Tennessee Vacation, Part 1

In 2022 we had a Smoky Mountain Thanksgiving. Everyone loved it and we wanted to repeat the experience. Unfortunately, the Wills couldn't make it this year, but we decided to take the trip with just our family. I booked a cabin in April in an incredibly convenient location. We were all very excited about being close to so many things we enjoy (restaurants, Dollywood, the Parkway, the Relic Room, etc). We planned on leaving at 5am on Saturday morning. On Friday night, I realized we didn't have our check-in information. I sent a message and received a quick response notifying me that they had to cancel our reservation due to some sort of syncing error (I understand this to mean that they double-booked using a different platform). We were literally in the process of packing the car! They had sent a message on Wednesday night, but I missed it. Although, that would have still been less than 72-hours notice on a house we booked more than 6 months ago. Not cool!

I immediately called VRBO and they were super helpful, which is a nice contrast to the experience we had with Airbnb when something similar happened (slightly more notice on that one). They offered to book us into a hotel. They also said they would refund us AND pay for the new booking. They offered us 3 rooms in okay hotels (La Quinta, Clarion, etc). But, we had no idea if the rooms would be together and it seemed risky. Plus, some in our family were really opposed to a hotel, wanting that cabin experience or nothing. The only problem--it's Thanksgiving week and everything was booked. The VRBO representative was super patient and we widened our geographical search. She found one opening in Dandridge, which is about 30 minutes from our original booking and 50 minutes from the activities we had planned. But, we were relieved we didn't have to cancel our trip and took it. 

We left as planned on Saturday morning at 5 and the drive went smoothly. We got to our house around 3 and were able to check in. It is across from a massive lake, or what would be a massive lake if it wasn't the dry season. It is actually crazy how low the lake is, the  nearby docks just end at the empty lake bed--it's weird and we wonder if this is normal or a drought. Anyway, the house is nice enough and we all have a bed and room to spread out and a washer and dryer. Our first night, we went to a quick dinner at Wendy's and then Walmart for supplies. 

Sunday, we went to Dollywood. It was packed! There were long lines for everything, but we stayed from opening to close and had a fun day. It emptied out the last hour and I think we did more rides in that hour than we did in the other combined 9 hours we were there. But, we also walked around and enjoyed the beautiful lights and atmosphere and enjoyed the cinnamon bread and other treats. We took the day at a leisurely pace and didn't let the crowds bother us. 

Monday, we had planned to go to Cades Cove, but it was 90 minutes away and we decided not to make the drive. Instead, the girls found a more local state park--Panther Creek (30 minutes away). It was a beautiful day and we did a "moderate to difficult" hike. There were some parts that were definitely difficult, at least for me. After the hike, we had a picnic lunch. It was very beautiful.

Thomas being silly

Pretty view

Into the woods we go

Climbing

We saw a couple of areas where we think there would be waterfalls. But, the craziest part was this completely dry riverbed (Anna's picture).

After the hike--Kara practicing her photography

Luke and Jack killed time by racing. 

After our hike, we went to the Bush's Beans Visitors Center. We learned how they make their famous baked beans. And, the process might surprise you. But, you'll have to visit for yourself to find out. Just kidding! First, they put a piece of bacon in the bottom of the can (the bacon is important to 98% of their customers, but 96% throw it away) then, they add the beans, then the sauce. Then, they cook it right in the can before labeling and shipping. Bush's buys 20-25% of the white beans produced in North America. But, enough bean fun facts.

After Bush's, I dropped Thomas and Jack at the Dandridge courthouse to view their local museum. Dandridge is the second oldest town in Tennessee. Then, I took the other kids back to the rental (only 5 minutes) before returning. The museum was super small, so I met them outside and we went into the coolest bookstore--the Unkind Raven. It is located in a historic house and they sell new, used and rare books. They had a kids room where books are free and a room for crafting. They also had a tortoise who loves people, he was very active and interested in us. One room had been used for a meeting with Union officers. When they retreated, the Confederacy took over and toasted the Union officer who left behind a whisky flask. It was cool to be in that same room.

From there, we went into a couple of other cool shops, then headed back to the rental. We rested for a few minutes, then headed out again. This time to the Alpine Mountain Coaster. I had bought the tickets before the booking snafu, so it was almost an hour away, but we still wanted to go, we've gone on every Tennessee trip. It did not disappoint. After that, we had a late dinner at Chick-Fil-A (we aren't adventurous travel eaters) before calling it a day. We had planned on doing the Winterfest Walk, but we were tired. 

It was a long, fun, day.

Another Licensed Wilson! (and other news)

Lots of big news on Kara. She started her job at Wawa. She finished training and is independently working the register. She has only worked about 4 days (including training). But, so far she likes it. It seems like it will be a good first job and it is only 5 minutes from our house. She also took her driving test and is officially a licensed driver! She took driving lessons and they were the ones who took her for the test. They practiced the test with her beforehand and she was able to take the test with the same car she did the lessons. We also did lots of practicing with her and I know she is ready. It is nice to have another licensed driver in the house.

Jack had his last marching MPA on November 1^st. Anna and I went. She and I have gone together all four years. Kara joined in the past, but this year she had a friend’s party to attend. Thomas and Luke were at baseball. But, Anna and I enjoyed it. Some of the bands were pretty gimmicky (I lost count of how many bands had kids playing their instruments while lying on the ground at some point in their show), but Jack’s band was more traditional, which I greatly appreciated. We watched about 10 bands and Jack’s was our favorite. Obviously we are biased, but even if we weren’t, they would be high on our list. His band also had their fall concert last night (11/18). Thomas and I went and enjoyed it. It was patriotic themed and we liked all the marches, especially the final song—When Johnny Comes Marching Home (or, the ants go marching one by one).

They played the How to Train Your Dragon song and made a dragon shape.

Anna no longer has to take the SAT! After she took the ACT last year, they made science optional. But, they didn’t retroactively change scores for Bright Futures. Then last week, they announced that they would recalculate scores and take the higher of the two (with or without science). That bumped Anna up the point she needed for Bright Futures. Yay! She is debating whether she wants to retake the SAT, because she had been working with Jack on math and her practice tests were significantly higher, so she may still do it, but the pressure is off!

 

Luke’s baseball season has ended. The team ended up with a decent record, I think 17-8. He will probably play with them next season. His old team was AAA and this team is AA, but we haven’t had luck finding a AAA team that is close enough to make it feasible. Thomas thinks his current team has a lot of potential and the coach is really good.

 

We have gone to SeaWorld a couple of Fridays. It is our favorite Christmas event. The park is beautiful and they have fun shows and good food booths. We love it! And, it is still early enough in the season that the park has been pretty empty. We also went to Aquatica on a Sunday earlier this month. The girls didn’t want to go, but Jack, Luke, Thomas and I had a great time. It was a slightly rainy day and the park was empty. We literally rode every slide that was open (except one that no one wanted to go on) in about 2 hours. It was very fun and the girls missed out!

In not so great news, my dad spent about a week in the hospital. He had a UTI and was super confused. He also lost some of his mobility. He is doing better now, especially cognitively and is in rehab to hopefully strengthen his body.

 

I think that covers November to this point. We have started decorating the house for Christmas. Everything is looking festive and fun! Although, we haven’t put ornaments on the main tree, because we haven’t had a night with everyone home since we put it up last week. 

Front room tree is done!

October!

Some highlights from October:

Thomas and I are still at work. They estimate we have a few more weeks before we run out of funding. Hopefully, the Government shutdown will end before that.

Jack had his senior night for band. Thomas and I walked him across the football field. For his information sheet, he said he wanted to go to FSU and major in wine and culture. He has no idea what he wants to study, so he said he looked up funny majors. There are a lot of lasts this year, which is both sad and exciting. He finished his applications for Florida colleges. And, they had another school SAT day; Jack got a perfect English score, which brings his superscore to 1560! 

Anna came to support her twin.

Kara and I have gone to HHN several more times. We also had a fun morning at Animal Kingdom. The weather this year has been really nice. It's the coolest October we've had since we moved here, so it's especially fun to do things outside. She has been doing lacrosse and is improving as goalie. She also (maybe) got a job at Wawa. I say maybe because they've told her she has the job and she's done paperwork, but she hasn't started yet and they keep calling and asking her when she can come in to do onboarding, then she gives them times and they say they will call her back and a week later the cycle repeats. 

Luke joined a baseball team. It is kind of far away (40 minutes) and they aren't as experienced as his last team. But, the coach is really good (still holds the record at UCF for most hits or something) and the kids/families are nice. Luke had his first grand slam. It was his 4th over the fence homerun this year. He went to a paintball party for one of his old teammates. He liked being with Gael, but thought paintball hurt and does not want to play again. 

Anna didn't get the score she wanted on the SAT, so she is studying again. She applied to a few schools and has already received an acceptance, but she is more doing it for fun as she wants to start with Valencia and then go out of state. She, Kara and I had a fun day at Magic Kingdom. We went on a party morning and rode several rides with little to no wait. We also went to the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot on a Thursday after school. We each picked out two things to try and watched the concert, a country band. We also rode Spaceship Earth and Guardians. It was a fun night. Luke didn't want to go and Jack had his last football game (for band) so Thomas went to see the halftime show. 

We didn't do any family Halloween activities this year. We did watch some Halloween-themed shows, like Modern Family and our favorite--Brooklyn 99. Luke doesn't get home until almost 5 and it seems like we are always running off to something, band, tutoring, lacrosse, baseball. We should have a break in activities soon and it will be nice to spend more time together. It is hard to think about this being the last year with the 6 of us at home. 

Yesterday was Halloween. Kara had a friend over and they watched a movie. The rest of the kids went trick-or-treating. Anna's best friend Nicole joined them. They have trick-or-treated together for the last few years. This year Anna was a fish and Nicole was a fisherman, they got lots of compliments. Anna was relieved because she worried people would think she is too old to trick-or-treat. Personally, I think it's great to see teenagers dressing up and trick-or-treating, but I know there are some different opinions on the matter.