Introducing Amy to "Walt's World" *Updated twice 1/21 Last installments*

[mrsksomeday]

Hey Tracy! Your plans sound great! Where did you get the nail stickers? (I missed that part) So cute! And I LOVE Ace's hidden Mickey. A true Disney dog! I also love all of your craft projects. You're good! You guys are going to have such a wonderful time! And I'm so glad that you are going to get to meet up with Michelle and Sam! (A bit jealous, but glad..)

Hi Monica!! I got the nail stickers on Ebay. You are wonderful at the stuff you make for Disney!! I am really looking forward to meeting all the DISer and Enchanted peeps .

 

[Poohtigeey]

That house is GORGEOUS!!! I love Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. We haven't been since the kids were born though. You didn't eat at Mel's your first night? We always eat there! Can't wait to here more. That 2 story KFC always cracks me up.

 

[MRYPPNS]

[
Hi Heidi, I know after our 'Ohana dinner on 10/26 (the ressie is around 6:30pm) we don't have concrete plans. I am sure we can figure something out. We would love to meet you.

I'll PM you in a couple weeks with my cel phone #

 

[mkluvsmickey]

That house is GORGEOUS!!! I love Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. We haven't been since the kids were born though. You didn't eat at Mel's your first night? We always eat there! Can't wait to here more. That 2 story KFC always cracks me up.

LOL - our hotel in June was right next door to the two-story KFC and it cracked me up too!


Tracy - love the update and the pictures of the view from the house are gorgeous! I don't blame you about the mountain roads. We lived in the GA mountains for a few years and it took me a while to get used to them - after all, there aren't many mountains in Florida!

 

[Goofyluver]

That cabin is sooooo gorgeous!!!

Okay...get on with it. I'm waiting. I need to know more about the beautifulness of the cabin and running around town in the loud-mobile!

 

[mrsksomeday]

That house is GORGEOUS!!! I love Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. We haven't been since the kids were born though. You didn't eat at Mel's your first night? We always eat there! Can't wait to here more. That 2 story KFC always cracks me up.

I'll PM you in a couple weeks with my cel phone #

We really enjoyed our time there, it was a beautiful home. We ate at Red Lobster. We went to a plain KFC, I didn't see a 2 story one .

LOL - our hotel in June was right next door to the two-story KFC and it cracked me up too!


Tracy - love the update and the pictures of the view from the house are gorgeous! I don't blame you about the mountain roads. We lived in the GA mountains for a few years and it took me a while to get used to them - after all, there aren't many mountains in Florida!

Hi Michelle, thanks. I guess I would get used to the roads up to the house if I had to do it all the time.

That cabin is sooooo gorgeous!!!

Okay...get on with it. I'm waiting. I need to know more about the beautifulness of the cabin and running around town in the loud-mobile!

Hi, you cracked me up with the "loud-mobile" comment, Bill thought it was hilarious . Since you are waiting I will post another installment now.

 

[mrsksomeday]

It was decided the next day that we would grab something quick and head up into the mountains. A side note here, we NEVER had one meal in the cabin this trip, not one. The kitchen was pretty but never used .

We went to KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) in Gatlinburg. I asked for a roasted twister wrap with NO dressing, NO DRESSING. We went through Gatlinburg, and headed up to the mountains. We ended up at the “Chimney’s picnic area”. I have a confession, there are NO food porn pics in this report, not one. Bill’s parents tolerate our Disney addiction, but would think I was crazy insane to be taking pictures of food. For the sake of my relationship with them, I had to act “normal” ok? They handed out the food, not only was my wrap not roasted, it was smothered with dressing. I used napkins and wiped it off the best I could. The weather was supposed to be low 80’s or so several weather sites said before we left. Well it was in the high 80’s/ low 90’s the entire time we were there.

After we ate, nobody enjoyed it, we got back in the van. There are several pull offs on the winding roads for taking pictures, enjoying the view etc. That is what I thought we were doing, but I was wrong. Bill’s mom wanted to take me to the trail that led to the start of the climb to the top of the “Chimney’s”. She kept telling me it was steep and rocky and to tell her if I needed to take a breather. We walked for a bit and saw this bridge:

I kept taking pictures of Bill’s parents backsides throughout this trip (sorry about that). Here is what we saw on our walk:

On the way back she wanted to take pictures of me. Being an overweight woman I avoid a camera like a person with a peanut allergy avoids a Payday candy bar plant, but she insisted. I knew this shirt was too big on me now, but I could really see how it hung on me and made me look bigger in the picture. I will not wear it in “public” again:

Notice the incline? I didn’t think it was too bad, she kept asking me if I was ok. I almost ran her over a couple of times she stopped to ask me, I was fine. Here is the last upward part of the trail back to the van:

I wore a pedometer with me on our outings. It was motivation to see how well I was doing. I am definitely wearing it at Disney this trip.

They wanted to take us to Clingman’s Dome ( I think that is it), the highest point in the Smokey Mountains National Park. Here are some pics along the way:

I was very annoyed with the graffiti on the rocks at the look out areas. Look at the view people, I don’t care who “was here” or who “loves” who. Don’t deface a National Park.

In this picture, you should see a lot of grayish trees? They are dead or dying Hemlock trees. There is a huge problem with bugs killing them, it was so sad to see this everywhere.

It was kind of foggy at one of the observation points so they said we would just go all the way up. Bill suggested we watch the outside temperature gauge to see how much it would change the higher we got up. It started at 86 degrees, we saw fog on the way up:

We got up to the top and it was 60 degrees. We pulled in up there and saw this view:

View, um, hello, where is the view?

Then it started pouring rain again. As we made our way down it started clearing and I got to take these pictures:

Continued in next post...........

 

[mrsksomeday]

We then stopped at a handicap accessible trail:

Bill’s mom, Bill, and Henry on the trail:

Aww, here is my sweetie, he didn't like me taking pictures of him this trip. Well he better get past not wanting pictures taken of him, I prepaid a photopass CD .

Now here is where Bill’s mom started talking about her scrapbooking and how it is good to get tight shots of nature. She had forgotten her camera, I offered her mine. She went nature/mushroom picture taking crazy:

Here is Bill and his dad walking on the trail:

We then went to a part of the park where people used to own homes and the park took it over and let it get into disrepair. Matt joked saying he was taking Bill house shopping and to pick one out. How about this beauty:

We saw some other old houses close to one another, Matt said: “here is one for Tracy and Bill”, I said thanks for including me. He said “someone has got to take care of us”, we all laughed. That almost made me cry, my parents are both gone, sometimes it is so odd to be part of a family again.

They decided to go back to the house so we could actually drop Henry off and let him stay alone

. I can’t get enough of this view:

They wanted to take us to the Old Mill Restaurant, I got this bad picture:

Here it is from the other side:

Birds:

Again it KILLED me not to take food pictures. I know Bill’s mom would love it if I lost a bunch of weight. I am doing it for me, not anyone else. I have a strategy when it comes to eating out. Usually grilled chicken, salad no dressing, things like that. They had a fruit plate that I wanted to try. The Old Mill is known for their homestyle meals, corn chowder, fritters, ribs, dessert included etc. The fruit plate was WONDERFUL!! It had apples, oranges, grapes, bananas, strawberries, and jello. I loved it. I told them to give my dessert to Bill, I wouldn’t need it. They all had ribs.

After dinner we decided to walk the trail at Patriot Park:

There was a very pretty Magnolia tree:

I loved the gazebo lit up at night:

I think Marianne and I could have walked the path twice to Bill and Matt’s walk, they were doing more talking than walking, . It amazed me how much energy I had this trip, it made me very happy!! We got back in the van and went back to the cabin.

Next installment… A buffet, shopping, and a miracle

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

I've already told you this but I'll say it again, beautiful photos!

 

[Goofyluver]

First of all...where is the love without conditions??? No food porn pics??? Pfffft. Don't they KNOW??? Clearly...they don't KNOW. But I KNOW that they don't KNOW...what you KNOW...about how important it is to include every last detail in a trip! Pfffft!

And your pictures are soooooo beautiful. Well, except for the "view" from the top...that turned out to be no view from the top.

And... to you and Bill...who thought I was funny. So, now I like him even more. Which doesn't make me crazy...because I don't KNOW him know him...I just know him.



Thanks Tracy. For the awesome update.

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Another wonderful update Tracy! Bill's parents sound like lovely people and you are lucky to have eachother. (Except for the not understanding food porn pictures thing... )

 

[DisMomAmy]

Great updates from the Smokey Mountains trip!! Beautiful pictures - the cabin & the nature shots. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Hedy]

beautiful photos.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

I am loving this Pre Trip report. The Cabin is gorgeous! DH and I got married in Gatlinburg! So we are very fond of that area.

The trail photos are so neat. I'm lovin' those mushrooms. We have eaten at the Mill House before it is yummy. You did really well if you had fruit! Great job sticking to the diet. Keep up the good work.

 

[TinkAsh2001]

How pretty! I want to go there someday soon! that cabin is just beautiful!!! Cant wait for more!!!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Wow! Your photos make the area look so peaceful and relaxing. We have never been down that way, but it looks so nice. The views were absolutely breathtaking.

 

[mrsksomeday]

I've already told you this but I'll say it again, beautiful photos!

Thank you Lessa, I really appreciate you following along. Your TR is fantastic!

First of all...where is the love without conditions??? No food porn pics??? Pfffft. Don't they KNOW??? Clearly...they don't KNOW. But I KNOW that they don't KNOW...what you KNOW...about how important it is to include every last detail in a trip! Pfffft!

And your pictures are soooooo beautiful. Well, except for the "view" from the top...that turned out to be no view from the top.

And... to you and Bill...who thought I was funny. So, now I like him even more. Which doesn't make me crazy...because I don't KNOW him know him...I just know him.



Thanks Tracy. For the awesome update.

I know I should hang my head in shame, I should have said my Enchanted and DISer friends came first and took the food porn pics anyway!!! That view from the top was just a little disappointing. right back atcha!! You aren't crazy, Bill gets a lot of love on the boards, it's those blue eyes and sweet heard.

Another wonderful update Tracy! Bill's parents sound like lovely people and you are lucky to have eachother. (Except for the not understanding food porn pictures thing... )

Hi Michelle!! Bill's parents are wonderful and they adore him, you can just see the love they have for him every time we see them.

Great updates from the Smokey Mountains trip!! Beautiful pictures - the cabin & the nature shots. Can't wait to read more.

Hi Amy! I went picture crazy, but I always do. I just bought a 4gb card for my camera to go along with the 2gb we already have .

beautiful photos.

Hi, thanks so much for posting.

I am loving this Pre Trip report. The Cabin is gorgeous! DH and I got married in Gatlinburg! So we are very fond of that area.

The trail photos are so neat. I'm lovin' those mushrooms. We have eaten at the Mill House before it is yummy. You did really well if you had fruit! Great job sticking to the diet. Keep up the good work.

Hello and WELCOME!! You were so lucky to get married there, it is beautiful country. OMG, wasn't the Mill Restaurant yummy?? The fruit plate was fantastic, I didn't feel like I was missing out on the other food at all.

How pretty! I want to go there someday soon! that cabin is just beautiful!!! Cant wait for more!!!

Hi, oh you should go, it is lovely there.

Wow! Your photos make the area look so peaceful and relaxing. We have never been down that way, but it looks so nice. The views were absolutely breathtaking.

It was very relaxing there. I am actually looking forward to going back in December after all the run, run, run of our upcoming Disney trips. I will be taking pictures again as if anyone didn't think I would. I want to compare them to the September pics.

 

[DisneyJo]

What fantastic photos, the scenery looked gorgeous. How great that they had a wheelchair accessible trail too

 

[SwansLoveDisney]

I love all your pictures! They are so beautiful!

I love hiking and looking at your pics makes me want to go on a big ol' hike right now! Too bad it's still so hot in AZ!

I can't believe you guys didn't have one meal at that gorgeous house! Bill's parents were truly on vacation, huh?

 

[mrsksomeday]

What fantastic photos, the scenery looked gorgeous. How great that they had a wheelchair accessible trail too

Hi Jo, thanks for reading along. It was nice that there was a place Bill could get out and about.

I love all your pictures! They are so beautiful!

I love hiking and looking at your pics makes me want to go on a big ol' hike right now! Too bad it's still so hot in AZ!

I can't believe you guys didn't have one meal at that gorgeous house! Bill's parents were truly on vacation, huh?

Hi, thanks. I can't imagine how hot it is there. Bill's mom wanted to make sure the entire house was perfect when the renters came in. The only thing that upset me is that they wouldn't let Bill and I pay for any meal.