Family Vacation in the Smoky Mountains

I survived. No, I am not referring to the recent experience with a tornado. I am referring to our family vacation in Pigeon Forge. Anyone with small children knows that traveling with a five, four and two year old can be unpredictable. Upon arriving to our very plush cabin, we quickly dispersed and staked claim to our rooms. We all had our own bedrooms and bathroom. What a change for me. When we all get together, it is usually sofa city for me. After making an extensive grocery list, me and my brothers performed a quick marathon run and filled our shopping cart in record time. I felt like we were on that grocery store game show. Of course basketball was playing in the background as we visited with each other. I tried my skills shooting pool. Needless to say, I did not win the pool tournament. Saturday morning I woke up early, made some coffee and walked out onto the deck to watch the sun rise. Mom and dad soon joined me for what would be our last moment of serenity for the next few days.

We somehow managed to all get ready and loaded up into the cars. Our goal was to see the Smoky Mountains and some waterfalls. So maybe I misread and the short hike that I had planned turned out to be a little longer. Never mind that it was a gorgeous day and the scenery on the way to the waterfall was beautiful. And so what if the waterfall was not as spectacular as I had hoped it would be. It was still beautiful. Besides, it's all about family and being together, right? Wrong. Apparently I had not prepared them enough and lugging their children on their shoulders was not as fun for them (which I lugged part of the way for the record). After eating in Gatlinburg, everyone was chipper again. We returned to the cabin for nap time. This was the perfect time for the ladies to go shopping. Of course, I did not receive the shopping gene that the rest of my family did, so I just followed along. Being the excellent cook that he is, my brother-in-law prepared a delicious fish fry for us. We all relaxed the rest of the evening, eagerly anticipating the Easter Bunny's arrival. While my niece and nephew were concerned that the Easter Bunny would not be able to find them, we reassured them he would. I pretended to spot the Easter Bunny hopping down the hill which backfired on me and scared my niece. Apparently she likes to wake up to find baskets and presents, but is not so excited about who delivers them.

Luckily the Easter Bunny did find us and left goodies for everyone. We would all see the effects of chocolate very soon. After playing a little while, we all got dressed and went to church to meet some of our relatives that live near Pigeon Forge. After church, we all met back at the cabin for lunch. Since the men had their turn babysitting the night before, the ladies loaded up with the children and headed back to the Smoky's. We drove on Cade's Cove Loop, an 11 mile one way loop road where history and nature truly do meet. This land was initially inhabited by the Cherokee Indians until the first white settlers started to arrive in the early 1800's. Along the way we viewed old homesteads, churches and barns dating back to late 1800's. It was not hard to find an open field full of turkeys and deer. It was more difficult however, for my niece and nephew to share the binoculars. We started our drive back riding along the river. The scenery was beautiful. It looked so peaceful. I wish I could have said the same for inside the car. Nestled between my niece and my 2 year old nephew, with my five year nephew behind me, I began to reach my breaking point. Between Laurel telling a princess story, Matthew singing a song, and Mason making roaring bear noises all at the same time, my patience had grown thin. I consider myself a patient person, but 3 hours in car with those three was not only my yearly dose of birth control, it would last for several years. I wouldn't trade those moments for anything in the world though. Monday morning we woke up to find snow! As we packed and cleaned, the flakes got bigger and bigger. It was gorgeous driving back down the through the mountains with fresh blanket of snow falling. One last adventure before heading home. We took back roads home in order to find Bald River falls. Again, the scenery was amazing. It reminded me of Oregon and made me realize once again how much I love the mountains. We had a great time together but as always it didn't seem long enough.

Heading to Maryland soon. Hopefully will have more adventures to share!!!