was Joshua's favorite. He wanted to ride it again, but we wanted to try to hit other rides first.


I was actually surprised Joshua liked it as much as he did.


The kids then rode "Piggy Parade".



At this point we were going to head back to the cabin so Joshua could take a nap, but Rebekah really wanted to ride the VeggieTales miniature roller coaster. Darrin stayed back with Joshua while I took Rebekah. Rebekah says this was her favorite part/ride of the day.

Here I am turned to face Darrin, but Rebekah wouldn't turn around again for a picture.


I'm surprised Darrin got any pics at all since this is not an easy ride to capture.


Joshua fell asleep on the way back to the cabin, but he did take a nap this afternoon. We were all going to go to the pool this evening, but we decided Joshua just needed to rest. Darrin took Rebekah for a short dip in the pool. I was really surprised they close at 7:30, especially since it is still daylight, but Darrin said Rebekah just didn't want to venture out into the pool anyway. I'm baffled as to why she is like this, especially after having had swim lessons for the past two weeks.

We are definitely tired after such a big day, but we're looking forward to some more fun this week!

By the way, you may have noticed that I have never posted pics while on vacation before. That is because Darrin bought me a new laptop as an early Anniversary gift! All so that I can stay on top of my blog, post photos, and keep in touch with everyone through email and Facebook. Isn't that so sweet?!

Smoky Mountain Adventures - En Route

Thursday morning we packed up and checked out of our cabin and had some time to spare before we checked in to our motel in Morristown, TN where we were staying overnight for Carson-Newman's homecoming that weekend. Since I had missed some pretty photo shots on Wednesday I asked Darrin to take us for a drive down the winding road that cuts to Gatlinburg from Townsend. We did not take the entire road, but just hit some highlights before we turned around to head toward Pigeon Forge.

One particular spot where I had seen on Wednesday was a waterfall, so we made our way looking for it. Because it had been raining overnight and was now drizzling the fall colors seemed to pop more. They still weren't brilliant, but they seemed to show more than earlier in the week.






The next spot we hit was a little view called "Swift Water".




We then drove in to Pigeon Forge and on to Sevierville where we ate lunch and did some shopping. We ate at Connor's for lunch then shopped a little at the Tanger Outlet. We didn't have a whole lot of time to shop, so we just hit the Carter's outlet store so I could get the kids a few fall things. The temperatures were just starting to drop over the weekend, and both the kids needed some warmer clothes.

After some quick shopping we headed on to Morristown to check in to our motel then back to New Market down the road a little ways to visit with my friend Julie and her kids. Julie is one of my college friends who was not a music major. I had two basic groups of friends I hung out with in college. One group was friends from the music department while the other group was friends that were non-music majors, many of whom I met early my freshman year. Julie and I actually met at orientation the summer before we started college, and we clicked right away. We have continued to be great friends over the years.

Julie's husband Bob was unable to be with us Friday evening, but Julie and Darrin and I got to visit, and the kids had a great time together! Luke is just a few months older than Rebekah, and Abby is five months old. Both children are just precious!