2019 TN Vacation - Day 4 Trip Report

Jill and Chris are arriving later today but first we're off to Dollywood! We haven't been to Dollywood in about three years and are really looking forward to checking out the new area, Wildwood Grove.

We got there just as the park opened and due to the cloudy weather and the fact that the local schools have started already the crowds are super low.  This is the first year that Zoey was tall enough to go on all the rides! Our little girl is growing up!

We get in and first thing go over towards the new Wildwood Grove area.  On the way there we passed a wooden coaster, Thunderhead, that looked fun.  Chuck, Zoey, and I all braved this ride; but Jesse gave a hard pass. I was nervous as can be!  The adults liked it, but it was a little too much for Zoey.  She didn't like it at all!

Before we could make it over to Wildwood Grove Chuck and the kids got on the Lumberjack Lifts. This is where you pull yourself up a rope and then let go for a small drop. Zoey can't do this on her own yet so Chuck rides with her. Jesse is able to do it on his own.

 

Look Ma....No Hands!

Chuck got to ride the Mystery Mine ride too! Video on my facebook page. While we waited for Chuck, Zoey checked out the talking Vulture out front of this ride.

Finally in the new area we first rode a bird themed aerial flier that was fun. Another video on my facebook page.

Then Zoey and Chuck wanted to try the new green coaster the DragonFlier.  They convinced Jesse to try it too; which took a lot of convincing!  Even though he was scared about the drop, it turned out that he REALLY liked it.  In fact the three of them went on it about another 6 times in a row, running out the exit and back in the entrance. They even went back on this ride later in the day a few more times. This has to be the favorite ride of Dollywood this time around!

There is nothing better than going to an amusement park with no lines!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The longest wait time we saw all day was 10 minutes and that was only once!

We then left there and started walking around the park going on rides as we passed them.  Chuck rode every coaster that we walked by, all with no waits at all.  It was like having the park to ourselves.

Chuck rode the Flying Eagle several times throughout the day! This is definitely not a ride for me or the kids but he had a blast. Of course there is a yellow T-Shirt for the Flying Eagle that says "I'm a Chicken" on the back. Jesse got that shirt for more than one reason.

Who can say Grist Mill Cinnamon Bread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is nothing better at all of the park than this Cinnamon Bread. It is so delicious! Chuck literally had an entire loaf of this bread for his lunch! Now, if that would have been me, there would have been an ambulance ride for sure!

The kids waited patiently, not even finishing their lunches, claiming they were "saving room for dessert"!

Chuck's lunch and salivating kids! LOL!

As we were making our way back to the Emporium to exit for the day I was able to grab a few great shots of the kids.

My hearts!!!!!!!!!!!!

After a quick dinner of Sausage and Peppers for Chuck and the Buffet for the kids and I we headed straight back to the condo to meet up with Jill and Chris.

Now that they live in NC, we definitely don't get to see them as much as I would like. Jill and I have been friends for 39 years and most of that we've been bests friends. I miss her all the time! She's definitely better at keeping in touch than I am and I feel guilty about that but trust me, she does not let me forget it!

Since she won't be able to make it to NJ for the kids birthdays this year, she brought their presents on vacation. The kids were moving a lot while opening their gifts so it was hard to get pictures that weren't blurry.

 

Anyone that knows Jesse, knows that he LOVES honey buns! Aunt Jill and Uncle Chris gave him a case of honey buns and several Nerf guns. He's in his glory!

 

Zoey got two dolls, tons of doll clothes, a bag, and a case. Most, if not all the doll clothes, were made by one of Jill's friends including the bag. They are all wonderful! Zoey has slept with one or both dolls each night since. 

We are looking forward to spending the next few days with Jill and Chris in the Smokey Mountains!

2019 TN Vacation - Day 3 Trip Report

As many of you may have noticed from other posts we have been "hiking" a lot lately in preparation for hiking the Smokey Mountains! GUESS WHAT?

It's hiking day! We were all ready and super pumped to start the first of two hiking trails we were going to do today!

With our Camelbaks packed with water, food, trash bags (pack in/pack out), a first aid kit and some other minor items all we needed were out hats and hiking sticks!

After a hair raising drive down a one way road where the road really wasn't wide enough for most compact cars let alone SUVs we made it to our first trail head. Grotto Falls here we come!

BUT FIRST, Jesse had to pee! Seriously folks, he has the bladder the size of a pea! AND NOW we are ready to go!

You certainly can't start a trail without getting your picture with the trailhead sign. This trail is easier than most but don't mistake that this is hiking on a mountain.

The trail has some great scenic views and allows you walk behind the falls.The water is from a natural mountain runoff so the water is numbingly cold, clear, and spectacular (bet you can guess you added that part....he he he!) However, spectacular is the perfect word. The smokey mountains and its water falls are breathtaking.

There's a couple of videos on my facebook page, where you can here the falls!


Even though it was early we stopped here for lunch (sandwich #1 for Zoey) and enjoyed listening to the falls while the kids explored.

After lunch the kids splashed around in one of the pools. Jesse kept saying how cold his feet were. This was right after he fell on the rocks and had a cold wet butt! However, none of this stopped him from climbing and splashing through a stream just a short ways away.

After making it back down that trail, we had to visit the outhouse again. The look on Zoey's face as she entered the outhouse after another lady was absolutely priceless. This older woman standing off to the side laughed so hard I'm sure she wet herself.

When we tried to make our way to the next trailhead the GPS could not be reached. It was a good thing we printed a map and was able to navigate ourselves over there without the use of Google. PSA folks!!!!!! Always have a map, your electronics will not always work!

We made it to the Laurel Falls trail head about 40 minutes later after driving pretty much down hill at 10 MPH!

The Laurel Falls trail has eaten up asphalt on the actual trail. This was not something we enjoyed and found it to be not as natural and we were looking for. There was a sign at the trailhead that specifically told folks in wheelchairs not to use this trail, strollers too, guess what we saw? Folks being pushed in wheelchairs and strollers!

Zoey and I both ate a second sandwich on the way up the trail. We were so hungry that day with all the exercise! 

As we made it along the trail Jesse and Zoey wanted to take the "shortcut" as they called it. They had seen several trails off the beaten path and loved walking through the forest to meet Chuck and I on the other side. This was done over and over again. Someone actually said to Jesse when he was on one of the "shortcuts"...."you know there was a bear cub here a little bit ago"...Jesse was unphased by the comment and replied "meh" and then kept going.

It's hard to see but Jesse is giving a thumbs down to the sign. 

Needless to say this Momma Bear had made it clear 

he needed to follow what that sign had to say!

Once we reached the top of the trail we took turns taking pictures with numerous other families. We also took turns slipping on the rocks. I lost count the number of times Zoey actually slipped and landed on the rocks or in the shallow pond at the bottom of the falls. She now had a matching wet bum!

Chuck helped the kids up two stories of the falls for a great picture! They had so much fun but Zoey got nervous being up so high. To be honest, I think Chuck was more nervous than me that the kids were up there.

When we were ready to get going back down the trail Chuck and I noticed that Zoey didn't look like she felt well. I offered her my last sandwich (Sandwich #3 for Zoey), which I had packed just in case my blood sugars bottomed out. She took it so quickly and we noticed within 30 minutes our little girl was feeling much better. Word to the wise folks, always pack a little extra when you go hiking. You never know who is going to need it!

On our way down Zoey was not happy with her wet shorts! Of course Jesse made fun of her. LOL!

This was right before Zoey took a spill in the water.

So we hiked approximately 6 miles in the Smokey Mountains today. Even with all the slips and falls no one got hurt....well....until we were approximately 20 feet from the truck. Zoey decided to take a good spill, hitting her knee on the rocky path and slid in the mud. Chuck had to carry her to the car where she screamed bloody murder while we cleaned out the two cuts on her knee. One of the cuts was about an inch long. Due to the amount of mud and the depth of the cuts we had to spend quite a bit of time cleaning things out.

Most folks laugh at me when they see that I have two first aid kits in my truck. One in the glove box which is small and the other in what I call the "Shotgun case" all the way in the back. No, I don't have a shotgun but it just a funny thing to call it. There is a large first aid kit in there. Not to mention I had another small kit in my camelbak. I ended up needing supplies from two of the three kits. Chuck did a great job cleaning Zoey up but you could tell by the look on his face that he was not happy about it due to all of her crying. I on the other hand was letting Zoey squeeze my hand as hard as she could while Chuck cleaned. Jesse was a trooper by 1 - staying out of the way, 2 - getting all the trash and throwing it away, and 3 - making sure Zoey had her blanket and was OK as we drove back to the condo.

Unfortunately by the time we go back to the condo we needed to clean everything again and give her a bath. Zoey was not impressed but was a trooper this time.

We ended the evening by heading to the Island at Pigeon Forge; having dinner at the Timberwood Grill, and then playing. The staff and service was excellent just like the food! Chuck had meatloaf again, I had their klondike burger which has their homemade Borsin Cheese on it, Zoey had a full serving of chicken fingers with fries and Jesse ate two burgers and mozzarella sticks. I will say these were small burgers, so the two were the same size as an adult burger.

I almost forgot our dessert!!!!!!!!!!!! This was a smores brownie sundae. OMG! It was delicious and I'm so happy that we only got one to share between the four of us!

Afterwards the kids wanted to try a vertical rope course? I really don't know what to call it! But they were having a great time on it. Zoey had been dying to try zip lining and this course had two of them. She was flying high and was encouraging Jesse to try to zip line.

The cool thing about this and that if you don't have proper shoes they have crocks for you to borrow. I'm not a fan of this but I did see they washing them in a big buckets of soapy water. Which made me fell a bit better.

Unfortunately, Jesse did not fair well and had a panic attack. He was able to calm himself down and come down on his own. When I spoke with him about it he said "Mommy, I just couldn't be sure that the cable wasn't going to break. There's no net and if the cable broke I would have died." I have to say he really thought about that and had a logical reason for why not to do it.

Zoey even did the "BIG JUMP" at the end of the rope course. She said she closed her eyes the whole time so we had to show her a video.

While the kids were doing the rope course, Chuck went over to the Ole Smokey Moonshine store and participated in a tasting session where he got to try about ten different mooshine flavors including their moonshine pickles. He also got to head over to the jerky store. He's all set with items from each until we return to TN in a couple of years.

2019 TN Vacation - Day 2 Trip Report

It was a true toss up of what we were going to do today. Was it going to be the waterpark or hiking? The weather said overcast with a 50% + chance of rain for Saturday an Sunday. So we opted for Dollywood's Splash Country Waterpark! I certainly don't mind being rained on while at the waterpark.

But first we had to get in a good breakfast at FRIZZLE CHICKEN! Chuck happened to find this a few days before we left and we knew that Jesse had to go here. When I saw the website and the video I knew that I HAD TO GO HERE!

Frizzle Chicken has chicken animatronics throughout their restaurant! These so cool and are named after famous people. The animatronics sing a song about every 30 minutes.

Of course Jesse had to wear a Chicken Hat and TShirt to Frizzle Chicken.

They have an egg decorating machine for each child to use. You are given a wooden egg (thankfully) and colored sharpies to "color your egg". The machine spins the egg as you color it. So cool! There are several videos of this on my facebook page.

On to the FOOD!!!!! The GLOROUS FOOD! OMG, this food was absolutely delicious! We couldn't wait to take Jill and Chris there when they arrived later in the week.

Zoey had cinnamon roll pancakes! No syrup needed! These were so good and Zoey had a hard time keeping all of from "just trying a bite".

My breakfast was oh so yummy! Homefries, Chicken fried steak, onions, a poached egg and saw mill sausage gravy all piled high! Most folks would need a nap after this and I was no exception! SO DELISH!

Chuck and Jesse both had biscuits and gravy. AGAIN, folks....you need to go to FRIZZLE CHICKEN. They have amazing food!

Here's more of the animatronics......singing chickens are a blast!

After our bellies were overly stuffed we headed over to Splash Country. After finding me a nice big umbrella to sit under Chuck and the kids were off to the wave pool. Then Zoey went on the tallest straight down waterslide I've seen. This girl has no fear these days! Jesse was off by himself doing his own thing for a while and Chuck went off with Zoey. Chuck kept asking if I was OK sitting under the umbrella not doing anything.

What he was forgetting is that I am constantly on the go and never have downtime. To be sitting under that umbrella switching between reading a book and people watching with my feet up feeling the wonderful breeze I was having the time of my life. I haven't felt so relaxed in a really long time. I kept saying to myself "I can't believe how relaxed I am and how much I needed this vacation".

When Chuck and Jesse met back up at the wave pool they all ran off to the water slides together. They were racing each other when they could go all three of them side by side. There was even a roller coaster water slide where it would shoot you back up the hill in several places. Here's a video of Chuck and Zoey on some type of swirly water slide. I love how Zoey gets out of the tube at the end!

We stayed within an hour of closing; went back to the condo for a quick change before going to the Applewood Farm Restaurant for dinner. They serve Apple Fritters and an Apple Cider Julip (?) as a free appetizer. Chuck and I enjoyed the Julips and the Fritters. The kids devoured the fritters but would not try the apple butter to go with them. Chuck drank three of the four Julips.

Dinner was extremely good! I had chicken and dumplings. NOW, I am 100% partial to my own Chicken 'n Dumplings however this was very good! Chuck's meatloaf dinner was the best he had all vacation!

2019 TN Vacation - Day 1 Trip Report

Preparing for vacation is always a difficult task but this time around I felt like it was harder than most. This was our first trip to Tennessee without Mary and it just didn't seem right not seeing her suitcase packed a month in advance; waiting in the dining room saying "ARE WE THERE YET?"

But we managed to get packed and in bed by 8:30 as we planned. We even packed the cooler with sandwiches and anything that would spoil before our return. However 3 AM came way to early for all of us! Out the door by 4 AM and on the road by 415 AM.

The drive down was fairly uneventful and Google saved us big time by routing us around a hour and a half backup near Baltimore. WAY TO GO GOOGLE! With just three stops we made it to TN in exactly 12 hours!

 Chickenman taking a nap on the way down to TN.

To sit in our condo and looking out at this wonderful Mountain view was worth the 12 hour drive!

We ate dinner at a great low key restaurant with unbelievable food! Huck Finns Catfish & Fried Chicken is a must if you love Catfish or Fried Chicken.

Jesse got such a kick out of the jar of milk they brought him! He almost drank all of it too! But he just couldn't finish with all the fresh hush puppies he ate.

We were a little weary from the long drive but couldn't resist getting some family pics in.

ANNNDDDDDD what a surprise we found a chicken! Jesse even found a stuffed chicken in the gift shop!

Chuck said to say "The food was SPECTACULAR!" I actually think he has said that the food was spectacular six times in the last three minutes. SOOOO Ladies and Gents the food at Huck Finns is SPECTACULAR!

So spectacular that he had to get the T-shirt!