Gatlinburg

Chris was off this weekend so we took this rare opportunity to take the girls for a family vacation. Our destination was Gatlinburg. None of us have been there in years. So, on Friday we embarked on our adventure to the mountains. 

Car trips are always the best. Several hours of quality time trapped together. Stories were told, music was listened to and snoring was done. Chris was driving so I only had to wake him up once! Seriously, we got in the car and almost immediately began talking about how happy we were that this would only be a 5 hour trip versus the 12 hour drive we took to Miami a couple of years ago. 

We arrived around midnight and went straight to bed. 

Saturday morning was beautiful. The sun was shining and the air was brisk. Perfect mountain weather. We walked to the Pancake Pantry for breakfast where we stood in line to get a table for 45 minutes. Crazy, I know. But we were on vacation and had no where to be at any particular time so why not wait. Those pancakes were tasty too!! 

Chris' cousin and her husband met us for breakfast and then we embarked on a drive through the mountains. The foliage was so colorful and the drive so peaceful. We did however stop for a while to visit the final resting place of Chris' dad. It was a bittersweet moment in our day but Chris was very much at peace and enjoyed his quiet moments there by the water's edge where we said our final goodbyes to Pop a little more than a year ago.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking in and out of shops and just hanging out. Saturday night the girls, Chris and I had tickets to the Dixie Stampede which is a dinner theatre owned by Dolly Parton.  To say it was so much fun would be an understatement.  Dinner at the Dixie Stampede is eaten with your hands "cowboy" style - no utensils while sitting in an arena watching a show all done on horseback. I am such a geek but this was one of the highlights of the trip. Chris had never been to Dixie Stampede. I think he had fun. 

Sunday morning was another beautiful one. Perfect weather. Chris and I decided that we wanted to have "Old Time" pictures made and really wanted the girls to participate but they would not. Apparently, it's not cool to be geeky and have fun! No matter. Chris and I did it by ourselves and had a blast! I think we are going to do this again but next time he's going to be a 40's gangster and I'm going to be a flapper.

We ended our trip with a bit more shopping and then on the road we went. As we got closer to Birmingham, I looked in the backseat. Ashley was sleeping and Allison was listening to her ipod. I turned back around and told Chris that trips like this were going to become non-existent before to long. The girls are almost grown and will have their own lives before we know it and excursions involving just the four of us will be no more.  For a brief moment I was saddened by this thought but quickly reflected on the wonderful weekend and had to smile.