1 year, 10 months and 16 days from today - A May 2016 PTR FINAL UPDATE 5/6/16

[ddstratton]

25 right? (Including smilies.)

Actually, I was able to do 26 pictures. I just quit there and didn't try more than that. I was testing because another user is only able to to 10 pictures per post, and finds it very annoying. Maybe it depends on HOW you insert the pictures now? I know there are a few ways to do it...

 

[ddstratton]

LOL! I'm sure I'll get an A

Yup! Everyone gets an A today!!

Yay for a birthday! And for a successful drive. As a Momma that is not an easy thing to be ready for; they grow up so fast. Love that cake- such a fun one.

The cake was fun to make. Took a couple tries to get it close to right, but it was fun. DD was super-happy today -- her "official" permit came in the mail today. That was FAST!!! She was just at the DMV on the 25th, and got her picture card in the mail today! She's been driving every chance she gets, too. She's getting much better already.

 

[KatMark]

Sounds like a great birthday!!!!

 

[ddstratton]

Sounds like a great birthday!!!!

She had a wonderful birthday. She is also doing much better with her driving already. She has even driven on the expressway. Woo hoo!

 

[pkondz]

She has even driven on the expressway. Woo hoo!

In the right direction??

 

[ddstratton]

Days 14 and 15

Visiting Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. We’ve got two full days here. One day will be given to touring the Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s a beautiful place. Just driving through it is amazing, and we love the stops along the way.

Cade’s Cove area

Newfound Gap area

Miscellaneous shots throughout the Park

The other day will be given to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. We’ll spend time walking up and down the Strip in Gatlinburg. I’m sure we’ll end up going to the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum again, and probably the Aquarium. We’ve done them before, but they’re always fun. We’ll also head into Pigeon Forge and check out some of the fun shops and such. One evening, we want to see the Comedy Barn again. We’ve done that in the past, but it’s been several years.

Gatlinburg sites

Pigeon Forge sites

That’ll wrap up our two days in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge.

 

[ddstratton]

In the right direction??

Yup. She did well. Although.... She did almost sideswipe a car when changing lanes. She forgot to check the blind spot...

 

[pkondz]

That all looks pretty interesting.
I'd like to take more time in the Smoky Mountains area than just driving through it.
(But to be fair... we were trying to get to WDW ASAP.)

Yup. She did well. Although.... She did almost sideswipe a car when changing lanes. She forgot to check the blind spot...

Whoops! That's a lesson that everyone has to go through.
Luckily, she got away without hitting the other car.
Next time, she'll check, right?
We've all been there.

 

[MEK]

I was amazed at how much there was to do in Gaitlingburg/Pigeon Forge. Is there a best time of the year to go when it isn't super crowded? We made a brief stop there in July and it was insane.

 

[KatMark]

Plans for those two days sound great. We really need to get back to Gatlinburg one of these days.

 

[ddstratton]

That all looks pretty interesting.
I'd like to take more time in the Smoky Mountains area than just driving through it.
(But to be fair... we were trying to get to WDW ASAP.)



Whoops! That's a lesson that everyone has to go through.
Luckily, she got away without hitting the other car.
Next time, she'll check, right?
We've all been there.

I don't blame you for not stopping, since you were on your way to Disney World! But it is worth a stop. It's a beautiful area, with a LOT to do.

And yes, she now knows to check that blind spot!

I was amazed at how much there was to do in Gaitlingburg/Pigeon Forge. Is there a best time of the year to go when it isn't super crowded? We made a brief stop there in July and it was insane.

Summer is crazy-busy. And the fall. People come from all over to see the fall colors. We went last March and it was not horribly busy. September may not be bad, but I'd avoid October/November for the leaf-peppers.

Plans for those two days sound great. We really need to get back to Gatlinburg one of these days.

I love the Gatlinburg area. I would seriously live in that region if I had my choice.

 

[ddstratton]

May 2015 trip – Day 1

Hey – I’m back! It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, but we are back from our family vacation and I thought I’d do a bit of a trip report on that.

Our plans changed from my pre-trip notes here. Of course. It always happens that way. I love planning a trip, but don’t mind if plans change. It’s more fun that way sometimes!

We decided to leave on Friday, May 22nd. We had the van packed up the night before, exept for the last minute items.

I don’t think DD slept more than an hour. She was up and over to Grandma’s house at 4:30 am. We got up shortly after five, and got showered, dressed and ready. We got the rest of the van packed up and the house closed up. We left the house at 6:12 am. Starting mileage was 172,903.

We were on the expressway at 6:16 am, and entered Pennsylvania at 6:42.

We stopped at the Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch for breakfast, at 7:23. This is an older restaurant – one that MIL remembers going to with her husband years ago. We thought it would be nice to stop in. Service was really slow – we had to wait quite a while to be seated, then had to wait again for a waitress to take our order. After our order was taken, the food came out fairly quickly, though. DH had a ham omelet and toast, DD had a cheese omelet with toast, MIL had 2 fried eggs with toast, and I had their breakfast special – 2 fried eggs, toast, bacon, sausage and potatoes. I didn’t eat the potatoes – they were good, but it was too much for breakfast. I should have known better. We all had orange juice, except DD, who had apple juice. Total here was $32.42 plus a $5 tip. We left at 8:24. Bad trip report writer – I didn’t take pictures of our food. Actually, I don’t think there are ANY food pictures this time around.

DD fell asleep shortly after we left the Turkey Ranch, and didn’t wake up again until we stopped at a rest area, where she didn’t get out. She went back to sleep and slept until lunch.

We stopped at a rest area at 10.59. I bought a Black Cherry soda for $2. We left at 11:11.

We saw LOTS of cops today. All over the place. Some had people pulled over, some were just waiting. Very busy traffic, too.

Look – I know we have discussed this… I think it was in MickeysToontown’s trip report. I finally remembered to take a picture of the huge roadside paint can! In all the trips south that we’ve taken, I have NEVER taken a picture of this before now.

We entered MD at 11:48.

We entered WV at 11:59.

We entered VA at 12:22.

We stopped for lunch in Woodstock, VA, at KFC. We arrived at 1:03pm. DH had the 2 piece meal with mashed potatoes, DD had the 3 piece tenders with potato wedges, MIL had the 2 Chicken Little sandwiches with corn, and I had the Famous Bowl. Total here was $22.05.

After lunch, we stopped at Arby’s across the road, to get DD an orange crème milkshake. Total here was $3.19.

We stopped for gas before getting back on the road. $34.00 for 13.606 gallons at $2.49 per gallon. Got back on I-81 at 2:05.

Stopped at a rest area at 3:57, and left at 4:08.

We hit lots of slow, almost stand-still traffic near Roanoke. We found out later that shortly after we passed through, there was an incident on this stretch of highway, where an officer was shot at during a traffic stop! Yikes!!!

We got on I-77 at 5:26. Traffic was a bit better on this road. Still busy, but not as horribly much.

We made a stop for gas at 5:50. $23.00 for 9.589 gallons at $2.39 per gallon. Left at 5:54.

We were ready for supper now, and it would have been very late if we had gone on to the restaurant I had planned on, so I used my phone to check TripAdvisor for nearby restaurants. We found one with good reviews -- the Lake View Motel and Restaurant. It was a small place, but the food was good! DH had salmon with fried squash and pototo salad, DD and MIL both had the chicken salad plate with potato salad, and I had a grilled cheese sandwich with onion rings and pototo salad. We all had Coke, except DD had iced sweet tea. We also had an order of mozzerella sticks. Total here was $40.44 plus $8 tip. We left at 7:08.

This pictures is a little blurry, but DH and DD were “fighting” over the fried squash on DH’s plate.

We made it to North Carolina at 7:20.

We stopped at a rest area at 7:57. Spent $2.50 for a ginger ale. Left at 8:03.

We arrived at Gail and Angie’s at 9:59. Dropped of MIL and visited for a few minutes. We left at 10:21 to head to our hotel for the night.

Arrived at Days Inn and checked in. Got to hotel room - #132 – at 10:45 pm. $110.95 total for the night. We all spent some time on our laptops/iPod before bed. I got my trip notes caught up and my pictures copied to the laptop, including pictures from my cell phone. DD took a shower, and we all went to bed around 12:30.

Up next -- we get to Georgia!!

 

[pkondz]

Our plans changed from my pre-trip notes here.

Yay! One of the reasons why I've never been a big fan of PTRs.
Takes away from the surprise of a TR.

I don’t think DD slept more than an hour.

Why not? Was she leaving on a vacation or something?

We stopped at the Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch for breakfast, at 7:23. This is an older restaurant – one that MIL remembers going to with her husband years ago.

I love that. Did she remember it at all?
Or had it changed in the meantime?

Cute pic of the two of them!

DD fell asleep shortly after we left the Turkey Ranch, and didn’t wake up again until we stopped at a rest area, where she didn’t get out. She went back to sleep and slept until lunch.

That lack of sleep caught up to her, I see.

We saw LOTS of cops today. All over the place. Some had people pulled over, some were just waiting. Very busy traffic, too.

Very busy traffic. Hence the surplus of cops.

In all the trips south that we’ve taken, I have NEVER taken a picture of this before now.

And now you have!
And that's one big paint can!

It looks like DD just stole grandma's chicken!

We found out later that shortly after we passed through, there was an incident on this stretch of highway, where an officer was shot at during a traffic stop! Yikes!!!

Yikes is right!!

This pictures is a little blurry, but DH and DD were “fighting” over the fried squash on DH’s plate.

Arrived at Days Inn and checked in. Got to hotel room - #132 – at 10:45 pm. $110.95 total for the night.

Not too bad.

we all went to bed around 12:30.

Late night. Hope you guys got to sleep in a bit the next day!

 

[Steppesister]

Still trying my best to follow along.

We left at 11:11

HAHA! That little gem caught my attention a little more. It's my daughter's favorite time and once in a while I catch my phone on that time during lecture and I quick text her. One of our little games. Anyway, you're having a smooth trip so far! Fun stuff.

 

[ddstratton]

Yay! One of the reasons why I've never been a big fan of PTRs.
Takes away from the surprise of a TR.

I like to do a PTR just to get ideas out there. It's really a planning tool for me. I don't think I've EVER taken a trip where things went the way of the PTR...

Why not? Was she leaving on a vacation or something?

I know, right? She was just a wee bit excited...

I love that. Did she remember it at all?
Or had it changed in the meantime?

It still looks very much like it did in the past. Although it used to be on a little two-lane type road, and now it has it's own exit off a new freeway. The restaurant is still very much the same.

That lack of sleep caught up to her, I see.

Yes, yes it did. Finally.

It looks like DD just stole grandma's chicken!

It does! Actually, she's just mugging for the camera - still exited to be on the trip.

Late night. Hope you guys got to sleep in a bit the next day!

Nope, no sleeping in going no here. Even DD, who is a horrible morning person, was up bright and early. Next day's update coming soon...

Still trying my best to follow along.

Don't worry about getting lost. I do it all the time!!! Every now and then, I just have to sit down and read through the TR's and PTR's that I'm following, because I just get lost.

 

[pkondz]

I know, right? She was just a wee bit excited...

Just a smidge.

It still looks very much like it did in the past. Although it used to be on a little two-lane type road, and now it has it's own exit off a new freeway. The restaurant is still very much the same.

So did she remember it then? Bring back some memories?

Even DD, who is a horrible morning person, was up bright and early.

Ah, but will she stay up?

 

[lilpixiebabe101]

Finally caught up and joining in. I have to laugh. I spent time at work yesterday pricing out a trip to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg for the fall after reading the first part of this report!!

 

[ddstratton]

So did she remember it then? Bring back some memories?

She did remember it. I believe she enjoyed the stop.

Finally caught up and joining in. I have to laugh. I spent time at work yesterday pricing out a trip to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg for the fall after reading the first part of this report!!

Welcome!! We love the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area. There is a LOT to do in that area, and it's beautiful.

 

[pkondz]

She did remember it. I believe she enjoyed the stop.

 

[lilpixiebabe101]

Welcome!! We love the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area. There is a LOT to do in that area, and it's beautiful.

It's been almost a decade since I've been to the area. We went there for senior trip. And probably 15 years for DF. We both love the area and want to take the girls on vacation. In the almost 12 years we've been together, we have never taken a trip together unless you count and overnight to Biloxi where we all slept a few hours in the car before driving back to La. So a mini vacation in a cabin with some of his family may be just the get away we need before buckling down to save for the 2016 Disney Trip.