Bart and I have been to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge a few times before. But this was a first time for the kids. We actually let them decide. We showed them the Smokys and Florida. They decided they wanted the mountains!! My kind of kids. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the beach. But, five kids, lots of people, scantily clad women, lots of people, the longer drive, lots of people, five kids. Yes, I repeated some of the reasons; but only because they were that high on my cons list.
We started our Monday with taking poor Bomber Dog to the vet for boarding. First time we have ever left him. Then, we didn't get out of town without road construction. We had a good drive down, stopping mid way for gas and a potty break. We made it to the condo just before check in time. We got checked in, unpacked and took a look around the place. It was super nice and spacious. Plenty of room for the seven of us, even if it only had two bedrooms.
On the way into Pigeon Forge, Gavin was noticing all the attractions. The bungee jump, go carts, flashing billboards. He was all over the place with excitement! He wanted to do it all and go everywhere. Helicopters, hot air balloons, upside down houses, dinosaurs, mini golf. Stimulation overload!! Finally, he said, "WOW, this place makes me freak out really hard!" Oh, how a four year old articulates his feelings. He was 100 percent right. He freaked out really hard!
After getting settled, it was off to the grocery store. We chose to do breakfast at the condo before leaving for the day. Then we did a late lunch out each afternoon and little pick-me-ups when we returned to the condo for the evening. It worked well for us.
We decided to walk to a pizza place that was only a few stop lights away. Well, the stop lights get more spread out the further you go. It turned into quite the little big walk for all of us! The advertisement for the pizza sounded like it would drop dead delicious. It was uhhh, ok. And the service wasn't the best or friendliest. We peeked into a shop or two on the way back to the condo. Then it was swimsuits and goggles, full blast to the pool!!
The rest of the week is a little bit of a whirl wind. I can't remember what we did on each day. Your brain gets fried with this many children.
I drove the Roaring Fork Motor Trail in the mountains. It was beautiful!! The kids were so surprised by the scenes and and surroundings. They really enjoyed it. A few were a little freaked by the deep drop off on the side of the road. I won't lie, so was I! We stopped along the little lookouts and visitor's centers to take on the official tourist label. We came to this little building along side the creek. The kids able to put their hand into the water and feel how cold it was. I thought the water would be super cold and crisp, so we got a bottle from the car and filled it up. We all took a drink. I was right; cool, crisp and very refreshing. Totally clear, no particles or floaters in the bottle. The best water I have ever tasted.
The kids wanted to hit up a little go cart park. We had a bumper car duel, so fun! Gav and Pey got to drive the mini go carts. Gavin caused a 4 car pile up and then refused to stop when time was up. The attendant had to chase him around the track! No surprise there. My dad said he bot black flagged. Alecia, Tomas and Caleb did the full size carts and then they rode some rides.
Right now, a very patient nine year old is waiting for me to finish so I can beat him in a Tetris battle. So, I will leave you with some pictures from these things. Be back tomorrow for more!
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