Tennessee Trip 2011

Jimmy, Charlie and I had the privilege to meet Granny, Bettra, and Marilyn in Pigeon Forge, TN for a nice, long weekend trip Nov. 17-21! With the time we have off from work this year, we can't make it all the way to west Tennessee during the Christmas holiday, so this trip was basically our "holiday trip" for 2011. We are very thankful that we had four complete days off work together that we got to spend with family. We are also thankful for Bettra's provision in treating us to the cabin and to all the meals we ate out. We were obviously spoiled well that weekend!

We got there laaaaate on Thursday night (2:30ish am?!) and walked right into a beautiful room with a gas log fireplace and TV/DVD mounted on the wall! The adjoining bathroom had a huge tub. The neatest thing about the cabin was that the front deck was built right on top of a creek! You could open the bathroom and bedroom windows and hear the water slipping by. Needless to say, my husband did an awesome job picking out a cabin!

The creek under the deck!

Friday we spent the morning relaxing and hanging out at the cabin. That afternoon we headed to Huck Finn's Restaurant for some catfish.

Catfish are just ugly.

Mam-maw and Marilyn

Granny playing with Charlie

My husband posing as Mark Twain's unforgettable character Huck Finn. :)

Saturday we spent the morning relaxing at the cabin again. It was fun to have the freedom to watch movies together, play with Charlie, lounge around and talk, or soak in the tub and read (my activity of choice). That afternoon Granny, Bettra, and Marilyn watched Charlie while Jimmy and I got to have a date! Woooohoooo!

We got a quick lunch and then headed to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Jimmy wanted Krystal (that he was excited is an understatement- we don't have Krystal in our area) and I got Chick-fil-A.

Being able to hike in the Smoky Mountain National Park was a mini dream come true for me, and being with my husband was awesome. We hiked up to Laurel Falls and a bit beyond that.

The top half of the waterfall

The beginning of the bottom half of the waterfall- the walkway was over some huge rocks through the middle part of it.

My very handsome husband!

A tree coming out of the hillside?!

We took this picture coming back down the mountain. The water was far below us- the picture doesn't do it justice!

A beautiful mountain view

Part of the trail we hiked is so well travelled that the Park Service paved it to prevent erosion. But still, it just seems wrong to have pavement in the woods...

The pretty sunset and some trees ready for winter

I love this picture of the clouds just above the mountains. This was after sunset as we were heading down the mountain and back to Pigeon Forge.

After our afternoon date, we met everyone at Tony Roma's for dinner. This was Jimmy's favorite meal- the ribs lived up to their reputation!

Here is a picture of our handsome boy on the day he turned 10 months old!

Back at the cabin after dinner we celebrated Bettra and Marilyn's birthdays (both in November) with cake and ice cream. They also got to open their Christmas gifts from us. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures of the festivities.

Sunday morning Jimmy and I took an early morning hike in the area surrounding our cabin. Then we all got ready to head into town for some breakfast at The Old Mill. By the time we got there, though, it was time for lunch! We thought it was neat that they served complimentary corn chowder to everyone. After a great lunch we headed next door to their general store.

Jimmy and I took turns taking a picture of the family.

Granny lookin' sassy! 

The picture we used for our Christmas card this year- I absolutely love it!!!

We were headed to some nearby caverns after lunch but alas, they weren't open. So we turned around to head to Gatlinburg for some afternoon fun. On the way there we had to stop and change a poopy diaper. This seemed the perfect time for a photo shoot, according to Dad:

That afternoon in Gatlinburg we spent time going in shops and riding the Sky Lift. Bettra strolled Charlie around while the rest of us rode up the mountain- she is not fond of heights. Jimmy and I actually rode it 4 times... it was good alone time since the ride lasted about 20 minutes each time! The last time it was dark and we got to see a lit-up Gatlinburg! We had a really good time looking at everything and talking and laughing together. Almost like a second date for the weekend! : )

At the top!

The panoramic view from the top was just amazing, but our camera just couldn't do it justice. Here is part of the view on the way down.

At the top after it finally got dark.

One of the Sky Lift attendants who had seen us just about every time finally said, "Have a good night... or I'll see you next time" instead of just "Have a good night!" Ha! I guess that's when you know you've been riding more than most people...

All the lights down below

How Charlie spent his afternoon/evening- love how his feet are kicked up!

We topped off the day with the delicious restaurant Partridge and Pear Tree. Soooo good.

Charlie had his first "big boy" restaurant meal that night- mac n cheese! He loved it!

The next morning, Monday, we all got ready, packed the cars, and headed to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Then we headed our separate directions! Our trip home was the first time Charlie had been on a long car trip while awake, and it was quite an adventure. We stopped several times, once to let him play in a hotel lobby and get some energy out! 

Well, we met in the TN mountains in 2010 and 2011... who knows, it just might become a tradition!!