And a Very Happy Birthday to ME!! A Journey in October 2012 That's a Wrap! 4.27.13

[mickeystoontown]

Our route to Disney is almost the same as your's so I recognize Mobile Bay and the rest stop. We've never been through there during the daylight hours so we miss out on the fresh orange juice.

It sounds like Pop wasn't all that bad and it's good that you went into the stay with, I don't want to say low expectations but I think you know what I'm trying to say.

Yay for getting out and seeing something "Disney" on your first night even if it wasn't a park. I get the wiggles of excitement and want to go do something but we always arrive semi- late so we can't.

 

[pattyw]

Looking forward to your TR !! I'm anxious to hear about your trip w/o the kids!! So far, we have left DS19 home for a couple of days, but managed to get him down for part of our trip. I know that he'll have to totally opt out soon, with college,jobs, etc. and it saddens me. But, I'm not giving up my Disney trips!!

 

[Sweetpeamd]

Great job so far! We were at the World from 10/26-11/3! Maybe we'll be in some of your photos!

 

[amandaw]

Yay! Y'all made it to Disney!

Sounds like it was a good first night. I can't wait to hear all the rest!

 

[shan23877]

Too bad that you couldn't get to a park that day, but DTD is a nice compromise!

That's awesome that your bus waits were minimal! I have found our waits at the Deluxes to be horrible as well! It's crazy!

I love the look of the giant icons at Pop. I've not seen too many photos of the rooms though, so I'm really glad that you included some. The rooms look nice, if a little plain.

Dinner sounds great! Too bad that Keith was disappointed in his, but it looks yummy!

 

[Angies1274]

You've arrived!! Beautiful picture of the WDW sign!!

Your food looks really yummy! I've wanted to try Cooke's of Dublin for the longest time! Hopefully...next trip!

Sounds like you had a nice evening! Can't wait for more!

 

[solana131]

Yay you're there! We like to do DTD on arrival day. Hubby is always cranky after travel, so we save a little money by not trying to do a park first thing. But I still want a little Disney fix, so we love DTD for that reason.

I just love the big fooseball "field" at Pop. All the big fun decorations would be so cool. I just can't deal with full-size beds

 

[TinksThree]

It has been crazy around here between Madison's soccer 3-4 nights a week, family get togethers yesterday and today plus we are preparing to leave on our annual Thanksgiving trip to Gatlinburg. I plan to reply and post tomorrow but sometimes plans are overruled by real life!

But I do want to wish Happy Birthday to a special mouse!! Happy Birthday Mickey!!

Hopefully I will be able to post tomorrow!!!

 

[TinksThree]

Our route to Disney is almost the same as your's so I recognize Mobile Bay and the rest stop. We've never been through there during the daylight hours so we miss out on the fresh orange juice.

It sounds like Pop wasn't all that bad and it's good that you went into the stay with, I don't want to say low expectations but I think you know what I'm trying to say.

Yay for getting out and seeing something "Disney" on your first night even if it wasn't a park. I get the wiggles of excitement and want to go do something but we always arrive semi- late so we can't.

Keith actually didn't know they gave out the orange juice since we normally do not stop at the Florida welcome center. He though it was so cool. I forgot to mention that when we got out and walked up, they were playing Disney/Mickey Mouse music. It was so cool, especially since we had only made it to Pensacola!!

When I get to the resort I just can't sit still! I was glad with whatever as long as we weren't sitting in a room watching the tv!!

Looking forward to your TR !! I'm anxious to hear about your trip w/o the kids!! So far, we have left DS19 home for a couple of days, but managed to get him down for part of our trip. I know that he'll have to totally opt out soon, with college,jobs, etc. and it saddens me. But, I'm not giving up my Disney trips!!

So glad you are reading along!!! We felt very guilty for the first part--the ride down and the first day--but then we got into the swing of it being just us adults! We dread the days when the kids have to opt out as well...I am NOT ready for that!!

Great job so far! We were at the World from 10/26-11/3! Maybe we'll be in some of your photos!

Thank you!!! How cool you were there at the same time! Maybe you will spot yourself!!

Yay! Y'all made it to Disney!

Sounds like it was a good first night. I can't wait to hear all the rest!

We had a pretty good first night considering how tired we were getting!

Too bad that you couldn't get to a park that day, but DTD is a nice compromise!

That's awesome that your bus waits were minimal! I have found our waits at the Deluxes to be horrible as well! It's crazy!

I love the look of the giant icons at Pop. I've not seen too many photos of the rooms though, so I'm really glad that you included some. The rooms look nice, if a little plain.

Dinner sounds great! Too bad that Keith was disappointed in his, but it looks yummy!

Downtown Disney used to be our traditional first night stop. It gives you that Disney feel even if you can't get to a park! this past July broke that trend but we got back on track!! The rooms were very basic and somewhat plain. They were relaxing though since there wasn't a lot of stimulation with crazy prints and wall hangings. I really liked the big icons and wish I had the kids with me to really explore them all!

You've arrived!! Beautiful picture of the WDW sign!!

Your food looks really yummy! I've wanted to try Cooke's of Dublin for the longest time! Hopefully...next trip!

Sounds like you had a nice evening! Can't wait for more!

Thank you! The sky was really pretty that night and provided a neat color. Cooke's of Dublin was good and I definitely would recommend it!!

Yay you're there! We like to do DTD on arrival day. Hubby is always cranky after travel, so we save a little money by not trying to do a park first thing. But I still want a little Disney fix, so we love DTD for that reason.

I just love the big fooseball "field" at Pop. All the big fun decorations would be so cool. I just can't deal with full-size beds

I am exactly like you! I want some Disney but Keith is usually cranky and wants to relax...so we have found DTD to be a good compromise! The full-size beds are not cool at all!! I am not used to that size bed.

 

[sherylcin]

Yea for arriving!! I love the big icons at POP too, especially when they're lit up at night. You're right that the rooms are plainer and the beds smaller but I do love the vibe of POP. I know exactly where you're standing taking the picture of the Hippy Dippy Pool.

DTD is a great first night choice. Satisfies that "I'm finally at Disney" feeling and you don't "waste" a park day. We've never eaten at Cooke's but it looks like a good place to put on the list to try. Can't wait to hear about your official first day!!

 

[TinksThree]

Yea for arriving!! I love the big icons at POP too, especially when they're lit up at night. You're right that the rooms are plainer and the beds smaller but I do love the vibe of POP. I know exactly where you're standing taking the picture of the Hippy Dippy Pool.

DTD is a great first night choice. Satisfies that "I'm finally at Disney" feeling and you don't "waste" a park day. We've never eaten at Cooke's but it looks like a good place to put on the list to try. Can't wait to hear about your official first day!!

POP is so lively with all of the huge icons and they are so colorful! I like going to DTD because it does give you that Disney feel! I hope to have an update very soon. I am heading out for a work conference this morning but hopefully I can post something this week!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm here! Going back to catch up.

 

[TinksThree]

I'm here! Going back to catch up.

Welcome !!! I am so far behind! I have lots of catching up to do! I feel as though I have been away for ages!

 

[TinksThree]

I am alive and well…I know that is probably hard to believe since I have been AWOL for the last 2-3 weeks! So sorry!! I hope to try and add at least two updates a week now. We are about to get out for Christmas break and that should free a little time up!! I also have so many reports I am following and I am so far behind! It seems I just do not have enough time in my day to do what I need to do….aside from work I have Christmas parties, Christmas shopping, decorating the house and then those horrid domestic things like cooking, laundry and cleaning! Whew….so tired thinking about it all!!

So why exactly have I been AWOL? I am going to do a brief update if you’ll indulge me ………

First the week prior to Thanksgiving, I took Madison to Disney on Ice!! In October she had seen a commercial about the show coming to the area and it had Alice in Wonderland. Well, she loves Alice and called me to ask if we could go. How could I tell my 16 year old girl “NO”?!?! So I immediately got the tickets and away we went.

This was not the first Disney on Ice we have been to and at first I thought “Oh dear, what have we gotten into!?” The others have been so good and this one began blah! This was Treasure Trove and it had lots and lots of characters. Honestly I only knew a few that were to be shown so by the end of the show I was surprised how many they had represented! A few pictures although I found it hard to get good ones with the angle we were at (we really at pretty good seats) and the lighting seemed to make the skaters appear totally white lighted.

Waiting for the show to begin!

It began with a guy and gal coming out and doing stretching exercises to exhibit how the skaters prepare for a show.

Then the Incredibles came out….I guess this was the only idea they had to utilize these characters, but it was just not fun for me and Madison!

After that the show took a turn for the better and next up was Alice!!

After Alice in Wonderland, it was time to indulge the boys with Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, The Lost Boys, Peter Pan, Wendy and Tinker Bell….

Then one of my absolute favorites…..The Lion King!!!

Soon we were back to the girls and that was kicked off with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs!

Followed by Aladdin!!

Continued in the following post....

 

[TinksThree]

More Princesses followed&The Little Mermaid and Tangled

The finale included The Princess and The Frog plus all of the princesses and their princes&Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, Jasmine, Belle, Ariel, Tianna, Rapunzel&..And of course Minnie, Mickey and the Gang!

It was a great Girls Night Out and we had so much fun!!

Then that Saturday and Sunday we had all of our Thanksgiving get-togethers with family. We ate so much!! But the holidays were upon us!! The weekend was followed by a rapid booking of a hotel in Gatlinburg, TN and a trip! We werent sure if Chris could get off until the previous Sunday so we had no idea if we could go, but we did and we had a blast!!

We left before dawn on Wednesday, November 21. After waiting for two hours just outside of Chattanooga due to a seven car wreck, we made it to Townsend and the entrance of the National Park. This is how we always go in: we avoid Sevierville like the plague, drive to Maryville and then to Townsend and finally entering the park. We love taking the drive on Little River Road to Gatlinburg, plus our hotel is on the park side so we avoid the Gatlinburg traffic! We made a stop at The Sinks which is usually a rapid but the water was low this trip&still the rapid water was evident!!

Then we went to the top of the mountain as we like to call it. This is really around Newfoundland Gap and I suppose it is close to the top! We arrived just as the sun was deciding to say good night!

By this time it was around 6pm and we were ready to locate our hotel and find food!! We chose to stay at the Motel 6. We had been here before when it was a Red Roof and it was okay. The price is low which we always shoot for on these trips ($39 for Wednesday and $70 the rest of the weekendThanksgiving). Upgrades had been made and it was really a good stay! It is clean and the beds were pretty comfortable. It is in walking distance to the strip and our only complaint was that now there is not a continental breakfast. We remedied that by taking pop-tarts and cereal since there was a microwave and fridge&but no coffee pot. The room was HUGE! Think of Disneys Value Rooms x 2 ½!

That night we ate at a new restaurant: Howards. It was empty when we entered and you walk through a bar area but it isnt a BAR per se. Think Applebees or Chilis. We were shooting for burgers but once Madison and I saw the menus we went with something else. Had I know the food was going to be so good&I would have taken pictures!! The burgers were huge and came with fries for $8, I got a pork loin wrapped in bacon and potatoes and onions (delish!) for $8 and Madison got hamburger steak and fries for $8! If you are in the area, I highly recommend!! The only picture I took was the view by my table overlooking a creek:

The hotel in the background is the Quality Inn Creekside that we stayed in last year&another place I highly recommend. They were already booked for this trip when I made reservations on Monday.

This was the outside of the restaurant on the main street:

We awoke Thanksgiving morning to relatively mild temps and decide to head to the park! First up is one of our favorite places: Laurel Falls. This is on Little River Road and is a little over one mile. It is uphill going but it is pavedjust watch out for the drop-offs! Really those arent that bad either. On our way up a few pics:

And then we arrive!!

People are always so friendly and we actually spent 20 minutes or so conversing with others there. We heard about a bear sighting on up the trail and tried finding him/her but with no luck. Back at the falls, a couple offered to take a family picture:

We spent almost 2 ½ hours hiking to the falls, relaxing and walking back. Going back to the car was easy&all downhill! This is a very popular hike and by the time we got back to the little parking area cars were lined up on the side of the road!! Next we kept traveling along Little River Road to Cades Coveanother must for us every trip! We stopped to picnic at the Cades Cove picnic area. We love this spot because it has a creek next to it. There are lots of great picnic areas throughout the park with creeks next to the table areas.

Then we headed into Cades Cove. Our first stop was Lucretia Olivers cabin which is in its actual original spot. The Olivers were evidently very common in Cades Cove since the cemetery at one of the churchs has lots of tombstones with the name Oliver!

At one of those churches we spotted a buck and since Madisons boyfriend was hunting at the moment she had to take a picture to show him she had seen a deer and he had not! Normally we pass the deer by since they are in our backyard every single night!!

A few more pictures as we rode along the 11 mile loop!

We stopped midway at the Visitors Center which has great exhibits, although not as many on the holiday. There is a grist mill and I always buy the corn meal there.

Inside the store they have lots of locally made jams, preserves, pickles, chow-chow and other things&like Lye Soap. I found this sign extremely funny and threatened to make a purchase!!

Continued in the next post...

 

[TinksThree]

Soon upon leaving the Visitor Center area we ran into this….

I snapped lots of bored pictures while we waited in this long line:

But then we saw why the line was so long…just on the other side of the house and barn was this!

We pulled to the side and watched the bear for 15 minutes or so. He just laid there enjoying something he was eating. A park ranger was nearby and made sure some of the idiots…uhm, I mean people, didn’t get to close. Seriously people…it is still a WILD BEAR!!!!!

Moving on down the road we stopped one more time at a house and went hiking through the fields….

We spent a good portion of 4 hours in Cade’s Cove which the time you spend can be completely up to you! We loved every single second of it!! For supper we went to another favorite: The Smoky Mountain Brewery. They have really good burgers and pizzas all at a great place. And if you are into beer, they brew their own.

We ended the evening with a round of miniature golf. There are several and we chose one that goes up the side of the mountain. Lots of fun! This place also has other arcade, touristy type things.

Friday (November 23) we headed towards Cherokee, NC. We had several goals in mind. First was Clingman’s Dome. First we stopped at Newfoundland Gap which splits the states of Tennessee and North Carolina:

It closes for the winter in early December but it has been closed at Thanksgiving due to the weather. We were hopeful this would not be the case and we were rewarded with cloudless skies (while we were there, as the day progressed others wouldn’t be so lucky!). The hike is literally a hike of ½ mile but it feels like 20! Especially when you aren’t used to the elevation and not exercising like you should. But here are a few pictures of the adventure we had!

Back at the bottom…again the return is much, much better!

Back on the road towards Cherokee:

Continued in the following post...

 

[TinksThree]

Another great visitor center is the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. They have a wonderful museum and a mountain farm area that is wonderful to walk through. A few pictures from this area:

Next up was another waterfall. This one is down from the Big Creek Campground: Mingo Falls.

This one has lots of steps to get to it:

But it is worth the effort!!

To exit you go through Cherokee (this is an Indian Reservation for those that do not know) and we saw a Cherokee dancing!

Not ready to call it a day, we drove briefly on the Blue Ridge Parkway which ends in Cherokee.

And then we decided we still weren’t ready to have our journey end so we stopped at another mill. This one was Mingo Mill and it has a turpine wheel rather than the big water wheel.

Then we began our journey back to Gatlinburg. A cold front was moving through and this is what we were running into:

So we decided to rest and wait a bit at Newfoundland Gap where the view was something like this:

Finally back for the evening we walk along the strip area and do a little shopping before dinner. They have everything all lit up for Christmas and this aquarium is really a great place to visit!!

Supper was held at Calhoun’s BBQ which (as you can guess) we love and eat here every trip!!

Saturday was the day we headed home. Normally we stay until Sunday but I had things to do before flying out Monday for a conference. Since I wasn’t coming home until the following Friday, I had lots to do! But we didn’t drive straight home. We stopped some along the way plus we took a scenic ride home. This one included going back through the mountain to Cherokee.

Snow!!! Although it was in the high elevations so we just ah’d over the view!

Just before exiting the park, we made a stop at a church I had seen the day before. As many times as I have been to this park, I never had noticed this!

Soon we were heading towards Cleveland, TN. There is a train in North Carolina that we have decided we want to ride on our next trip. During the holiday season they have a Polar Express trip…how cool!!

Any time you travel close to the east part of Tennessee you will see lots of these…

I took this one since that is where we are headed! Chattanooga here we come!!!

But before we arrive we passed the Ocoee River in the Cherokee National Forest…this area is a beautiful drive!

Rock City!!!

Can they squeeze through?

Mushroom Rock

Continued in the following post...

 

[TinksThree]

Great views! You can see seven states (or so they say) on a clear day!

Keith, Chris and Madison cross the swinging bridge:

A few fun shots:

Madison called this formation “Rocky” the Snowman. That wasn’t what Rock City had titled it but I forget their name:

A face in the rock although this wasn’t a great picture. This is also a waterfall and “Lover’s Leap”

Finally we exit and begin the 6 hour drive home.

As we entered Alabama the sunset/sky was gorgeous!

We got home around 10pm and crashed! We had a great trip but I still had a full schedule!! Work conferences can be exhausting and by the time we arrived back on November 30th from the work trip I was dead tired! I spent that weekend sleeping and then work all over again this week plus all that stuff I mentioned at the beginning! We have finals at the college this week so our office has been hopping with those people waiting until the last minute to square away everything for graduation! But I should be back to the boards now! Lots of catching up to do and up next: MORE DISNEY!!!!!!!

 

[sherylcin]

THAT was some mini trip report!! Your pictures are absolutely goorrrggeeoouuss!!! I love those mountain views and you got some really incredible shots!! It's been a few years since I've been to Gatlinburg/Sevierville but your pictures take me right back there. You all did a lot in just a couple days. I love that there are so many great places to see and hike in the Park. You have some really nice family pics too. Great memories!! BTW, great deal on the hotel!! (especially since you booked it last minute)

I know what you mean about being busy! It may be the "most wonderful time of the year" and I really do love it but it seems like when you're busy at work and busy at home, there's just no time for the Boards! I'm personally happy when updates are slow in coming on the trip report threads I'm following! (Translation: I'm soooo behind!!)

Oh, almost forgot. The Disney on Ice show looked fun. It's nice when you get some one-on-one time with one of your kids!! They grow up way too fast!!

 

[saintstickets]

Loved your Gatlinburg/Smoky Mountain mini-TR! We visited Gatlinburg for the 1st time last Dec, 2011 for our son's wedding. Gatlinburg at night, during the Christmas season was great. There was a nip in the air and it really set the mood. We also ate at the Smoky Mountain Brewery and you're correct, the food and beer was great!

We're going to have to go back and see all the sights we missed. We definately will have to use your driving directions to get in and out of Gatlinburg because the traffic on Sunday leaving thru Sevierville took FOREVER!!