Thanksgiving and Trip Conclusion

Thursday was Thanksgiving! We made reservations over a month ago to the Applewood Farmhouse Grill for a 5:15 dining time. We started the day with waffles and left the house around 9:30 to give the Alpine Mountain Coaster another try. They opened at 10 and already had a small crowd waiting. But, nothing like it is in the evening. We all rode and thought it was really fun. Luke was a little bitter, because he is tall enough to do the Goat one on his own (54") but not the Alpine (56"). He remarked afterward that the Goat one was way faster. Thomas pulled me aside and remarked that he used the brakes a few times, but not to tell Luke. :)

From there we ran to Kroger to get some picnic food. The kids were sick of turkey sandwiches, so we let them choose something different. But, guess what Anna and Luke got? Turkey sandwich lunchables. <sigh> Next, we went to a large park. Kayce and I walked the trail, Thomas and Anna went for a run, Jack played basketball, and Trevor got stuck watching the three little boys on the playgrounds. We stayed there for about 3 hours, and I think everyone could have stayed longer, but we wanted to have time to rest and change before dinner. 

On the way to the cabin, we decided to stop and do the goat coaster one more time, for comparison sake. We had to drive right by the Alpine, which had a really long line. But, no one was waiting for the Goat one. I think it is is because Alpine advertises so heavily and offers a Groupon. The Groupon was why I was so invested, I had bought the ticket before we visited and didn't want to waste my money by not using it. We all decided that the Alpine felt a little longer, the goat felt a little faster and was a bit more comfortable, but that they were relatively equivalent. If all things were equal (mainly wait times) I think most of us would choose the Alpine, but they are close. The mountain coasters are definitely expensive. We got a good deal on the Groupon, less than $10/person, but the Goat one cost our family $88! Counting Kara and Luke's Thursday ride, we spent around $200 on that thing! Yikes!!! I probably shouldn't have done that math.

We rested and changed at the cabin and then went to our dinner. When we drove up and saw the crowd waiting I was afraid our wait would be super long (it was reservation only, so everyone waiting had a reservation), but they called us back at 5:20. We started the meal with their signature apple fritters and apple butter (amazing!) then vegetable soup and then the traditional Thanksgiving foods. Well, most of them, Anna was sad that macaroni and cheese was missing, which I don't always make, but she was hoping for. We enjoyed a leisurely, well-paced meal and everyone enjoyed it. I was thankful they had kids pricing, because all Luke ate was a piece of ham, a piece of turkey and a whole bunch of rolls. I think everyone else got their money's worth.

Waiting outside the very cute Farmhouse Grill

Dinner is served!

On Black Friday, we went out to breakfast and then did some local shopping followed by another trip to the Relic Room. We spent way too much money, but did get some really cool old things. Then, we came back to the cabin and packed and hung out. We had a hodge podge of what was left in the refrigerator for dinner and had an early night. It was hard for people to say goodbye. My boys especially love the Wills boys.

We left the cabin at 3am on Saturday morning, because we were dreading the Atlanta traffic. The early time did the trick and we made it home in an easy 10 hours. One really funny thing happened about an hour from home. We had been searching for a Montana plate the whole trip. We only needed two for our license plate game: South Dakota and Montana. We saw SD on the drive up and kept an eye for Montana. We saw all the rare plates: Hawaii, Alaska, South Dakota, etc. It was frustrating not to be able to check them off. So, I was commenting to Thomas about how we would never get Montana and how annoying it was that we were missing out on all these other "rare" plates. Then, there it was! Literally as we were talking about it, it appeared. Thomas and I started yelling, "Montana, Montana, MONTANA!!!!" We scared all the kids,. And, we checked it off and started another round.

People's favorites from the trip (not counting spending time with the Wills, which is, of course, the obvious answer):

Thomas and Kara: Thanksgiving Day (Thomas gave an honorable mention to the cabin's wood burning fireplace)

Luke: Foxfire

Jack: Relic Room

Anna: Tuckaleechee Caverns

Kori: the lights at Dollywood

Tuckaleechee Caverns and Horseback Riding

On Wednesday, we started the day with a visit to Tuckaleechee Caverns. The tour lasted about 90 minutes and was really interesting.  Its boasts the largest underground waterfall in the United States and the largest cavern room. It was less commercial then the only other cavern I've been too (Luray), but that added to its charm. At one point, they talked about the water being 99.9% pure and invited us to try it. All of us thought the caverns were amazing.

Thomas was doing a Kara pose ;)

It is hard to convey scale, but these two 'obelisks' are over 20 feet tall!

The chandelier in the "great room"

Trying the pure water (it actually did taste better than most water)

Couldn't quite capture it, but here is the waterfall

Luke standing in front of the bottom of the waterfall

After the caverns we had a picnic and then Thomas, Jack, Anna and I went horseback riding. We enjoyed the ride, we did 90 minutes, and most of it was through the mountains, which was pretty, but did not have the big views we have had on our other rides. Luke and Kara didn't want to go and neither did Kolten or Bennett. They went and did the mountain coaster again.

After horseback riding, we stopped for some groceries and went back to the cabin. We had dinner at the cabin and enjoyed another peaceful night in. Kayce, Kara and I went in the hot tub, which was not quite as fun when it wasn't cold. Our first night, it was something like 20 degrees. Wednesday night, it was around 50. I keep looking for bears, but haven't see any yet. 

Tennessee Days 2 & 3

On Monday, we went to Foxfire Mountain. We hiked to a waterfall, walked on America's longest swinging bridge, had a picnic by the river and tossed around the football.  A great time was had by all!

Kara on the long suspended bridge

They also had some fun little bridges that the kids (and I!) loved crossing. This is Luke running across one that crossed the big bridge.

We did a short waterfall hike

then had a picnic followed by football in the field

After Foxfire, we went to the Relic Room, which boasts "the largest diversity of authentic history for sale in North America." They had coins, fossils, war memorabilia, and other collectibles. Everyone picked out some fun souvenirs. Luke was thrilled to get a piece of a meteorite. Kara got bullets from the northern and southern armies from the civil war and an old coin, Jack and Thomas also got coins, and Anna got a grab bag, which had a disappointing mix. 

We had dinner back at the cabin and then went to a mountain coaster. Our plan was to go back to the one we did in May, but the wait was over an hour. So, we went down the street and did "Goats on the Roof". The wait was only about 10 minutes. It was all lit up and super fun. After the coaster we fed the goats, then came back to the cabin for dessert. 

Coaster in the background

On Tuesday, we went back to Dollywood. But, it was even more crowded then Sunday. The kids really wanted to ride Lightening Rod. We got in line 30 minutes before the park officially opened. The ride opened on time, but the kids still had to wait 90 minutes (well, 120 if you count the pre-opening line). Actually, only Kara waited. The other three all quit at some point until only she was left. Anna and Luke joined us around the 30 minute mark. Then, Jack quit about 30 minutes after that. But, it was fine, Thomas and I sat in the diner across from the ride and we shared snacks, including the famous cinnamon bread. Jack and Luke went off to ride Wild Eagle, which had a much more reasonable wait. All the kids rode something. Then, it got too insane to stay any longer--there were crazy lines for everything, including to use the bathrooms! And, I really like Dollywood, but my biggest complaint is their inability to accurately determine wait times. Every line our family waited in took approximately twice as long as the posted wait time. Once it became hard to move we decided to throw in the towel. We went out to a very late lunch outside the park. Then, we hung out at the cabin the rest of the day. The Wills lasted longer than we did, but we all joined up for dinner and enjoyed a relaxing evening at "home," including toasting smores by the fire. 

The top picture is a line for the ladies room, the bottom is for hot dogs. By the time we left, Kayce said the cinnamon bread line was 200 people deep.

 

Tennessee Thanksgiving, Day 1

Back in January, we made plans with the Wills to spend Thanksgiving week together. We found an amazing cabin located near Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg and booked it. The countdown began! On Saturday, the vacation finally started. We left our house at 5am and arrived at the cabin around 420pm. The drive was not bad, we hit a lot of traffic around Atlanta, but overall, it was a good drive. We brought food, so we avoided making any long stops. The best thing on the drive took place in Florida around Gainesville. We saw the most amazing rainbow. It was a full rainbow that went over the highway. Oddly, there was no rain. Eventually, we did drive through a few sprinkles, but the rainbow was unexpected and lovely.

I couldn't capture the whole thing, but it was a full rainbow. At one point, it looked like we would drive right under it. And, you can see a fainter double rainbow.

Kayce had arrived before us and did some grocery shopping. We had tacos for dinner, the same as when we visited North Carolina together last year. A new tradition begins! The cabin is nice. It is has three levels and enough beds for everyone. There is an amazing mountain view and a great hottub. Kayce and I went in the hot tub (it was around 20 degrees out, but the hot tub was a toasty 102) and caught up on all of each others news. It was nice to hear the updates on my old neighborhood. I still miss it!

Sunday, we went to Dollywood. It was crowded. Really crowded. And, it was also cold. Really cold. Nothing like our experience in May. One funny thing was a candle shop that had a sign saying, "come in, it's hot inside". When we visited in May, we went in the shop because of the sign saying, "come in, it's cold inside." Many of the bigger rides couldn't operate because of the temperatures. But, when the sun went down, the lights were amazing. Really amazing. We have been to Christmas events at many parks (Six Flags, Kings Dominion, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Busch Gardens Tampa, Sea World, Disney and Universal) and these were the best. They were everywhere and so well done. I think we even forgot about being cold. 

Same spot where we posed under the Spring umbrellas

Halloween and Early November

On Halloween (a Monday this year), both the high school and elementary school kids were allowed to wear costumes to school. I thought it was nice that the big kids could have a little fun. Jack dressed as Spiderman. A lot of kids tell him he looks like Andrew Garfield, so he thought it would be funny.  Anna dressed as a flapper, but didn't wear it to school (a decision she later regretted). Luke was a general leading a dinosaur army. However, he did not go to school. He was feeling sick the day before and had thrown up on Sunday morning. We kept him home just to be safe, but he was fine. Kara was not allowed to wear a costume to school, poor middle-schoolers.

Jack had basketball tryouts from 5-6:30. That added an extra challenge into the day with having to make the drive to drop off and pick up. But, of course, we made it all work. Kara was not interested in trick-or-treating, but she put on her old cow costume and passed out candy. I walked around with Anna and Luke and enjoyed seeing all the kids in the neighborhood while Thomas picked up Jack. When Jack got home, he quickly put on his costume and joined us. However, Luke was a little slow in his costume, so Jack and Anna abandoned us to cover more ground. Which was fine, because Luke was done anyway. So, we headed home and met up with Thomas who walked the last stretch with us.

I am sad that I did not take more pictures, but here is the annual photo of the kids with Mr. Pumpkin Man, sans Jack:

Jack was already gone. I was disappointed to not get a picture with the 4 of them, but he told me he had taken a good one at school that he would send me.

Here's the only picture he had. You can almost see him (no idea who the other kid is, but he is dressed as Sid from Toy Story). Jack's definition of "good" is not the same as mine.

Luke had the best 24 hours ever during the following week. They had awards at school and he got a certificate for straight As. He also got a class award (only 2 for each class were given). His was for being "responsible" (the school tenets are "ready, responsible, and respectful," they gave out awards for responsible and respectful). Then, he was named student of the month. And, he had an amazing baseball game. He had a huge hit that and he pitched really well and got the game ball. 

Kara also got some amazing news. She was selected to be student director for the school play! It is the biggest "technical" job and she is very excited for the challenge. In bad news, Jack did not make the basketball team. He was disappointed, but vowed to keep working.

Saturday we had a busy day. I had to write out our schedule because there was so much going on. Jack had a marching competition and a YMCA basketball game and Luke had a baseball game and a birthday party. I took Anna driving in the morning, then I dropped off Jack while Thomas took Luke to baseball. Then, the girls and I went to the game, which Marta, Elizabeth and Travis came up for. We watched the game (they won) and then went straight to the band competition. We saw a few bands and then Jack's band performed. They took the field and it started to pour. It was crazy! Just one rain cloud for about 10 minutes. We were all soaked. But, the band was so good. It was their best performance by far (they got straight superiors).  

After the band performed, we went out for ice cream with Marta, Elizabeth and Travis (not Jack, he had to ride the bus with the band). After that, everyone headed home. I pulled into our driveway as Thomas pulled out. Thomas got Jack and drove him straight to Winter Park for his basketball game. Meanwhile, I took Luke to the birthday party. We all got home after dinner. It was a non-stop, but really fun day. I was glad that Marta, Travis and Elizabeth came up to support the kids in their activities. It is really nice to be near family and I truly appreciate that they want to do things with us.

When we renewed our Universal passes, we added Volcano Bay. We planned to go on October 30th, but as mentioned, Luke was sick. Thomas and I were off on Friday, November 4th so we went and checked it out. It was really empty and we walked on everything for the first few hours. We left after lunch to be home when the kids got home from school. Then, on Sunday, Thomas, Luke, Kara and I all went. Anna was upset that Thomas and I had gone without them on Friday and was convinced it would be too crowded so she decided to stay home and Jack wanted to play basketball. We missed them, but had a lot of fun, and while it was more crowded than it had been on Friday, it was not bad. I think I may like Aquatica better, but they are both amazing. And, the theming at Volcano Bay is super cool.

The following week we had Hurricane Nicole. The kids got two days off from school. It was windier than Ian, but we did not have the flooding. Unfortunately, we lost some of our pool screening. But, everyone enjoyed the long weekend. Although they all said they would have rather been in school because they already have to make up time for Ian and now have two more to add in. 

That weekend, Luke had a baseball tournament. It did not go well. Luke played fine, but his team lost all 4 games. And, the games were spread apart and about an hour from our house. So, Thomas and Luke spent a lot of time just hanging around. Anna sprained her ankle on Friday night. It was still super swollen and sore on Sunday, so I took her to an urgent care. We were fairly confident it was not broken, but decided to just make sure everything was okay, since it was still extremely swollen even 48 hours after the injury. They gave her a brace, which she hates. Today (Tuesday) the swelling has finally gone done. So, hopefully she is now on the mend. Oh and Anna dyed her hair red :)

And now, I think we are all caught up!