After my last post, we wrapped up the rest of the work week and got ready to hit the road to Tennessee. Emmy's last day of school was on Thursday, and her class celebrated with an Easter Egg Hunt and a party. Boomer and I still had to work on Friday, but because of Emmy's day off, she and Eli tagged along with Grammy and Grandpa to head to Tennessee early. Along the way, they stopped at the Bush's Baked Beans restaurant and headquarters in Chestnut Hill. Then they finished the rest of the drive into Sevierville. With our kid-free evening on Friday, Boomer and I had a date night - Boomer even made a reservation! It was only our second time eating at Fratelli's, and we went all out by ordering the 44 oz. tomahawk special for two. It included salads, side dishes, and their Krispy Kreme bread pudding for dessert. The food was delicious and the company was pretty great, too! We ended the evening with a quick drive through Wake's campus.
On Saturday, we rode along with the Houstons and met up with the rest of our crew. The drive took a little over 4 hours, and we arrived to the cabin around 1PM. We dropped off Burke and then headed to one of our favorite restaurants, the Apple Barn. After eating our meal, we walked around the property and stopped in at some of the shops. We also got a sweet treat at the creamery - Deep Fried Apple Pie ice cream. We settled back in at the cabin for the evening and rested up for our big day at Dollywood.
We arrived at Dollywood right at 10AM when it opened on Sunday. With the age and height ranges of our four kiddos, there were some rides that only the big kids could go on. We would separate periodically and then come back together again. In the morning, we started in Timber Canyon with the Whistle Punk Chaser, the Lumberjack Lifts, and Mystery Mine. Then we moved into the new section Wildwood Grove where we had lunch at the Till & Harvest Food Hall, followed by some playtime in Hidden Hollow and some more rides: Mad Mockingbird and the Dragonflier. Boomer and I fit in a few bigger rollercoasters, the Wild Eagle and Tennessee Tornado, while Emmy and Eli got a sweet treat with Grammy and Grandpa. Emmy went on Blazing Fury with Grammy and me, but she wasn't a huge fan of the darkness and the unexpected drops. We finished out the day in the County Fair section with the Lemon Twist, The Flying Elephants, Lucky Ducky, and Busy Bees. Emmy and Eli could ride all of these rides, and they had a lot of fun (even though it made Mommy and Daddy dizzy!) Before leaving the park, we rode the 6PM train, which was a great end to the day. We picked up pizza from Bad Daddy's Pizzeria on the way home to have back at the cabin before everyone crashed.
On Monday, we had another full day of fun. We rode the tram to the top of Ober Gatlinburg and did all of the activities there: ice skating, the mountain coaster, the chair lift, bumper cars, the carousel, and the wildlife zoo. We joked that Megan and I never got to do these activities when we were kids since they were extra. Now with the wristband, all of the activities are included in the cost. Our kiddos don't know how good they have it! We left Ober Gatlinburg around 4PM and made a stop by the Sugarlands Visitor Center. There was quite a lot of traffic as we were heading back into Pigeon Forge. We drove by several restaurants and finally decided on Quaker Steak and Lube for wings and chicken. Eli was especially excited by all the NASCAR memorabilia. Our boy was in heaven.
On Tuesday, we had a slower morning at the cabin. The Houstons headed home after breakfast, and the rest of us stuck around in Tennessee for one more day. It just so happened that the Forbush softball team was playing a few games in Pigeon Forge, so we went to cheer them on. The game was at 1PM and quite warm. I had not planned for the hotter temperatures, and both kids were a bit sweaty after running around near the ballfield. After the game, we had a late lunch/early dinner at the Old Mill. The Old Mill is situated right along the river, so Emmy and Eli enjoyed feeding the ducks after our meal. Emmy was the only one up for the hot tub when we got home. She said it was a little too hot to get in, but she enjoyed splashing around for a little bit.
We made the four-hour drive back to Kernersville today. There was just enough time to unpack before Emmy's gymnastics class at 5:30PM. I am glad for a few more days of Spring Break. I have a to-do list of projects, and hopefully there will be some rest and relaxation mixed in. We've had a wonderful Spring Break so far! Thank you to Grammy and Grandpa for a special trip to Tennessee!
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