Gatlinburg day 3!

We got up Saturday morning and had a big old breakfast at the cabin. It was a cool start to the day so we weren't in any big hurry to get out. Once out we headed into Pigeon Forge to a Christmas Place, which was a huge Christmas store. It was really neat, we were able to get our yearly Christmas ornament here and see a ton of stuff. After the Christmas place we headed back to Gatlinburg to ride the Air Tram up to Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort.

The Air tram up to Ober Gatlinburg!

What a view with all the pretty colors!!

Riley HATED the Air Tram ride up and back, I felt bad for her.

Once we got off the tram we headed down to the Wildlife encounter. They had bears, you could see at a safe distance and a bunch of other animals that are found in Tennessee.

We finished Ober Gatlinburg out with the boys doing some ice skating. Tony was pretty good for being his second time on the ice.

After our tram ride back to Gatlinburg we headed to a seafood place and then walked around town. We let Tony do some "mining" for rocks at the store and while we were in there my parents stayed outside and listened to a band. My Mom came running in yelling BEAR! Of course what do we do, we go running to where it was, well Ron was the only smart one and stayed in the store. By the time we got outside he was back up the hill but I could see in as he walked by the houses. That was one of the best parts of the trip!

Unfortunately this trip went way to fast but we had a blast. I don't think I realized how hard it was to take a vacation with a baby. Don't get me wrong Riley was a saint considering everything we put the poor child through. But, you really don't get to relax too much when chasing her around! We all had a great time and are already planning our next trip together!

Gatlinburg Day 2!

We woke up Friday morning knowing it was going to be a raining day. To our surprise we got to see a beautiful sunrise over the mountains. It wasn't long though before we saw the clouds! We had already planned some indoor activities so we weren't too worried about the rain.

After breakfast at a pancake house, holy cow Gatlinburg has a lot of these, we headed over to the Ripley Aquarium. Ron, Tony, and I had visited one just like it in Myrtle Beach several years ago but, we still really enjoyed this one. Riley love the fishes and just everything about the aquarium. It was fun to see her reaction to the big tunnel that goes under the shark tank. She loved it, thank goodness she didn't think we were putting her down for a nap like King Tut!

After the Aquarium we headed back to the cabin and "rested". We were hoping Riley would take a nap but there was no way. My Mom was resting when she spotted these wild turkeys coming down the hill and walking right across our "backyard". It was pretty neat to see! After the excitement Ron, Tony, and I jumped into the hot tub and relaxed for a bit then played some pool.

After our rest we headed to Pigeon Forge to do some outlet shopping. While Mom, Dad, Riley, and I were shopping the boys headed over to the NASCAR Speed park to do some go-kart racing, imagine that we do racing stuff even on vacation! They had a blast. Once they were done they met up with us and we ate at the Chop House and it was outstanding! Highly recommend if you are down that way.

Gatlinburg Day 1!

My Mom and I talked last year about this time about headed down to the Smoky Mountains during fall break to see the leaves. Early Spring I brought it back up and we made plans to go!

We left Indy Wednesday about 4:00 pm and headed down to Gatlinburg. It took us about 6 1/2 hours to get there. Traffic was horrible for about the first 3 hours. When we got to Gatlinburg we were surprised by our cabin. It was IN the mountains. It took us forever to get to it. My Mom had called earlier in the day to tell us on their way down from the mountain they had seen a bear. We were so jealous!

Our Cabin!

Game Room!

We couldn't of asked for a better cabin, it had everything we could want. Tony loved the pool table and hot tub!

We started the day off with some breakfast at the cabin overlooking some beautiful views! We then headed into the Great Smoky National Park. We started with my lovely misdirections and just drove thought the park for a little bit. Pulled over and had a picnic lunch. We then headed over to Laurel Falls. It was a 1.3 mile hike up the mountains but holy cow it was beautiful! The one thing I wish we could of done more of while were there was hike to waterfalls.

Riley wasn't too sure of the waterfall. It scared her, it was really loud and she whimpered the whole time. She was great on the way there though, everyone we passed she said hi to.

After the waterfall hike we headed over to the Roaring Forks Auto Tour. This was a beautiful drive. This was the route the first settlers took to get through the smoky mountains. It was a one lane curvy road, but it was amazing! Riley finally took a nap through here but she sure did miss some cool sites. I highly recommend this hour drive if you are ever down there.

After a yummy home cooked dinner, we stayed in after our long day and had steak on the grill! Ron, Tony, and I headed back towards to Gatlinburg for some Hillbilly Golf. It was a pretty neat, and very old miniature golf course. You right up the side of the mountain and the play your way down. We had a blast, it was good to be out in the fresh mountain air and have some fun!

Yes Ron is going to hit Tony with a golf club, read this sign below :)

For some reason we all thought these signs were hilarious. Maybe it was the exhaustion of the day or maybe we are just that immature. My vote it the second option!

Pumpkins!!

Mom put the camera away and help me find a pumpkin!
Tony taking a break from carrying around his pumpkin

One of my new favorite pictures, this one cracks me up! Maybe it was because Riley wouldn't leave this alone. I am sure she is an at least 5 other people's pictures because she kept running over to big pumpkin.

We have made it a tradition to head out to Beasley Orchard every year and pick out our pumpkins for Halloween. We went Sunday, since there was no racing or football on :) plus it was suppose to be a cool but pretty day, with no rain!

What a difference a year makes, last year Riley slept the whole time. This year Riley had a blast on the hayride, she couldn't figure out what the hay was but liked playing with it. Tony taught her how to tickle with it and she just thought she was a hoot. Once we got out to the pumpkins Riley couldn't figure out what they were. She kept poking at them, it was hilarious. It took us awhile but we all ended up with perfect pumpkins and another great memory to store away until next year. Now we just need to find the time to carve them!

We are off to Gatlinburg tomorrow for Fall Break and a mini vacation we all desperately need! We can't wait and I am sure the camera will be overloaded by the time we get back. Have a great rest of the week everyone!