Trip Reports

July 20-21

Another Tripplette: The Invasion

When we last left our happy twosome they were putting the final pieces onto their jigsaw puzzle and awaiting the arrival of the rest of the group....we got the call that they had arrived and would meet us at Dollywood around 3:00....at Dollywood if you purchase your ticket after three the next day is free......we headed over for a delicious BBQ lunch and a nice treat......the BBQ stand had some'mores....made with real graham crackers and whole hershey bars.....just like we make around the campfire....wrapped in foil and deliciously gooey.....needless to say I was in heaven....Some'mores and Dipn dots all on the same day......two of my favorite non Disney treats......we met up with our family around 3.....and now instead of two we were eight....Bill's mom, neice, sister, her hubby, and their two girls.......the girls were anxious to hit the rides so we headed over toThunder Alley.....and then the younger ones split off and we tired old fogies sat and watched a really good Fifties rock and roll show....very, very talented cast and nice production values especially considering the park's size.....after the show we took brother-in-law over to view the Tornado when to our surpriuse there was no one in line....he was expecting a little time to get used to the idea of riding it but we insisted he get on right away....he did and we got a great picture of his descent into the mountain.....we rounded everybody up and headed off for supper at the Grist Mill.....then back to the cabin to blow up three queen size air mattresses....funny how everyone headed off into the hot tub or the hills when those flat, giant babies made their appearance!.....after much huffing and puffing we got them inflated and hit the sack.....of course, we drew the leaky mattress and awoke on the hardwood floor swathed in plastic......coordinating eight people and one bathroom is fun too....but soon we were off to the park...nothing major to report except for the cute little guy who shared our river rapid vehicle who excitedly told me all about this great new ride at Epcot Center called the Test Car.....we also had fun on the Slidwinder...a ride I wish they would get at WDW....it is basically the log flume ride but in a shallow soft sided plastic toboggan so you can bank it on the dips and turns.....really, really fun....and a great splashdown....they have your party stand on a large scale before boarding and weigh you so that you don't get stuck.....our party of six weighed in at 911pounds...... another great feature at Dollywood is that if you buy a souvenir mug they refill it for all time for only $1.15 or $1.25 depending on the beverage.....you can come back yeasr later with the thing and they fill it...Fla has a law prohibiting this so we'll never see it at WDW....tired and wet we headed over to the outlet mall where we spent most of the time trying to pry the preteens out of the Claire's Accessory outlet!........then off to the Walmart Superstore for charcoal and dinner fixins'.......stopped at a great used book store for some paperbacks and learned more of Dolly Parton's good works...the woman has done incredible things for her community...in additon to funding major projects at the schools and hospitals I learned that any baby born in the county is given a book every month of their life until age five when they enter school...what a wonderful idea.....as a teacher I know of many kids who enter kindergarten never having had a book in their home....I made a mental note to donate to her fund the next time I was in the park.....after a dinner of hamburgers expertly grilled by my Bill we settled back and watched the lightning play over the mts....then we were hit with the most amazing lightning storm.....ever been on top of a mt. in an electrical storm?......it's not an experience I want to repeat anytime soon......so we hit the air mattresses.......this time we got the "good"one.....we drifted off to sleep listening to the rain on the trees.....beautiful........

Tripplette #2: Tennessee

Well, this portion of the trip report will seem a little dull since I jumped the gun and posted the Beadzillians segment first. The stars of the report are myself and my husband. We were heading to Tennessee for a week. We left Tampa around 4:30 a.m. on Friday...... Yes, we are some of "those" people...we like to get an early start and beat the traffic......well, there was hardly any traffic and we got to Cartersville, GA at 11:30 a.m.......a little too early to stop so we cancelled our reservations at the Hampton Inn and made new ones for Chattanooga.....we checked in around 3:00 and headed off to the mall nearby....of course I had to check out the local Disney Store......it was beautiful...very large with a special room for the more expensive artwork...the room was round and had a beautiful painting on the ceiling.....bad luck though...they did not have the Tiny Kingdom Slinky Dog....I have the whole set for Bill for Christmas except for that darn dog......it was funny watching people walk around the mall.....it's right by the interstate and alot of the people had obviously just been to WDW.....saw lots of t-shirts from the parks and a few kids wearing their "ears"......the next day we continued on to our cabin stopping along the way to visit the Lost Sea caverns.....this was lots of fun.....the caverns have inscriptions carved by Confederate soldiers who used the caves during the war....there is also a boat ride on an underground lake.......when we emerged from the depths it was pouring rain.....we slogged on to our cabin......we had very specific directions but they didn't prepare us for the ascent.....we went from a four lane road..to a two lane road.....to a single lane paved road hanging off the side of a mountain...to a single lane gravel path going straight up the side.......what we'd have done if anyone had been coming in the other direction is anybody's guess...is there some kind of mountain ettiquite for this?......who backs up?: the ascender or the descender?.......we finally got to the end of the world and our cabin....it was absolutley beautiful.....very spacious and wonderfully decorated.......the view from the back porch, complete with hot tub was awesome......we literally could not see any other cabins or signs of life at all.......if anyone wants a serene vacation without roughing it I highly recommend Autumn Ridge's McKenzie Cabin.....lovely furnishings, full kitchen, satellite t.v., washer/dryer, full bathroom and huge whirlpool tub in the bedroom overlooking the mountain......all in all our vacation was off to a great start.....

Tripplette #3: Smoky Mount Majesty

We awoke Monday to a light drizzle....."It'll stop soon" we thought and headed off to Dollywood.....well, it stopped drizzling all right...so that it could pour!.......we got our season passes and sloshed into the park......the rides were closed so we saw some shows and got our shopping for souvenirs done.....after a great lunch at Aunt Granny's buffett we decided to head over to the outlet mall......it was on the tram back to the truck that I saw the Tennessee version of our Beadzillians.......but they were following park ettiquitte.....none of their body parts were hanging from the vehicle......did some shopping....the Fossil store had a commerative Mickey watch for a great price which I didn't buy and when I went back later it was, of course, gone.....it finally stopped raining as we headed home to grill some steaks.......had a lovely evening relaxing in the hot tub and watching Christmas movies on FoxFamily Channel's Christmas in July.....started a jigsaw puzzle which I thought would be easy and ended up taking most of the week to complete....Tuesday dawned clear and bright, and so much cooler that Florida.....the park was not crowded at all so we waited for nothing.....Dollywood has some wonderful rides, especially the new Tennesse Tornado....a great coaster with loops, spirals, and plunges through the side of the mountain......she also has a simulator ride called Thunder Alley which is light years better than Star Tours....I really wish they would update Star Tours.....the ride involves chasing a tax-evading moonshiner through the country.....four people sit in two rows in a vehicle, similar to USF's Back to the Future.....watched a master craftsman make blown glass pitchers and mugs.....all in all a good day....headed back to the cabin to grill Italian sausage and try to put more pieces in that darn puzzle!..........on Day 3 we decided to head up the road to the other outlet center because I had heard they had a Disney catalog outlet.....they did....but there was very little merchandise and what they did have was not much of a bargain.....oh, well....I guess the Character Warehouse in Orlando has spoiled me.......had lunch at the Tastebud's Cafe...a tiny little place we had read about in the travel section of the St. Pete Times.....the food was delicious and they had pictures on the walls of all the celebrities who had eaten there.....not your ususal tourist place and well worth seeking out if you are in Pigeon Forge.......since this was our last day of solitude before other family was to join us we headed back to enjoy our secluded view......there was one cabin further up the mountain and I said "Hey, why don't we drive up there and look."...bad idea...the road was soft due to the rain and our truck began to slide backward down the mountain.....scared the bejeebers out of me!....we quickly decided to walk up the hill to see our neighbors.....after a lovely meal of grilled pork chops I got to watch one of my fave Christmas movies which is never shown anymore....it stars John Denver and is about a developer who wants to tear down a town that still believes in Santa......we diligently put more pieces in the puzzle and got it almost completely done.....I resolved to finish it in the morning before the thundering hordes of neices and other family descended upon us!

Tripplette 4: Take the long way home!

The day started with the best of intentions.....we would arise, eat breakfast, and leave for Tampa.....arriving home around 4 p.m......but I had to visit just one last shop....and ended up trying on a bunch of clothes...by the time we got lunch and left the Columbia it was after 1 p.m......oops....so we called Hampton Inn in Darien and booked a room....got there and decided to explore the area......of course the historic fort was closed because it was Monday...it is a beautiful small town.....lovely waterways and fishing boats...we were told of a local restaurant called Mudfish Charlies......after a couple of false starts we finally found it.....I always used to look over from the interstate and wonder what was in all that swampy area on either side.....now I know.....we had wonderful crab stew, stuffed flounder, and shrimp and scallops......one weird experience though....there were two t.v.s in the place....I looked up and one had a montage of John Kenedy Jr.s life while the other one was on VH1.....as the montage played on one tv the other was playing Rod Stewart singing "Forever Young".....gave me goosebumps......stuffed, we headed back to the Hampton ...but I had the fixins for my favorite junk food, tv. viewing pig-out......Pop secret Homestyle popcorn and m&ms......I nuked the popcorn in the lobby and we headed up to watch That 70's Show and chow down......it doesn't get much better than that folks.....you must try the popcorn/M&M combo...it's one that people say "ewww" until they try it......After a deluxe Hampton Inn complimentary breakfast we headed down the highway for home.....until.............a miraculous turn of events......as we neared Jacksonville, where we normally veer over to the other side of the state I hear a voice suspiciously like that of my husband say "Do you want to go to Downtown Disney for lunch before we go home?"......"Must be road fatigue or some kind of auditory hallucination?" I thought.......until he said it again.....well what would any good r.a.d.p er respond but "Heck, Yeah!".....so off we go....we got there and decided to hit Bongo's for steak sandwiches and plantain chips......there were very few people around......"Gee, it's not very crowded." I remarked innocently, over and over, until he finally took the hint and suggested that we call CRO and see if we could get a room.....well, we did...granted it was at Sports...my least favorite of the All-Stars but hey.....we checked in but the room wasn't ready....we headed over to Animal Kingdom to get our annual passes replaced since they were sitting over in Tampa (never leave home with out them..let this be a lesson!)....I figured there would be a charge but there wasn't...the CM said to be sure to keep using these new ones as our old ones would no longer work......we went inside to hit CTX...the park was blazingly hot....especially after the mts....where it never got above 82 and was not at all humid.....rode once and then went back to shower and change for MGM......

Tripplette 5: Ham is Heavy!

We arrived at Sports and were assigned our room.....I have asthma and always get a non smoking room......Now I have neglected to mention that every time we go to Tennesee my husband buys a country ham from this one farm...they slice it for him and we vacuum seal it and he enjoys it for a year.....he had kept in refrigerated and now we had it quadruple wrapped in the big cooler.....so we haul this gargantuan cooler full of ice and ham to the room......which was far, far away from our parking space.....we open the door and the room reeks of smoke.....the Marlboro Man and the landlady from Kingpins must've made it their weekend love nest.....I call the desk and they assign us a new room....in another building on the top floor.....so we drag the ham and our weary selves there....Bill perched on the cooler while I went off to get new keys.....of course by this time it is four p.m. and there are nine thousand people waiting to check in....luckily a CM noticed my exhausted, peeved face and got me new keys right away....I trudge back, we secure the ham, shower and relax ......it looks a little like rain but not much.....we vote to leave the ponchos behind.....we head over to MGM and had a nice dinner at Hollywood and Vine.....next stop RocknRoller Coaster.....waited about 30 minutes.....the ride was down earlier...when we rode we had no music....no Steven Tyler countdown, no songs,.....still a good ride but the music makes it much better....since it was E Ride Night we decide to do the Kingdom....got on the bus to the Contemporary....as we got off it began to lightning......big time......we sprinted up the hill...entered the park, got our wristbands and it began to pour....no fireworks....we had to buy ponchos...rode Pirates and Pooh (geez, could they make it any more sickly sweet?...... I like Pooh but I want my Toad...pout,pout)....I finally got a score above 20,000 on Buzz Lightyear!.......pitiful but I am actually proud of my puny 88,000........rode the 3 Mts. and the Mansion and then decided we were too tired to stick it out til 2:00 a.m.......stopped at the bakery and got my traditional cupcake feast...........at 12:45 we boarded the bus and hit the hay......strangely enough it had not even rained at the hotel......slept soundly and arose the next morning....we had planned to hit Epcot and try to get on Test Trac but decided to head on home......so we lugged the ham out to the parking lot and began the journey home....tired.....definitley broke....but happy.....how can you go wrong?......Dollywood, Beadzillians, and a bonus side trip to Disney with E-ride night thrown in for good measure.....and that is my trip report, dear readers....if you made it this far you deserve a medal......and now I am off to tackle mountains of laundry......

Down the Mountain

Well, all too soon, it is Sunday and we must depart...we made sure everything was spotless and loaded up the vehicles....I took a while to write in a journal that the cabin owners keep....every person who stays there writes something.....we left behind a supply of Mickey soaps and shampoos for the next occupants.....our next stop was not one I was looking forward to....my grandmother had lived on her own for over forty years following her husband's death....last month she had to give up her home and move into an assisted living facility.....we were going to visit her there for the first time.....she now lives in the Presbyterian Apartments in Clinton, SC...they are quite lovely and the grounds are beautiful but it was heartbreaking for me to see her there....while we were dating and poor newlyweds Bill and I spent many, many weekends at her home....fishing, hiking, and helping her keep the place up.....we spent several hours there and fixed her t.v. and cable so that she got a good picture......and hit the Walmart for things to make her room more homey.......we left her when the dinner bell rang.....but I did feel better....the place is almost like college for older people......and now she is not spending her days alone.....we headed on to Bill's moms to spend the night and then head back to Tampa the next day......

Phyllis Driggers

Diznee39@aol.com

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