Jeraka's Shower - March 28, 2009

 

Smoky Mountains - Thursday, April 9, 2009

We got going today at about 10:00 and headed into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We drove first to Newfound Gap on the Tennesse/North Carolina border. Then we drove to the Clingman's Dome trail. We went up the 1/2 mile trail but it was covered with packed snow so it took a while. Coming down was really interesting! I was really glad to get on level ground again.

We had a picnic lunch at the car and then went back to the visitor's center. We hiked a short trail to Cataract Falls. Abby, Sydney and I hiked to a cabin before meeting the guys back at the car.

The weather today was absolutely perfect. It was sunny and in the 70s. Of course, it was only in the 50s up at Clingman's Dome. When we got back to the cabin we were able to enjoy the rocking chairs on the cabin porch.


We're very sad to be at the end of our vacation but tomorrow is the day we head home. We've had a great time!

Smoky Mountains - Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Today was a big day! We drove two hours to Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estate. The 250 room house is 175,000 square feet. It was built by a Vanderbilt in 1895. We toured the house and saw over 50 rooms on 5 different floors. We saw the large dining room and the impressive library as well as many bedrooms, the bowling alley and the indoor pool.

Then we walked through the garden area. The tulips were really pretty! We drove to the winery and got to try close to 10 different wines. On the trip back to the cabin we took a more scenic road and saw some good views of the Smoky Mountains. We relaxed for a while and then went to the Smoky Mountain Brewery for dinner. Now we're back at the cabin enjoying another relaxing evening.

Smoky Mountains - Tuesday, April 7, 2009

We didn't do a lot today. After a lunch of sandwiches and chips at the cabin, we went into Gatlinburg to play blacklight mini-golf. We had a good time and got several holes-in-one. Brian ended up with the lowest score with Chandler close behind.



We walked around Gatlinburg a little. As we walked back to the car it started snowing again. It was amazing how it would go from snowing pretty hard to being sunny in a matter of minutes.


For dinner we went Guarinos Italian Restaurant and had some good Italian food. We came back to the cabin and took it easy watching TV. Only Brian and Chandler used the hot tub tonight.

Smoky Mountains - Monday, April 6, 2009

We took it easy this morning and just hung out in the cabin. It was a cool day with the temperatures falling throughout the day. Today's high was 63 but I'm sure that occurred early in the morning. The temperature has fallen throughout the day and is now in the low 30s (It's 11:00 pm as I write this). In fact we're under a winter storm warning for tonight.

We decided to visit Ripleys Aquarium of the Smokies today. We spent close to 3 hours there and really enjoyed it! The displays are very well done and we saw many cool things including sharks, stingrays, and jellyfish. We went to Wendy's for lunch and then came back to the cabin for a quiet afternoon.

Tonight we celebrated Sydney's 10th birthday. We had a spaghetti supper with birthday cake and ice cream for dessert. Sydney opened a few gifts. We watched some TV, played some pool, and sat in the hot tub. Of course, it's also opening day of baseball so that was on the TV quite a bit. It's the final four championship game so that's what the guys are watching right now.

Smoky Mountains - Sunday, April 5, 2009

After leaving the house at 3:45 am, we flew to Chicago and then on to Nashville. Once we arrived in Nashville, we met Brian, Abby and the kids at the hotel they stayed at and caravaned to our cabin near Gatlinburg, TN. We got here at about 5:00 pm. It was a warm, sunny day - in the 80's. It's a very nice 3 level, 3 bedroom cabin. After checking it out and deciding who got what bedroom everyone was staying in, we went to Texas Roadhouse in Gatlinburg for supper. Back at the cabin, Abby and I and the kids tried out the hot tub. It was a long day so we made it an early night.

Sydney & Chandler - Wii