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April 25 Thanks Mom and Dad!I have to start off with a HUGE thanks to my parents. Dayna was visiting her family in NM for spring break and I was going to take some time off to watch the kids. Inspired by a picture of myself (as a wee child) and my Grandma taken while camping in NC I thought it might be fun to do something with the kids and my folks. Mo has not been to TN and is a bit jealous that Brod has been there twice (albeit not for pleasure) and has met family. We’re not quite ready to go back to the ‘homestead’ but happy to return to TN. Dad did some detailed research and found a great cabin in Pigeon Forge. Well, after a pretty pleasant 12 hour drive, we arrived, Dad and I went into the office…long story short…badda boom, badda bing! Our cabin was being repaired, all they had left was the MAC DADDY, 3,500 plus per week, Uber-Cabin! All ours at no extra cost!
A few highlights: -Four stories on the top of a mountain -Six bedrooms -11 flat screen televisions -Game room with darts, foosball, pool and air hockey -A movie room with projection TV, recliners and stadium seating -A couple wet bars -Fireplaces on every floor -Ya-coozie tubs on every floor (that is how Mo says Jacuzzi) -an elevator -A deck on each floor -And a hot tub that the kids never left
Surprisingly, Rays (other than Billy Cyrus) are not common in TNPigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are at the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains. When we were kids, it was a single lane road with a few diners. Today, it is hillbilly vegas. Pigeon Forge, with more land, has their version of Vegas Shows. Big productions numbers, big price tag…but with a buffet; it’s all very country, gospelly, cheesy. Gatlinburg is crammed in a crevice as you near the mountains, but it is packed with little shops, lots of gyp joints (muscle car museum, wax museum, haunted house, old timey photos, etc). I really wanted to avoid all that and focus on TN stuff (e.g. the mountains versus a reproduction of the Ghostbuster car). HOWEVER, there is an incredible aquarium there and the kids really wanted to go. Brody is WAY into sharks and Mo, after having seen the brochure, was DYING to touch a Sting Ray. It was quite an attraction, well done, informative and after much work, all who wanted, touch a ray.
Cuts like a knifeThe second full day I did some a.m. shopping with Mom (thanks! Kids love the shorts and skirts!). We went out in the A.M. while Dad hung out at the cabin and played with the kids. Mo is quite the card shark and pretty damn good at Monopoly too. Dad and I went out to a knife store and by store I mean a gargantuan store of knives. I picked up a very nice gun metal and bone pocket knife. I never really carried one, but as I age it seems appropriate. BTW, once you have a knife with you, it is amazing how often you need it! “Let me get the wrapper off for you. “ “There is a tag on your dress.” “Frick’n seal on the aspirin.” “Don’t like that wart?” Ridin'Day three was the highlight for the kids. Another ‘real’ experience the kids wanted, and we wanted for them, was horseback riding. We found the best one in town and were not disappointed. It was a first class operation, replete with safety helmets. As a good Dad I made the kids wear one…as a Cool Dad, there was NO WAY I was wearing one. LOL Mo was going to have a lead line to the guide so they set us up with our own guide versus the normal grouping of ten or more. The cowpoke running the show did get a bit confused when saddling folks up and assumed the lady behind me and the kids was with us…so he kept referring to her as my wife and tried to send her with us. I immediately pointed out that while she was attractive my wife was far HOTTER (Oh, and her husband was really big!). So off the three of us went. Fantastic ride up and down some muddy hills in the Smoky’s. Kids both got the hang of the reins very fast. Both are dying to buy a horse now.
In the afternoon we went up to I wanted to hit the park. Mo was really into walking along rocks in the river and both loved climbing rocks. It is a beautiful park and I was so pleased that the kids go to enjoy nature (I’ll take a real experience over a manufactured amusement park experience any day of the week!). One cute incident, at the top of the smokys at the TN/NC border we used the rest room (who doesn’t want to pee in two states? Why I bet ‘four corners’ is a virtual outhouse!). There were some hyper teen gals loitering by the gals room so Mo didn’t want to go in. She didn’t want to go into the boys either. She was wearing a hoody so I told her to pull it over her head and look down, with her hands in her pockets…she looked like a little gangsta!
Go speed racerLast day there, always a bummer. It was nice and the kids wanted to do a little go carting. It is quite popular there and they have some pretty ornate tracks. We started off with the elevated spiral track in the two person and then let the kids finish off in some of their own.
On the way home Mo used her saved spending money to get some cowgirl boots. She was trying for a pink cowgirl hat, and as much as she likes Taylor Swift, it’s probably appropriate but sadly they didn’t have her size. Mo finished up writing a diary of all we did, it's amazing how well she writes.
All in all – two big thumbs up for TN and a massive thanks to the folks!
April 24 What exactly do they learn from PokemonOver heard by Dayna while kids were playing:
"Are you going to talk or is this going to get ugly? Am I going to have to take you to the extermination room?"
Dayna quickly investigated, and while we have no photographic evidence, Brody had a purple Care Bear and Nerf Blaster-point, tied to a step 2 desk chair. April 21 My, how times have changedBrody and Mo, most likely after a week of close quarters on Spring Break, are at each other a little lately. They seem to look for reasons to argue with each other or relish reporting on the other when poor behavior presents itself. So last night I set up the toothbrushes and turned on the sink. Maura was re-routed and didn’t make it in immediately. Brody then came in and noted the running water. A couple seconds later Mo comes in and Brody, assuming she left the water on, says… “You’re not being very green!” |
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