Gatlinburg

Over the Labor day weekend, Becky and I decided to grab my mom and dad and cruise down to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for a nice relaxing holiday. We all had been before, but being as Gatlinburg is only 4 or 5 hours south of us, it seemed like the logical place to go considering our short time span.

We loaded up the van, and headed out on Friday, ready for our adventure!!

The last time I had been to Gatlinburg was for my cousin Scott's wedding, nearly 5 years prior, and I was shocked to see who much Gatlinburg had changed and grown! When did Ripley's Aquarium come into town? We navigated the streets and soon found our home for the next three days.



See that awesome cabin we stayed in? Ok, we didn't stay there, but we could see it from our hotel room...so that kinda counts, right?

We could also see the pool from our balcony.



I took this picture right before I tore my shirt off, threw the camera to the side and lept forth with the rally cry of "CANNONBALL!" Ok, I didn't do that either, what are you, the lie police?!?

We walked downtown and fought the people. Being a holiday weekend, we knew there would be a lot of people, but this place was really hoppin!! I think it must have been Vegas week because the city didn't sleep! We talked dad into going on the Motion Simulator ride, where you are strapped into a chair and it jerks around, up and down, simulating a roller coaster or some such thing...it was so funny to watch him jerking around over in his chair. The first ride ended, and he started to take off the seat belt when the announcer said "Sit tight for the second ride!!"

Dad just looked at me, stunned, and said..."There's another one?"

The second day, we went to Pigeon Forge. Pigeon Forge is full of fun things to do, but none as exciting as the multi-level Go-Kart Track!! Dad, still woozy from his Motion Simulator experience, sat this one out, as did mom, but Becky and I entered the track with one thing on our minds...out racing each other!!



The race was tight. I held the slim lead at the beginning, but a wide turn allowed the very shifty Becky to squeeze in on the inside (even though the annoucer said NO BUMPING ALLOWED!!) I tried to regain the lead, and I almost did on the last lap, as another kart had the inside lane, forcing Becky to go wide. I snuck up within inches, but in the end, Becky went around that kart, too.

I lost.

Next, we contemplated going to this odd building...



The place was called Wonderworks, and it featured a large array of virtual activities. We decided the price was a bit too steep, so we took some pictures and headed towards Cherokee, NC for some gambling.

The casino in Cherokee is big, but surprisingly hard to find. Once we got there, we started in hard and fast...

Hard and fast at losing our money, that is!! I guess we should have spent the money on Wonderworks!!

I think mom came out ahead, but it couldn't offset the losses the rest of us suffered...I left with a sick feeling after Dad finally was DEALT a straight flush on the video poker, stopped to show us all what he was dealt, then promptly hit the deal button without holding the straight flush, causing him to loose his awesome hand, and the $25 booty that it would have brought.

We took the windy road back to the hotel, dejected. Mom and dad walked down to the Gatlinburg strip one last time while Becky and I watched Big Brother (we are addicted, folks!!) and we make one last treck down after the show was over.

We had a good time, and I won a Tiger-esque 3 putt-putt matches in a row, so I can't complain!! Monday we drove back and decompressed from the stress that the tiny town with a lot of people brought. I don't know if I'll ever go back, just too busy...unless we score that awesome cabin in the trees!!