[And I hope you had a great time celebrating too!]
These last few years we’ve mostly hung out at home – not planning
anything special and waiting until the last minute to go get ice cream
and find some fireworks –
[Last year we ended up seeing Madison’s /
Space Center’s / Huntsville’s
shows all within minutes of each other. And all without getting into
the crowds and traffic – lol.]
But
this year Craig pulled together a special family time for his mother…
for years his parents went to Gatlinburg to attend the midnight parade –
billed as the FIRST fourth of July parade in the nation since it starts
at 12:01 on July
4th.
So he got to work and we managed to have 13 family
members meet for the weekend.
[And we surely missed those who couldn’t
join us!!]
We gathered together at the Greystone Lodge in the heart of
the city and all met for a late dinner Thursday
evening… Love the balconies on this hotel that overlook a creek –
When
the door is open all you hear is the babbling creek –
even though the
highway is just steps away.
And
on Friday morning we got our chairs out early – per tradition –
and
then stopped by a handy candy shop and picked up a caramel apple for
breakfast
[I mean… why not?
There was a bear outside inviting me in...]
Then some of us shopped out in Pigeon Forge
while others hiked up
[and down!]
Mt. Le Conte.
In one day.
Yes.
[I know I couldn’t do it…]
That
evening we shopped some more in Gatlinburg – and even though there’s
been some changes in the shops in recent years – there’s still enough of
the staples [taffy – wind chimes – candy corn – walking sticks – fudge –
pancakes – stuffed
bears – wood carvings – quilts – t shirts – etc.] to feel like it’s
always been the same.
It was soon time to get ready for the parade...
Since we'd eaten a big meal for lunch [Johnny Carrino's] we grabbed a quick sandwich at Subway
and we gathered up around 10:30;
and
yes, our chairs were SOAKED,
But they were still there -
It really is kind of neat how no one bothers the chairs
that people put out as early as 6:30 a.m
[Yes.
We did it too.]
We had garbage bags to put down to sit on ---
We had garbage bags to put down to sit on ---
We weren’t going to let a little rain stop us
from enjoying the evening!
And
it really was a nice parade with lighted floats – tributes to all
of the military –
bands – and of course the shriners in their little
cars…
And honestly - I've never seen so many Uncles Sams in one place...
After the parade we headed straight to bed because Craig had made
reservations for him
and our boys to do some fly fishing early the next morning…
And
even though the water was HIGH because of all the rain –
I still think
they had a great time together.
I went along to play with my camera a
bit – and was kinda, sorta, hoping we might see a bear… but all I was
saw was tracks and poop
[I know - TMI.]
I love that we can be SO CLOSE to civilization and yet
it feels so far away
once you get into the trails outside of the city….
And yes. They all caught a few – tiny ones – but with the water like it was that was just about as good as it was going to get.
[Photo Cred: Kat Gorney]
That
evening we all gathered together at The Peddler where
Gr-Mother treated
us to a special meal.
It’s always outstanding.
[We ate there on our
honeymoon over 30 years ago – cool.]
We
enjoyed taking a few [?] family photos
Then we headed back to the hotel so we
could be ready to hear
the army concert at the aquarium [just across the
street -]
We put our
chairs out by our cars and gathered up at nine to visit while listening
to music prior to the Fireworks Show.
And it didn’t disappoint.
We were
so close it almost seemed they were shooting them off the back of our
hotel – lol.
[GREAT job on the hotel sweetie!]
And then of course, the next day we
ended our time together with breakfast at the Pancake Cabin [Log Cabin
Pancakes - ?]
Because you just can’t go to Gatlinburg without eating
pancakes at least once. We like this place because it’s off
the main drag and has its own parking lot.
With
our family spread out -- so much – four states - in seven cities I
think it was very nice to have some extended time together. Gatlinburg
was a wonderful destination for a family trip – it has enough to do
[inside and outside of town]
so that every person can find something they enjoy and plenty of
restaurants to gather together for family meals.
And while I enjoyed
meals together so much it’s not always easy to visit with everyone [even if
we’re all at the same table] without shouting down the
row… so the times when we were waiting were some of the best for me –
waiting for a table at Jose’s – waiting for the parade – and especially when we were
just visiting while waiting on the fireworks.
I enjoyed those times of just ‘being’ together the most of all –
It
was a great weekend – I’m exhausted –
and I ate WAAAAAAYYYY too much
---
so I’ve got to get back on track this week.
Happy July everyone!
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