Saturday, February 12, 2011

Gatlinburg, TN--MLK Weekend

The snow that fell right before MLK weekend nearly derailed our plans to meet with Mops and Pops in Gatlinburg, TN for the weekend. They were iced covered in Atlanta and the 8 or so inches we received kept us housebound for about seven days. We both managed to escape winter's icy grasp for a getaway in TN. Pops worked his time share magic and got us into Westgate Smokey Mountain Resort. The condo nice and located right between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.
Adam and I managed to spend on night soaking in this hot tub. It felt great until we had to dash back to the condo in the freezing cold. I didn't even stop to put my shoes on. I learned the hard way that ice melt is not fun to run on.
Kenly enjoyed exploring the condos many hiding places. We spent a great deal of time playing with Play-Doh in the morning to keep her from waking the people around us. Adam creates masterpieces for her to play with. Here she is enjoying a pancake with butter and a side of bacon.
Mops and Pops both helped entertain with Play-Doh.
The resort has an indoor water park, and we decided to take Kenly over to explore its many wonders. Pops sponsored our visit. Kenly has been talking about her visit to the "big bucket" pool for over a month now. I'd say it made a lasting impression. Most of these pictures have strange coloration because of the glass from the roof of the building. So, without further ado, I present our day at Wild Bear Falls.
Kenly was quite timid at first. She didn't know what she wanted to explore. The water park had been closed for cleaning/repair before our visit. We went the day it reopened. The temperatures were colder than normal. The kiddie pool was a chilly 73 degrees. So, we spent a good deal of time playing and then jogging to a hot tub to warm up for a bit.
The big bucket was Kenly's favorite. Before it dumped, a bell would sound warning anyone below that a deluge was on its way.

Kenly loved the idea of going down the slide until she realized that there was water flowing down it. She then became a bit more hesitant.
With Daddy's encouragement, she barreled down the slide.
She loves to show off for her Daddy. Case in point--This week Adam was able to go to Wee Naturalist class with us. I've been begging her to climb through the hollow log we pass while hiking. Not with mama. No way. But let Daddy come on the hike, and she climbs through the natural tunnel like she's been exploring it for years.
Kenly called this contraption the shower. She likes water that sprays gently. Here recently, she's requested a few showers at home. She wants to shower all by herself after I'm through with the washing, and she gets quite peeved if I peek into the shower to make sure she's doing okay. She'll scream, "No peeking, mama. Shut the door." We're working on please around here, but she's turning into a demanding toddler.
Her face tells the story in these pictures. She never quite warmed up to the idea of a "water slide."


Adam and Kenly would run through the spray of the "big bucket" any chance they got. Adam never let Kenly take a full hit, but she thought she was bad stuff regardless.
I had to keep my distance with the camera because there were spraying contraptions everywhere, but here are a few shots of my loves exploring the play area.


More running through the "big bucket."

Kenly told me she wanted to go under the little bucket with me, so we braved the chilly water. I'm so thrilled to have ice cold water dumped on me...can you tell?

I think we're both screaming from the shock in this picture.
We were brave, and we did it. We didn't chicken out.

We had to drag Kenly away from the park for a nap and lunch. After she slept and we ate fondue, we decided to take her back for a round of evening adventure. Things had warmed up significantly by that time.Adam and Kenly took a lap around the park in the lazy river. There were also two large water slides in the park. Adam and I took turns exploring those. Kenly was too small to even lap ride.

Warming up in the hot tub.
Playing basketball with Daddy in one of the many pools.


Later that weekend, we let Kenly try her hand at Candy Land. She's still a bit young, but I think with practice she'll get the concept in no time. She getting Candy Land for Valentine's Day.
We also took Kenly out for a round of mini golf. The last time she went golfing her little heart broke. Daddy helped her with the putts.
She even did a bit of solo putting.
I tried to help her, but I'm hopeless at mini golf.
After awhile, she started doing what I'm always tempted to do--throw that ball in the hole.


Around hole 10 she started throwing the ball instead of using the putter. I like her style.

On Sunday evening, Adam and I were able to sneak away for a date night. We both made it to the fantasy football finals, and we played each other. We put a bet on the line and I lost. I had to finance and plan the date. Our evening started with a walk through the shops of Gatlinburg. Later we played black light mini golf, laser tag, a million arcade games. We had an appetizer at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and then we went into Pigeon Forge. We ate dinner at a local brewery there and then we watched True Grit. I paid my dues, and I pulled off a fun date.

We had a blast hanging out with the Brands in Gatlinburg.

2 comments:

Kathleen said...

If you want the pictures indoors to look less green, you can use Photoshop (or there are a few built in tools for Windows, I think) and adjust the color levels of a picture until they look normal.

Elle Belles Bows said...

What a fun getaway! Love all the pictures!! Kerri