Suzy Snaps

So, Friday morning we woke up and ate breakfast at the cabin again.    We then got the kids dressed and headed out to take some pictures.   Stopped at the same pulloff as last time and just after we pulled in a bear ran across the road!   I barely caught the end of it (and as you can see had NO time to change the white balance on the picture.. corrected it as well as I could but I’ve still got some flourescent grass going on LOL)   If you look to the left of the red truck you can see the tail end of the bear.

and.. I ran over there and took a few pictures.   Look and you can see the back end of the bear.   No zoom lens just a 50mm so that’s as good as it got.

Then I took some pictures of the kiddos.

We then drove back to a picnic area that was close by.   The river ran past the picnic tables so of course we had to go see.

doesn’t he look thrilled?

We had a picnic of baked potatoes, pork chops, and apples, with some sandwich stuff thrown in.

Which made Rohan much happier.

Then had to go visit the water again.

Lorien found a pretty leaf.

After playing for a while we headed back to the car.   While standing there trying to decide what to do next Lorien found a rock and “wrote” with it ALL OVER THE RENTAL CAR.   ACK!   Thankfully with some scrubbing and buffing and thinking we got it to not be visible but yikes!   that child is so destructive!  (I’ve lost count on the flub #’s LOL)

So, we went back to the cabin to relax for a bit and then headed into town again.   We drove to Pigeon forge and ate and then went to Cirque de Chine.    Was a really enjoyable show and Brianna and Jesse’s favorite of the trip.   2 hours long and cheaper than some other shows.. great value and I’d recommend it!   The show ended at 9:30 at night and it was POURING so we got to drive home in the fog and rain.   It was so hard to see you couldn’t even see the edges of the road.. took us quite awhile to get back to the cabin!  But we finally made it back and went to bed for the last time in the cabin.

So, we ate breakfast at the cabin again and headed straight to the Ripley’s Aquarium.

Started to park in the parking garage right next to it and realized all the parking in the town is paid parking.. cash only.  (remember we have no cash left).. So we hunted down a spot.  Got lucky and found one just a few blocks down.     Otherwise if you go the town has free parking and trolley’s just outside of town on either end.

The aquarium was AWESOME.. can’t recommend it enough!

They seemed to think the first picture spot was a wee bit bright.

Better!

checking out the fishes!

This fish was really cool.    It took us awhile to find the thing because it blends in perfectly with the coral.  It totally looks like a rock and sits very still.   The thing yawned and then we saw it..     It fishes with a built in fishing pole if you will.. complete with lure.   Very neat.

spot the fish?

I though this little guy was adorable.

these crabs were HUGE.  For scale.. that’s Brianna’s 16″ tall bear in front of it.

Brianna decided since she was too short to see over the wheel for a picture she’d jump up while holding on.. didn’t work so well LOL

and a few other random aquarium pictures

We then left the aquarium and got some pizza on the main street on the way back to our car.  SOOOOO good!  Seriously some of the best pizza either Jesse or I had eaten.

After we ate we started to drive towards clingmans dome.  This was a gorgeous drive!

On the way we stopped at one of the pulloffs and let the kids run around.  (and I took a few pictures of course LOL)

the kids thought this was neat

Somewhere along the way Brianna decided to start acting like a musketeer (they watched the Barbie and the 3 musketeers on the car ride up)

I really really want to get this first one blown up huge and hang it somewhere in the house.

Then we headed on to Clingmans Dome. It is the highest point in Tennessee, the highest point in the smokey mountain national forest, the 2nd highest point in North Carolina and half in Tennessee and half in North Carolina.  So the kids got to go to another state this way.      However.. BEWARE!!  this is a tiring walk.   From the parking lot you walk up 330 feet in about .6 miles.  Very tiring.   Both Jesse and my calves were sore the next day and he’s a gym rat.  I walked up it with Rohan on my back and had to stop a few times for breaks.    Of course it doesn’t help that you are at a high altitude as well.

It was a wee bit windy at the top

Proof I went on the trip

This sign shows the state line..  It goes right over that hill in the picture

Over halfway down.. and check out how much farther down the parking lot still is.  It’s not that much distance to walk but it’s steep!

The girls thought these trees were quite neat.

Then we headed back.. and I of course took some pictures on the drive back.

The girls loved all the tunnels.

Had to take a picture of this road sign.  Missed it the when we passed it going our way so I turned around and took one

Water was running down all the rocks.

Then we went to the cabin, got a dinner cooking, and tried to take a few pictures at the bottom of our drive up to the cabin..  It didn’t work out very well because we hit the lighting wrong and Rohan was a grouch but I got a few worth sharing.

and a few quickies on the front porch of the cabin

So, we wake up in the morning and spend a leisurely morning at the cabin.    We bought breakfast stuff and other food at a Kroger on the way to the cabin on Monday.    Play around at the cabin some.. and eat lunch there as well     We then headed to town.

He was thrilled to be taking pictures.. can’t you tell?

We went to the dinosaur walk museum next.   We really enjoyed this!   If you have kids that aren’t that into museums and such and like more “exciting things” I wouldn’t recommend this and if you go take the time to read the information about each dinosaur and take your time.. otherwise you’d be done in 10 mins.  However, everyone in our family loves museums.   It was fun because it was educational as well.   They have life sized replica’s of dozens of dinosaurs.. including a T.Rex and Brontosaurus (or whatever they are calling that now) which was awesome.. HUGE!

Digging for fossils

Then we hit the gift shop.    Rohan found a toy INSTANTLY that he LOVED and plays with constantly.. Lorien got a little dinosaur and Brianna got one I’ll talk about in a bit.    Their gift shop was very reasonably priced.. made it nice!

We then headed needed to kill some time before Dixie Stampede at 4:45 so we went to the Christmas Place.. cute shopping center right off the main road.   The kids ran around and had fun.     Rohan pretty much played with his dinosaur souviner the entire time.    Leave it to him to find the one thing in the dino place that looked like a car.

Lorien was too short to stick her head through this.. so she put her dinosaur toy there instead..  see it?

While the girls ran around wanting pictures with the 357 scarecrows that were there (at least I’m pretty sure it felt like that many) Rohan did this..

Hey.. decent lighting.. kids are happy.. let’s try taking one with Rohan too!

It went well.

So.. then we headed over to Dixie Stampede which we all really enjoyed.    Rohan kept pointing and saying “WOOOOOWWWWWWWWW”     After in the gift shop he kept hugging Jesse and giving him kisses.      We were towards the first of the people who left the stadium part and went into the gift shop (isn’t it convenient how you always have to exit through a gift shop??).. and with Brianna’s decision making abilities we were the lasts to leave.  Took the child forever to pick something out.

So.. we then went back to the cabin for the night and Brianna got to put her dinosaur egg in water.  For her souvenir from the museum she picked out this dinosaur egg.. you put it in water for 2 days and a dinosaur hatches out.  They thought this was SO neat.

After they went to bed I saw this on her notepad..     Makes me proud since I’m her teacher   Guess she’s learning something!

and the next morning.. it had started to hatch!

So… tuesday morning!  Time to wake up from our VERY comfy beds.. I’m so getting a memory foam mattress topper.

Ran outside to see the view from the deck..

.. GORGEOUS!

Went out front to see what the cabin looked like..

I didn’t take many pictures of the inside of the cabin but here are a few from the website since it looked exactly like that LOL

living area..

our bedroom

Kitchen area..  although STRANGE thing here.. this is the SAME cabin.. but it didn’t have a bar??  Weird..

Kids room.. we brought Rohan’s pack and play (which fit inside our tent bag perfectly!  worked great for the plane)

The jacuzzi.. which the kids thought was AWESOME

So, we left the cabin and decided to go to the Sugarland’s visitor center on the way to Cades Cove.    It’s free, on the way, and has a small museum in it if you happen to go to the area.

But on the way we have to stop and pay for our cabin since we got in late at night (had already paid for half).   Since we couldn’t use that gift card for the rental car we decided to use it up and pay for most of our cabin with it so we wouldn’t run out of cash.  (betcha know what’s about to happen huh?)     Guess what??  Their machine couldn’t take it.   So.. we had to use cash to pay for our cabin.    Wanna guess how much cash we have left now??   Try about 25 cents.   Yep.. day one of vacation..  25 cents cash with a card that so far has not worked once.   lovely.     And that my folks.. is flub #3

Cades cove was a gorgeous drive.   It’s an 11 mile loop.  Beware if you go that you should go to the restroom, have plenty of gas, and have plenty of time.   We did thankfully otherwise we’d probably not have enjoyed it as much LOL.   It took awhile to GET to the loop.. only 24 miles but slow driving.   Once you are at the loop you MIGHT get up to 10 miles per hour.. MAYBE..  very very slow bumper to bumper.  Very enjoyable and pretty with lots of neat places to stop along the way too.  The kids loved it because we didn’t make them buckle up on the loop.. you share the trail with bikers.. who are much faster than you LOL.  (really would not suggest biking this..  it’d be too slow IMO.. too many cars who are pretty much stopped the entire time that you have to work around)

Saw some turkeys..

Saw kids hanging out of windows

We stopped at one of the old churches on the drive and I made the kids sat on a log for a picture.. Rohan was not impressed

So, I took a picture of the girls

While Rohan played in the dirt

After we finished the loop we were all hungry so we decided to attempt to use the card and buy a bottle of water.  It worked!!  yeah!!  So, we got burgers and ice cream at the little shop they have there.   The ice cream cones were HUGE and the kids though it was awesome that they got to eat ice cream for lunch while we had burgers.

We then left Cades cove and stopped at Meigs Falls which is on the way back to Gatlinburg.   You are on top of the falls so it was hard to get a picture.  Not tall falls but a pretty double falls that doesn’t include a hike to get too.

And.. I had to stop and take a few pictures of the river as well.

After that we decided to just drive to Pigeon Forge and look around since it was dark when we came through.  Fun town to drive through!   Then we went to the Apple Barn.    We bought some Apple Butter (which is AMAZINGLY good), and got some apple doughnuts (which Jesse even loved!), and bought some fresh apples.. about 8 diff. types and I hadn’t even heard of 4 of the varieties.  You can watch them make candy, apple pies, etc.. while there.  Was fun and can be free if you don’t buy anything LOL.

A cell phone picture of the kids eating doughnuts.

It then started to rain so we headed to the cabin.  It cleared up before we even got there and I took some pictures of the “smoke” that gives the smokey mountains their name.

We then cooked dinner at the cabin and just relaxed.. Pork Chops, mac n cheese, fresh apples, beans.. yummy!

So.. Monday we woke up at, at the free breakfast, (can I hear a WAHOO for stale muffins and orange juice?!?), and headed to DFW airport.   Found it rather quickly.. the first parking lot was full so we mosey on down to the parking lot on the other side of the airport.    The parking attendent asks us what airline we are flying so he can tell us were to park and we reply with “Southwest” to which he replies..  “you are at the wrong airport.”

Yes folks.. we went to the wrong airport.    Thankfully the other airport was only about 20 mins away and we had allowed plenty of extra time.    (Let’s start a count.. this can be flub #1 or 2 if you count the hotel room being wrong.. we’ll go with #1 to make it sound better)

So.. we drive to Dallas Love Field airport (PSA.. if you are flying Southwest out of Dallas it is NOT at DFW), get there with plenty of time and then board the plane..

Again.. nothing but cell phone pictures from today.

Rohan did great on the ride up there.  Brianna’s ears REALLY hurt her on the descent from Houston to Nashville but they quickly cleared up once we landed.

So, we land, go to get our rental car.. and they won’t let us have one.    As a bit of backstory.. I lost our one and only debit card on friday.. the friday RIGHT before we left.   Thankfully someone turned it in at the mall within min’s of my losing it but they had to report it as stolen and shred it.  SO… we had no debit card, we don’t use credit cards.. and we had no time to get a replacement in the mail.   The bank oh so helpfully told us that a Visa gift card from their bank would work just as well… HA I say.    It didn’t.   Not only would the rental car company that we had reserved with (Dollar) not take it.. neither would Avis, budget, Enterprise, Alamo, Thrifty, .. well you get the picture.  So.. we have been at the airport for a good 45 min’s now and NO ONE will give us a rental car with that stupid card.    Thankfully the lady that worked at the Thrifty counter knew of someone that did cash rentals.  So we finally got ahold of him and he came to the airport, picked us up and rented us a car.   Yeah!!!     So.. we are now at flub #2

Anyway.. we flew into Nashville and Gatlinburg is about 4 hours away so we got to driving.   It was dark by the time we got to our cabin.. (let me tell you.. it’s FUN driving up a very twisty, turny, steep dropoffs on either side, steep uphill,  no street lights, road in the dark for the first time trying to find your cabin.

Here’s the map for the cabins..

What it doesn’t show you is that steeply climbs a mountain.. Fun in the dark folks.. FUN.

Our cabin was on Picadilly lane towards the end of the road.. see if you can find it.

Our cabin was rented through here..  http://www.cobbly.com/ Highly recommend them!  They were some of the more reasonably priced cabins.  They were very helpful and the cabin was gorgeous.

So, we got to our cabin and settled in for the night.   Will have to wait until the morning to see the view..

Okay.. I’ve got 700 pictures on my memory card so I’ll post in parts.

Day #1- Sunday.

We grabbed a quick lunch at the house and headed for Dallas.   I had reserved a room in Dallas so we wouldn’t have to get up so early in the morning to head to the airport.   So, we drove up to Grapevine Mills mall which was about 15 mins from our pricelined hotel and went to build a bear with the kids.   The girls LOVE LOVE LOVE build a bear!   Usually they stand there for oh… 30 mins trying to decide what animal they want to make (they’ve been twice before for birthday’s), then they finally pick one out only to change their minds 10 mins later.   This time they went in, decided and were totally happy with their choice within 5 mins!  Not sure what finally clicked but hey..     Lorien picked out a dog (and happened to pick out the most expensive one there of course) and Brianna chose a pink bear (which suprisingly was one of the cheapest options).     They stuffed them up and picked out outfits.. Lorien’s doggie got a tinkerbell outfit complete with fairy wand, and Brianna’s bear got a rock star looking sparkly thing complete with a fur lined sequined coat.   Not so sure about my daughters fashion sense LOL.

No good pictures of today but I do have some cell phone pictures and video..

Rohan didn’t want a bear.. he picked out this instead..

After that we headed to rainforest cafe and ate dinner.   The girls were VERY VERY impressed with that place.

After which we headed to the hotel at a decent time.  Had to switch rooms because they had given us a small one bed room.. doesn’t work so well with 3 kids LOL.

Then we all went to sleep ready for Monday.