Stop Making Me Laugh Or I'll Pee My Pants! Go Back! I Lost My Shoe! Trip Report!

[KatMark]

We girls must be so related. Don't do heighths, critters that crawl in the night, that would include snakes or any mammal exhibit,(I stepped on a bat once barefoot) and enclosed places. Now since we are related I'm adopting your mom Kathy and Lisa's mom as my own. Then I don't need to worry with mine own any more.

Ginny, believe me, you DON'T want my mom. But you can adopt me as your sister if you want?

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Ginny, believe me, you DON'T want my mom. But you can adopt me as your sister if you want?

We will let our mom's be sisters. You and I already are. I knew that after our first chat.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I promise I'm coming back to respond to all my Dis friends. I'm trying to get the cave portion of my report done so I can move on to other Silver Dollar City pictures.

The boss is in a little better mood and acting like we are going to shut down at lunch time. Just yesterday, he said we weren't. He has said something to people about the day being over with soon. I'll talk to him about it as soon as I can. Just haven't had the chance. Dumb bunny. And they say women are fickle.

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

I promise I'm coming back to respond to all my Dis friends. I'm trying to get the cave portion of my report done so I can move on to other Silver Dollar City pictures.

The boss is in a little better mood and acting like we are going to shut down at lunch time. Just yesterday, he said we weren't. He has said something to people about the day being over with soon. I'll talk to him about it as soon as I can. Just haven't had the chance. Dumb bunny. And they say women are fickle.

I think he is. Hope you get done at noon.

 

[KatMark]

We will let our mom's be sisters. You and I already are. I knew that after our first chat.

Awww....you are too sweet. I've now had two people make me smile between my tears today--you and Nicki (MickeyNicki from the DIS...she called me this morning and sang to me).

I promise I'm coming back to respond to all my Dis friends. I'm trying to get the cave portion of my report done so I can move on to other Silver Dollar City pictures.

The boss is in a little better mood and acting like we are going to shut down at lunch time. Just yesterday, he said we weren't. He has said something to people about the day being over with soon. I'll talk to him about it as soon as I can. Just haven't had the chance. Dumb bunny. And they say women are fickle.

Men are the most fickle creatures I know. Mark and I are going to PF Changs and the movies on Friday and he can't make up his mind what he wants to see...he's changed it three times already.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Let's continue on with our cave tour shall we.

We could hear water and when we got to the bottom of the steps in the next picture, we were in a huge open area with a beautiful waterfall. A waterfall that was dropping down into a black hole. The walkway was narrow and slick from mist. I didn't look down too much because I was a scaredy cat. I tried to take pictures but it there were droplets/mists of water falling and my camera was trying to focus on those.

Continued in the next post because my computer and photobucket are having issues. My computer has shut down three times while I was in the middle of typing an installment.

 

[mickeystoontown]

We left the waterfall room and saw more rock formations:

Looky, I had the nerve to take a picture of a deep crevice:

Notice John still protecting his noggin:

We arrived in another semi-large room. Everybody was stopped and the guide told us about this group of cave explorers who saw this opening and decided to see where it went. They crawled and crawled through the dark and the mud and found nothing. They had to turn back around and crawl back to this same opening:

I took this picture looking up just past the sign:

There was a small waterfall but I couldn't get a picture of it. I stood to the side and took a picture of this formation:

Continued in next post due to photobucket issues.

 

[mickeystoontown]

The next part of the tour took us up a lot of steps. Believe me, we got a workout!

You can see the walkway above John's head in this one:

Next, we came to a little standing area and there was a deep deep hole to our right. I was feeling quite gutsy and I went to the edge to take a picture down:

We continued climbing up until we got to a tram/train thing. It's, basically, steel cages connected to make a train. You sit on a bench in one of the steel cages and are leaning waaaay back. John and Lacey hated this part. If you stop and think about it, it's pretty doggone scary to think that if the train was released somehow, you would go plummeting back into the cave.

Anyway, the train started and the guide told us to look to the right and we'd see another train going down. The train system worked like a pulley. In order for one to go up, one had to go down.

Up next, Christmas decorations in Silver Dollar City!

 

[aaaateamsgrandma]

I love that cave. I hate the tram coming out too. And amazingly you come out in the middle of the gift shop. Go figure. Who would ever have thought that up?

 

[KatMark]

And amazingly you come out in the middle of the gift shop. Go figure. Who would ever have thought that up?

A fickle man????

 

[Kathy Jetson]

Love the cave pics. How long did the tour last? I've only been to in a cave once somewhere in Virginia I don't even know what it was called but it was nowhere near as big as your cave. Well i've been in 2 caves if you count the ones on Tom Sawyers Island
I hope you get to go home early today!

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Still loving the cave updates! Wow, you WERE getting gutsy getting some of those pictures. I don't like heights too much, myself, and just looking at your pictures I was getting nervous, LOL!

That tram/train system sounds a bit scary, too. Definitely a lot more detailed than Ruby Falls, that's for sure.

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Hello! Lisa
great cave update...last cave I was in was Ruby Falls and the Lost Sea....

wishing you and your family a wonderful New Year! hope you have a great one weather you decide to have you extended family or just you, John , and Hunter!
Connie

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Hey, Connie - what did you think of the Lost Sea? I've been thinking of doing that every time I pass through...would love to know your thoughts!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Howdy everybody! Guess where I am? If you guessed at home, you're right. We shut the office down about 12:30. John was working at somebody's house and Mama was here at our house. When I came in, she got all scared because she thought something was wrong because I was home at lunch. I totally forgot to call her and tell her I was getting off early.

I was able to catch the last of Bold and the Beautiful and most of As the World Turns. It was nice to just sit back and relax.

Let's see if I can respond to the prior posts without quoting all of them 'cause there's a lot.

The cave tour lasted a little longer than an hour. I was snapping pictures left and right. I love caves and have been going in them every since I can remember. When I was a little girl, we camped all over Arkansas and if there was a cave anywhere nearby, we would go. John had never been in a cave until we got married. He was a cave virgin.

I was proud of myself that I actually looked over some of the ledges and took pictures. There's no way I would have done that on the first concrete platform that we stood on 'cause there was nothing really under my feet. But, when you are in the cave itself, I knew that there was something solid underneath me and I think that helped.

I think the height from the cave opening down to the first "room", the cathedral room was 300 feet. And, I think the total depth that we got on the tour was 600 feet.

The train thing that takes you out of the cave is a bit freaky. I don't mind it too much and neither does Hunter but John and Lacey don't like it at all. It makes a lot of clanking banging noises as it pulls you out so that doesn't help calm the nerves.

Ginny, did I miss any cool facts about the cave or tell something wrong about it? If so, please add to my story or correct it.

For those of you who wished me Happy Birthday, I think that I've already responded but thanks again. I have grown to love and appreciate you all. It's so nice to call you my friends.

Kathy, I hope that you have a wonderful birthday dinner. You deserve it!

Mel, you silly girl, how could I ever call you a bad friend? Not a chance in heck that I would do that.

Kathy Jetson, I think you can absolutely call the cave on Tom Sawyer's Island as a cave you have visited. In all of our Dis minds, anything Disney counts.

Connie, where is the Lost Seas? I have never even heard of it.

We have pretty much decided we're going to do a big fat nothing for New Year's. We'll probably go and buy a few fireworks for Hunter to shoot. I think we may even have a few left over from July 4th.

Hum.....let's see, I think that's all I was going to say. I hope to get another Silver Dollar City installment done today or tomorrow.

Lisa

 

[KatMark]

I was able to catch the last of Bold and the Beautiful and most of As the World Turns. It was nice to just sit back and relax.

Did you know that As The World Turns has been cancelled (last showing is September 2010)? My mother started watching that when she was pregnant with me and I watched it when I was pregnant and at home with both boys when they were first born.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I actually meant to mention that As the World Turns was being cancelled in my last post. I only get to watch it on Fridays but used to record it every day. I was sad to hear about the cancellation. Sad!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Lisa,
the Lost Sea is in Sweetwater TN--which is in between Chattonooga (sp) and Knoxville/Townsend TN here is the link
http://www.thelostsea.com/

Gwendolyn was a very small when we went but it was nice...I love caves, but have a hard time talking Danny into things like that...I don't know why he likes things of that sort he usually just wants to get where we are going or home!

Mel~ sorry just noticed your question...we loved it; you have a small walk through the cave where they give you the history than you ride in a glass bottom boat! Mitchell would love it! it was a neat experience and I would love to do it again someday...

 

[Cameo818]

Wow...last time I logged in was on the 14th...good grief.

I just got caught up and am very much enjoying your Branson and Silver Dollar City trip report and photos. That cave looks scary! I'm enjoying the photos because I don't think I'd ever be able to actually go through it myself! Definitely because of the claustrophobia, but also because I'd be afraid I'd drop my camera in one of the deep holes and would never see it again!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Yes, the train/tram did drop us off in a gift shop. The same gift shop that you started the tour in.

I forgot to mention before now that, while we were driving to Silver Dollar City, Lacey decided she had to have a harmonica. I have no idea where she got that idea but she did. During the drive, we all laughed about her wanting a harmonica. My sister had one several years ago and she was horrible at it. Her husband (who was her new husband at the time) would just smile and shake his head when she would ask him if she was doing good. I know she knew she was horrible at it but loved driving us all nuts with that dang harmonica.

Lacey looked around the store for a harmonica but all she could find was a plastic and metal one that was bright orange. She didn't get it because she wanted to keep looking around for one that wasn't orange. We looked a few minutes more and while we looked I called Mama on her cell and she said she was sitting on a bench just outside the store entrance. Lacey spotted a shirt that she liked but didn't want to buy it yet in case she found something she liked better later on in the day.

We walked out of the building and saw Mama right away. We walked just a little ways and we saw this:

The tree was super tall and decorated with lots of ornaments. It looked a little odd because it was not a round tree but still pretty nevertheless.

Some of the attractions were closed due to the time of the year which I knew ahead of time. We decided to look around in some of the shops before going deeper into the park.

The buildings are built to look old timey. Most also had old time themed merchandise.

Lacey, Hunter and I were getting Hunter. John said he wasn't too hungry but he could eat too. Mama said she was just a little hungry. We decided now was as good a time as any to stop and eat lunch. Problem was, we couldn't remember how to get to the little strip where all the food vendors was. John and I had a general idea where it was so we started walking. Mama has problems going up and down hills and sometimes gets off balance a little. She's had the problem since her surgery and it makes her so angry. So, we pretend not to notice and take things slow without her knowing it.

John walked on ahead of us and looked down one pathway while the kids went into a store. Mama and I stopped walking and waited for John to come back. Just a few minutes later, John called and said he had found the food vendors. At the same time he called, the kids came around the corner and we were walking towards our lunch.

And, then, John's phone rang. It was a doctor that John has done work for before. He wanted John to come over and give him an estimate on a job. Of course, we didn't mind him stopping for something like that. Here's a picture of John on the phone:

There were vendors selling cheese steak sandwiches, burgers, homemade potato chips, corn dogs and a few other things. Hunter wanted a burger. Lacey wanted a corn dog. Mama wanted homemade chips which she insisted would be like curly fries. John wanted this delicious skillet meal that had corn, sausage, peppers and potatos all mixed together. Problem was, most were served from different vendors. Lacey got in line for her corn dog and John's skillet meal. Hunter and I got in line for our burgers. John and Mama stood in line for her homemade chips.

Everybody and their great grandmother must have gotten hungry at the same time. There are picnic tables set up and a few tables behind the buildings. It's hard to find a place to sit. If you think finding a table at Disney is hard, Silver Dollar City is way worse.

Finally, Hunter spotted a table and grabbed it. I went over to Lacey to show her where we were sitting and then called John to tell him where to find us. I meant to take pictures of our food but totally forgot. I especially wanted a picture of John's meal because it's so unique.

***I think I'll stop here for now. Up next, comparing Silver Dollar City's Fire in the Hole with Disney's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.