Chris and I decided to spend the last weekend shopping for Christmas presents before the Christmas rush. We thought the best way to accomplish this task was to ask my Mom and Dad if Sarah could come for another "vacation in the mountains." She was so excited, she began packing right away. We made the mistake of telling her a little too soon. She asked us every morning last week if "today is the day we go to the mountains." We also decided to take a little vacation to the Smokies. It was a great time to rest and rejuvenate ourselves and we are so glad we had the chance to reconnect for a few days just the two of us.
Let's start with a few photos from Sarah's trip courtesy of her Papaw. She went home with Mamaw on Friday morning. We met halfway home on the Mountain Parkway. She was so excited, she skipped her nap completely that day. Mom said she rolled in the leaves, chased their cat, and decorated a mini-Christmas tree, all before my dad came home from work! The next day, they treated her to her very first Circus which had coincidentally come to their town.!
These photos are a little grainy. They were sent to me via e-mail. She had a great time watching the animals. I hear the elephants were her favorite.
The circus was held at the local convention center. It is relatively new. Sarah got to visit it even before I have!
It looks like a blast! I am glad Sarah got to visit her first circus with the grandparents. I am sure they will have many special memories.
It is quite obvious that the "circus tent" theme rubbed off at home as well. Apparently this tent remained up in the living room for naps and playtime. No wonder she would not talk to me when I called on the phone. All I heard was "No, No, No, I am staying with Papaw!" Apparently she thought that I was calling to say it was time to come home! Boy, they grow up fast.Now for our weekend vacation.
We drove straight to the Smokey's from the Mountain Parkway. We reserved a one bedroom cabin complete with a pool table and hot tub for our weekend getaway. We spent the entire first day there shopping and eating!
Here is Chris preparing to dine at the famous Apple Barn. He loves apple pie more than anyone I have ever met! Look how happy his is in this little "piece of heaven." We ended up there twice, once for dinner, and once for apple pie and ice cream! (I am more of a chocolate fan myself, but I obliged him this time).
This was our cabin. Believe it or not, the name on the address was "Hanky-Panky." Do you know how embarrassing it is to ask the lady at the front desk for the keys to our cabin and she utters the words "OK, so I see you will be staying in our Hanky-Panky cabin"? It was a nice place except for one important component. The bed. It was shaped more like a taco than a bed. Chris spent the second night on the couch! Oh well, the Coleman karma continues...
This was the downstairs of the cabin. It had a kitchen, dining room, living room with a fireplace, bathroom and bedroom downstairs. It also had a loft area with a pool table and Play Station 2! I became addicted to a game called "Columns" while there. It is sort of like Tetris. This was an obsession of mine when I was a kid. I guess being childless for a weekend brought out the kid in me. Chris had to make me stop playing at 11:30 one night so we could go to bed!
The last night there we watched the weather report just before bed. It called for snow in the upper elevations of Gatlinburg. We really dismissed it because we didn't think we were really up all that high based upon our view. We woke up to snow! We were a little concerned about the trip off the narrow and winding mountain roads in our car (we didn't think to take the Escape), but it all worked out. The scariest part was driving behind people from Indiana and Florida who are not used to mountain driving! In the mountains, proactive driving is key to not getting stuck on slick roads.
As you can see, the roads were narrow, but not that slick. The slickest part was the wet leaves!
On our way home, I noticed a spot where you could see snow capped mountains. I thought this was a beautiful photo. You don't often see fall colors juxtaposed with snow capped mountains. It seems like winter is moving in early this year!
We drove straight to the Smokey's from the Mountain Parkway. We reserved a one bedroom cabin complete with a pool table and hot tub for our weekend getaway. We spent the entire first day there shopping and eating!
Here is Chris preparing to dine at the famous Apple Barn. He loves apple pie more than anyone I have ever met! Look how happy his is in this little "piece of heaven." We ended up there twice, once for dinner, and once for apple pie and ice cream! (I am more of a chocolate fan myself, but I obliged him this time).
This was our cabin. Believe it or not, the name on the address was "Hanky-Panky." Do you know how embarrassing it is to ask the lady at the front desk for the keys to our cabin and she utters the words "OK, so I see you will be staying in our Hanky-Panky cabin"? It was a nice place except for one important component. The bed. It was shaped more like a taco than a bed. Chris spent the second night on the couch! Oh well, the Coleman karma continues...This was the downstairs of the cabin. It had a kitchen, dining room, living room with a fireplace, bathroom and bedroom downstairs. It also had a loft area with a pool table and Play Station 2! I became addicted to a game called "Columns" while there. It is sort of like Tetris. This was an obsession of mine when I was a kid. I guess being childless for a weekend brought out the kid in me. Chris had to make me stop playing at 11:30 one night so we could go to bed!
The last night there we watched the weather report just before bed. It called for snow in the upper elevations of Gatlinburg. We really dismissed it because we didn't think we were really up all that high based upon our view. We woke up to snow! We were a little concerned about the trip off the narrow and winding mountain roads in our car (we didn't think to take the Escape), but it all worked out. The scariest part was driving behind people from Indiana and Florida who are not used to mountain driving! In the mountains, proactive driving is key to not getting stuck on slick roads.
As you can see, the roads were narrow, but not that slick. The slickest part was the wet leaves!
On our way home, I noticed a spot where you could see snow capped mountains. I thought this was a beautiful photo. You don't often see fall colors juxtaposed with snow capped mountains. It seems like winter is moving in early this year! We had a great weekend. I got the vast majority of my presents for Christmas and they are wrapped and ready to go! We rested, reconnected, and got ourselves ready for the winter rush! We have a busy month ahead, Thanksgiving, Sarah's birthday, my finals, and Christmas! Whew! I glad we rested up!
1 comment:
Jon and I got married there in Gatlinburg and stayed in a cabin like that, it was really cool. With the exception that there was some animal in the fireplace chimney!
Post a Comment