Wednesday, April 5, 2017 through Friday, April 14, 2017
Wednesday – 4/5 – We left Edward’s home in Ormond Beach, Florida, about 10 a.m. and checked in to the Hampton Inn McDonough-Atlanta about 4:45. After checking in, we called JP to see where they were. He said that they were on the by-pass around Macon driving through a very hard rain with large hail. They arrived about 6:00 p.m. after driving 9 hours on Interstate 75.
Thursday, 4/6 – We used the interstate system to drive around the east side of Atlanta and then up to US 23 N/US 441 N. This route took us through Cherokee, North Carolina and through the Smokey Mountain National Park to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. While driving over the mountains we drove through blowing snow that was sticking on the trees and on the ground at the higher elevations.
We continued on to Pigeon Forge where we checked in at the office of Aunt Bug’s Cabin Rentals. We had to wait about 45 minutes for them to finish cleaning the unit and when it was ready, we were given the directions and codes needed to get to our cabin, called Majestic Waters, in Cosby, Tennessee. JP, Kellie and the girls did not take the same route as we did, but went directly to the cabin. Unfortunately, they missed the snow. We checked out the 5-bedroom cabin and determined which bedroom would be best suited for all of us and then got settled in. Since Emma was running a temperature, due to her cold, I stayed with her while the rest of them went in search of a grocery store to buy stuff for tonight’s supper and tomorrow’s breakfast. Vanessa cooked chicken fettuccini alfredo for her parents and us while Edward had angel hair pasta. Rick and “V” also made a nice salad to go with our fettuccini. We all headed for our beds shortly after our late-night supper.
Friday, 4/7 – Rick got up just before 7 and went out to get in the hot tub on the back porch.
I rolled over and went back to sleep. Around 9, I heard Emma crying, so I got up. She was sitting on the couch with Rick, her Papi, watching cartoons. JP was also up in the kitchen getting something to eat and drink. Next came Vanessa, who also sat on the couch with her sister. Edward wandered down from his upstairs room just before 10. Rick made eggs and bacon for a hearty breakfast for all who wanted to participate. Our mission today is to find snow! Around noon, we all loaded up in JP’s car (because Emma’s car seat is not easy to move). We drove east about 20 miles to Gatlinburg and then turned south through the park hoping to go up to Clingman’s Dome. Unfortunately, when we got to the turn off, the road was closed – due to snow! So we continued on to the next pull-off where we all got out of the car and had fun in the snow. This was the first time that Vanessa and Emma had ever seen snow. They made snow angels and built a snowman (about the size of 3-year-old Emma). We all had snow ball fights and generally a very good time.
Saturday, 4/8 – We hung around the cabin until Mat and Lindsay with their friends, Michael and Amanda came over from Knoxville. We had a nice visit and then went to a little Italian place down the road for supper. They went in the hot tub after the rest of us had gone to bed.
Sunday, 4/9 – Michael and Amanda volunteered to make bacon and eggs for all who wanted and they were delicious. Around noon, they started back on a leisurely drive to Knoxville while the rest of us loaded up in JP’s car. We drove to nearby Sevierville where Kellie and Vanessa went horseback riding and the rest of us went to a deer farm and petting zoo. Pictured below is one of the big goats in the petting area. There were also two goats that were only one week old.
Monday, 4/10 – When JP, Kellie and Vanessa went to get in their car to go into Gatlinburg, they found a flat tire. We called AAA but it was going to be a while, so they went in our car. While Rick waited on the porch for the AAA guy, Edward, Emma and I went swimming in the indoor pool. We got out at 1:30 to have lunch and then rest after lunch. Later we went back in the pool and Rick joined us.
We got out in time to start supper. JP, Kellie and Vanessa returned from Gatlinburg telling us that they enjoyed the Ripley’s Believe-It-Or-Not Museum and the Ripley’s Aquarium. They also had a good time shopping. Kellie took the picture below at the aquarium.
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Tuesday, 4/11 – In the morning, Rick and JP took his car to the nearby Wal-Mart to have a new tire installed. In the afternoon, JP, Kellie and Vanessa returned to Gatlinburg to play the Ripley’s Put-Put Golf and then have supper at the Melting Pot Restaurant. The rest of us spent time in the pool again today.
Wednesday, 4/12 – Today we left the cabin around noon and drove west to Knoxville. We had a nice visit at Zoo Knoxville where Mat met us mid-afternoon. Of course, we saw all of the zoo animals you would expect, like the white rhinos – Dolly and Polly.
Emma had a good time riding a train and a camel. We left the zoo when it closed at 4:30 and followed Mat across town to an Italian restaurant where Lindsay met us and we all enjoyed a variety of Italian food. Even with a relatively early supper we didn’t get back to the cabin until about 8:30. We were especially glad that we got to spend some time today as it would have been his mother’s (Rick and Edward’s sister, Eileen) 71st birthday. We all miss her.
Thursday, 4/13 – We started packing to get ready to start home tomorrow. In the afternoon, JP, Kellie, and Emma went for a ride down the Foothills Parkway to take some pictures of the mountain scenery.
While they were gone, Rick, Vanessa and I went to the nearby Crosby Park (a part of the Smokey Mountains National Park system). We walked along a short trail that paralleled Cosby Creek and then got back in the car and headed back towards the entrance where we stopped at a pull over and we were able to walk just a few steps to the creek. Vanessa put her bare feet in the creek and declared that it was very cold!
While we were there, we noticed a lot of pretty butterflies, like the one below.
After Emma went to bed, JP, Kellie, Rick and I spent a little time in the hot tub out on the back porch. The stars were beautiful. This was a good way to end our vacation in the mountains.
Friday, 4/14 – We left the cabin around 9:30. Our destination today is Edward’s house in Ormond Beach. JP, Kellie and the girls will make their way to I-75 South and go as far as they can today.
