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