Keilee and I don’t take vacations.† It is just too expensive for this single Mom.† We have gone on a couple of short trips over the years and we went camping with some of our homeschool friends but that has been it.† We got an AMAZING chance to go to Gatlinburg this past week.† Kathy and Sophie were going and invited us to go along.† They had already gotten the cabin so we didn’t have to pay for any accommodations.† I wasn’t sure we could swing it, but we were able to.† WE HAD A BLAST!
The trip took about 5 1/2 hours.† It is the first time in years that I have ridden that route.† Years ago I lived in the mountains of Tennessee and it brought back bittersweet memories.† We were staying in Sevierville which is right beside Pigeon Forge.† Our cabin was at the TOP of a huge mountain.† Our poor GPS was so confused because it was a newer area.† We got lost almost every single time we left or came back in.† But it was breathtaking.† I could happily live there forever.† Unfortunately we did so much going that there was very little enjoying it!
The first night we just went back down into Pigeon Forge and walked around some.† We ate dinner and since we were all tired we headed back up to our ‘home away from home’.
Thursday we had planned to go to Dollywood.† Our wonderful friend from here knew someone who worked at Dollywood and she said we could get discount tickets from her.† That was great news since Dollywood is expensive!† We got there and met with “Jane” and she handed us FREE tickets!† She said Melea had told her that we were both single Moms so she just gave us tickets.† It was such a blessing.† That was about $85 each we didn’t have to spend!
We had a blast in Dollywood.† It was the first time Keilee or I had been.† Keilee wanted to ride every ride.† The main thing she wanted to ride was the new Wild Eagle Coaster.† But no one would ride it with her.† :/† Not even me.† I felt so bad and told her I would ride it but I think she could see the terror in my eyes.† I love rides but HATE roller coasters.† This one looked scary!† Your feet were just dangling in space.† But she did ride every other thing and I rode most things with her.
There were so many themed areas.† We walked and walked and shopped and rode rides and ate and laughed and just had a blast.† It was crowded but I am sure it wasn’t as crowded as it would have been on a Friday.† I talked to Jess while we were there and we tried to figure out a time to meet.
Not sure why I thought putting my hair through the hole would be cute.† Beard anyone?† The water ride was my least favorite.† I don’t mind getting soaked but when 15 year old boys were doing the soaking I was not happy!† 🙂
Do you see the Bald Eagle on the nest?† They have a huge area filled with Bald Eagles!† It was one of our favorite things we saw.† They are so majestic and beautiful.† It was even more special to Keilee and I because we had watched the Bald Eagle cam a couple of months ago and saw the eaglets hatch.
On Friday we decided to hang out at the pool.† It was a beautiful salt water pool in the mountains!† It was even a DIVE IN pool!† See the movie screen?† We wanted to come back and watch a movie but we just didn’t have time with everything else we did.† Keilee and I did decide that a Dive-In will be a part of our ‘if we win the lottery’ dreams.
Friday late afternoon we headed for Smokey Mountain National Park.† We were going to Cade’s Cove.† We saw deer on the side of the road and pulled over once when we saw several cars stopped.† We just missed seeing a black bear!† When we got to Cade’s Cove, some of Kathy’s friends that lived nearby met us and we all piled in the back of their truck for our Cade’s Cove adventure.
We saw 49 deer, wild turkeys, and a coyote.† We wanted to see a bear but we didn’t have any luck.† We did stop at old churches and several log cabins.† The church pictured above was beautiful.† See the 2 doors? One was for the males and the other for the females to enter.† On the podium there were letters to God from all of the world.† Then we walked through the cemetery.† I was particularly moved by the ‘3 Sons” markers.† 2 of them died within their first day of life and the 3rd was a few months old.
Saturday was Aquarium day.† This is the only thing Keilee asked to do.† We all loved it.† Look at the SEA TURTLES!!!† We love Sea Turtles!† And they swam right over our heads.† Hard to get good shots since it was so dark.† And I hate flash!
They had these cool little tubes that you could crawl into.† Keilee was not very happy since the tagline said, “Playing with the Penguins”.† She thought she could actually PLAY with them. 🙂
The first fish is a Lion Fish and we love Jelly Fish!!† Aren’t they the coolest looking things??!!
Stingrays, Swordfish, Sea Dragon, Iguana, Garden Eels and Piranhas!† These were some of our FAVORITES.† The Sea Dragon is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.† They look like grass and leaves.
Coral and an huge Moray eel, Keilee with Bubba Gump Shrimp and with horseshoe crabs!
Saturday we toured all the Craft areas of Gatlinburg.† There are craftsman that do just about everything.† Leather, candles, quilling, forging and more.† The main thing Keilee and I wanted to see was glass blowing.† We got to the shop and the man had left 15 minutes earlier!† We saw incredible wood creations, Keilee got to eat ice cream at Ben and Jerry’s.† She had watched a documentary on them a month ago and told us the ENTIRE story of how they got started.†† I also found something I wanted but it was a little pricey.† But doesn’t it look cute on me??? 🙂
Keilee and Sophie both had a blast.† We were going to go to Wonderworks but just ran out of time.† Also Keilee and Sophie practiced for their upcoming roles in “Robin Hood”.
We ate at this cute little 50’s diner and Keilee had to do a photo shoot with Marilyn.
We had an incredible time.† It was so much fun to get away and just laugh and talk and have fun.† And we indeed had fun.
Keilee and I hated that we didn’t get to meet up with Jess and the girls.† They were so busy and we weren’t just keeping to OUR schedule.† But next time Jess!
And Nomad…first time ever left alone.† My nephew, who is 16, was supposed to come check on him twice a day.† We just left him in because he has NEVER slept outside.† Seth ended up staying all nights but one.† We missed him so much but we Face Timed him every night.† WHAT??? Do you not Face Time your doggie when you are gone? 🙂
I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer has in store for us!
My favorite resource this week is our GPS!† You all have no clue how directionally challenged I am.† Seriously.† I.get.lost.everywhere.† Since we have had GIA [Yes we named her, Girls in Action] my life has changed dramatically.† I am still always lost, but she isn’t!† We took her to Gatlinburg and she was only confused on the mountain.† One of Keilee and I’s favorite things is to drive and drive, doesn’t matter how lost we get because we just hit ‘Go Home’ and she takes us home.† Now if they could only invent cars that drove themselves so “I” could look around!
Happily linking up with
Mary at “Friday Collage”
Susan at “Favorite Resources“
and Keilee’s blog with her version of our trip.† She has mainly pictures she made on her iPhone.† I love how she loves taking pictures.
*Disclaimer- I promise I don’t usually eat like a 14 year old boy with sandwiches and french fries!† I just craved them the entire time.† 😉
Homeschooling Rocks
Karen
ìIf you come home as happy as you leave, you have had a good vacationî† ~Author Unknown
I had no idea really how stressful it was going to be to keep two kids on two different schedules. When Lilah’s team was one place, Grace’s team was another place! Lilah’s team did end up in Gatlinburg (Saturday I think) but we were with Grace’s team on campus…….so close yet so far away. I know we will be back in TN sometime soon and Chattanooga will be our half way point!
These pictures are awesome. I can’t imagine what it would be like to wake up on a mountain. It must be breathtaking with the early morning fog. I would like a good book and lots of popcorn and I would probably miss all the sites because I would be on the porch all day!
I am so glad you had such a good time. TN is our favorite place.
Wow, that was an incredible vacation and what a great way to spend your time. Well, you certainly deserved it considering that you are two very busy single moms. The photos are absolutely stunning and it is certainly a delight to see them. Thanks for sharing your experience.
I would definitely FaceTime our doggie if we were away and had the ability! 🙂
Sounds like a great trip. I’m so glad you had the opportunity to go!
Oh I’m so happy you got to go on an adventure like this – we haven’t had a big vacation in a long time- but we manage several mini adventures (even if it’s camping) every few months.
You did such a great job with your collages and story! love the aquarium pics – you know I love the Leafy sea dragons as well 😉
What an awesome trip and a huge blessing that it was affordable! I love your photos…in every single one, I can see the love and laughter!!! My fave is the one of Kei driving the red car and laughing:) Looks like Dollywood is a lot like our Silver Dollar City…some of the same rides anyway and the beautiful cabins too. We went to the Smokies last year. It was one of the best family vacations ever! So glad you too had so much fun. And yes, we’d face time our pets (naturally:) and our GPS is named Lola. I’m directionally challenged too, so Lola is a welcomed part of the family! Now I just need something to help me get to places ON TIME. Ha! Love your week:)
Fabulous trip!! I’m so glad that you were able to go.
I name our GPS systems too. My current one is named Clarice. lol Her voice just sounds like a Clarice.
What a fabulous time you girls had! Such memories for you daughter! (I keep saying I should take my daughter out for just a Girl’s Overnight somewhere different and special.) I guess I never realized that that area had so much fun stuff to do! (Not that I’ve been, but just my general knowledge.) I’m with you though – directionally challenged. My GPS is called Glinda! LOL Anyway, I would eat like a teenage boy too when I’m on vacation! 😉
What a fabulous trip! This should get the collage award!!!!
I bought ours at the state convention. I did purchase another book from the package, We the People, which has letters, stories and documents from history. I would contact them via email and ask if you could purchase the books separately. At the convention it could be purchased as a package or by each piece. At the end of each lesson you have activities to choose from: Bible, Vocabulary, Literature,Timeline, and student workbook. I didn’t purchase everything because we lean heavily to Charlotte Mason and don’t need all the extra stuff.
Blessings
Diane
Wow, what a great trip. We love Pigeon Forge. Two years ago on Christmas the extended family rented a cabin to celebrate Christmas Eve and Day together. The cabin was wonderful and big. Plenty of room for everyone. The only down side was an huge snowstorm came in and we had to leave right after opening presents on Christmas morning so we wouldn’t get stuck there and hubby unable to return to work. A very memorable Christmas driving 30 miles an hour home in the snow. To answer your question, America the Beautiful is put out by Notgrass Company (my new favorite company). America the Beautiful is actually split into two books, but I just bought the second because that is where we are in history and didn’t want to report Explorers, Revolution, etc. again. I can’t wait to start it back in the fall.
Blessings
Diane
Looks like so much fun and a beautiful place! Tennessee is on my bucket list–I want to see Memphis and Nashville. Our church does Appalachia Service Projects in the Blue Ridge Mountains–the kids are not eligible to go until they are sophomores in high school–just a few more years! yikes! We have been wanting to go but waiting until we can all go together!
Oh, K & K!! I wish I had known; we would have made the trip there to meet you. We are now in East TN! I am so happy you guys had a great vacation! Perhaps next year we can get together!
Oh Karen…what an amazing time!! I love the all the pictures! (I hate flash too, by the way) I don’t travel much on my own where I am unfamiliar, but if I did, you can be SURE I would have a GPS. And, I even bet we’d name her 🙂
Thanks for linking Karen…have a super weekend!!
Wow, lucky you! Your trip looked terrific and I enjoyed all your photo collages! One of these days, I’ll make it to Tennessee. It really isn’t a long drive for us and we’ve always heard great things about the aquarium! What a fabulous opportunity with so many lovely memories. Great cabin too! Thanks for sharing!
Oh friend, what a blessing from God to be able to go on this trip and do so much!!! He is so good. 😉 I love that beard shot. Lol.
I’m so, so glad you had such a wonderful trip to Tennessee! Your pictures reminded me so much of when we went there two years ago. We loved that aquarium! That moving walkway part was so cool! We stayed in a cabin in the same town as you. We didn’t go to Dollywood, though. We had to go in July that year, and it was CRAZY around there! Way too many people packed together in one area for me 🙁 But we loved hiking the trails, playing in the creeks and going to Cades Cove, too.
What an awesome trip! My adopted children are related to people who lived in Cades Cove before it became a national park. They loved seeing their herritage a few years ago. I am so glad you got to go on such a wonderful trip. I was raised by a single mother for 16 years. I know how hard it was for my mother.
Blessings, Dawn
Wow, Karen! What incredible photos! It looks like such an AWESOME trip! Your collages are really beautiful. I am so glad that you had such a good time. I would love to visit all of those places someday. They are definitely going on my “list,” lol. 🙂
If it is too late for you to sign up for the MoonKam, just let me know what latitude/longitude on the moon that you and Keilee would like photos of, and I will be happy to submit the requests for you and will email you the photos as soon as they come in. :-)))
Hope you have a great weekend!
I’m glad you all had such a wonderful time! We almost got to go to that area last summer, but it didn’t work out. Maybe some day, though. I loved seeing all of your photos… you both look so happy!
Anna and I just looked through this post — so much fun. Anna said she loves the picture of Keilee in the car with her hair blowing.
You have so many great collages this week!
Thanks for linking — looks like you had a GREAT WEEK!