DaveInTN's Grin-n-Bear It, On-The-Loose Fall Weekend Trip Report NOW COMPLETE

[4mickey2 41]

love the tr! anna looks so great! you guys have done her a lot of good. i agree a tn gg would work for us,too. only a 11 hour drive.

[liv luvs disney 2]

Good grief you're fast! I've been home for 3 weeks and still haven't started my TR! :rofl2:

[BRDof3...Rob 40]

Man, would I like to see a Tennessee GG next year. I just might be able to manipulate things a bit next summer. We were pretty well blanked this year, thanks to work. Do you accept Nebraska cards for admission to that Tennessee party? I'll even promise ot leave my Gator stuff at home. Well, maybe some of it.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I'm a low carber ... started 8 years ago and lost about 45% of my body weight ... and I've kept it off! Kudos to you.

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

Man, would I like to see a Tennessee GG next year. I just might be able to manipulate things a bit next summer. We were pretty well blanked this year, thanks to work. Do you accept Nebraska cards for admission to that Tennessee party? I'll even promise ot leave my Gator stuff at home. Well, maybe some of it.

the bear's might eat the gators.. best leave it :)

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

Man, would I like to see a Tennessee GG next year. I just might be able to manipulate things a bit next summer. We were pretty well blanked this year, thanks to work. Do you accept Nebraska cards for admission to that Tennessee party? I'll even promise ot leave my Gator stuff at home. Well, maybe some of it.

I am all for Nebraskans being there. I do have a list of things I would like you to bring though. Let's see Runzas, dumplings from Bohemian Cafe (both the brown and dill gravy would be fine to accompany those), some Fairbury Hot Dogs, Valentino's Pizza and if I think of anything else I will be sure to let you know.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Man! That's one pretty family. Really nice CG. Gorgeous Bacon! Loving the TR Dave. :)

Thanks for reading, H!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

H wanted to know if they had to pay extra for the rights to use Yogi. I told him "duh! It's Jellystone! He LIVES there!" Jeesh!

LOL! That is just plain funny. H had a brain Ohana.

love the tr! anna looks so great! you guys have done her a lot of good. i agree a tn gg would work for us,too. only a 11 hour drive.

11 hours is nothing for you, compared to your drive to the Fort! C'mon down!

Good grief you're fast! I've been home for 3 weeks and still haven't started my TR! :rofl2:

The question is...am I fast? Or are you incredibly slow?

Man, would I like to see a Tennessee GG next year. I just might be able to manipulate things a bit next summer. We were pretty well blanked this year, thanks to work. Do you accept Nebraska cards for admission to that Tennessee party? I'll even promise ot leave my Gator stuff at home. Well, maybe some of it.

As a fellow Gator fan, your Gator gear would get you free admission to the GG. Bring an old Tebow jersey and you'll even get free beer for the weekend.

I'm a low carber ... started 8 years ago and lost about 45% of my body weight ... and I've kept it off! Kudos to you.

45%! Kudos to YOU!

the bear's might eat the gators.. best leave it :)

I'll protect the gators from the bears. I can't promise anything regarding the werewolfs though.

I am all for Nebraskans being there. I do have a list of things I would like you to bring though. Let's see Runzas, dumplings from Bohemian Cafe (both the brown and dill gravy would be fine to accompany those), some Fairbury Hot Dogs, Valentino's Pizza and if I think of anything else I will be sure to let you know.

I have no idea what you are talking about. But I'm suddenly hungry nonetheless.

[Starbuc71 162]

I think we are going to book our big trip of the year again during 4th of July week to Tenn. We had such a good time this year for 8 nights we are thinking of just making it a tradition. Staying up and around where you do, you don't even notice the crowds unless you go into town. Since I hate crowds, the fort during the 4th and halloween is always a no no for us. Did I mention I hate crowds...lol We never waited in line in the smokey's to hike on a trail or take in the views. Love the report.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

I think we are going to book our big trip of the year again during 4th of July week to Tenn. We had such a good time this year for 8 nights we are thinking of just making it a tradition. Staying up and around where you do, you don't even notice the crowds unless you go into town. Since I hate crowds, the fort during the 4th and halloween is always a no no for us. Did I mention I hate crowds...lol We never waited in line in the smokey's to hike on a trail or take in the views. Love the report.

I was telling my Steve that I would like to go to Gatlinburg for the 4th this year. Do you think you all would stay at Smoky Bear again? We've never been there for the 4th of July. Where can you watch the fireworks? One thing I would love to do just to say I did it, (and it would be easier for us as my kids are older ) is watch the parade at midnight on the 4th in Gatlinburg. Dave, I am done hijacking your thread now. :rofl3:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

The Slide Of Death

We enjoyed a very lazy Sunday morning at the campsite, having our coffee along the streambank with a nice fire burning. Heavenly, I tell ya. And we of course had a great breakfast of eggs and bacon, plus the aforementioned pizza for a certain 5 year old. Around 11:00, we loaded up into the Fun Bus, otherwise known as the blue van, and headed out. Our first stop was Walmart. My family loves to stop into "foreign" Walmarts...which is how they refer to any Walmart while we are traveling. They claim that every Walmart is different and fun to check out. I would agree that they are all different. They all suck to varying degrees. And this particular Walmart sucked big time. If there happen to be any readers here from Cosby, TN, I have to break the bad news to you. Your Walmart sucks.

After finishing up at Wally World, we headed to a pumpkin farm in the area that I had found online.

We knew that we would be able to get some pumpkins here, but other than that weren't sure what to expect.

We were pleasantly surprised!

This place had a nice little market that sold honey, jellies, relishes and such. They also had a little food cart that sold hot dogs, burgers and snacks. And they had activities.

They had a cornbox. What's a cornbox?? Well, think of a sandbox. Only instead of sand, it is filled with corn.

Anna loved the corn. She played in it for quite a while. And after we were done, we changed her diaper in my van. And about 3 cups of corn came out of her clothes. It flew everywhere. I haven't bothered vacuuming it up yet. By spring I should have a nice crop of corn growing in the Fun Bus.

After the fun of the corn box, we turned to find another activity. And what to our wondering eyes should appear?

It's the Slide of Death!!! :bugeyes:

Ok, it doesn't look too deadly from a distance. But let me assure you, that thing is wicked!

For one thing, it's a lot bigger than it looks like. Check out the stairs...there is basically a full flight of stairs up to the platform. So it's like being on the second floor of a building when you are up there. And the slide itself, made from corrugated drain pipe, is SLICK inside! You definitely pick up speed in that thing. And while there is a rubber pad to soften your landing, it doesn't do much to stop your forward progress, especially for the heavier among us.

I took the maiden voyage with Anna.

Then DD#2 gave it a try.

DD#1.

DD#3

And then DD#4 gave it a try.

The kids started to get brave.

Anna was watching all of her sisters go down the slide, and she wanted to go again. So I took her again. But she ran back to the stairs to go yet again. And we figured we'd let her try it alone. Sometimes it is hard to remember that she is nearly 4 years old. She is so tiny. But she doesn't like being treated like a baby. So, I took her up, while DW waited at the bottom for her with the camera.

And away she goes!!

She loved it. And that's an understatement. We stayed there for a while. And finally we had to pry her away from the Slide of Death. She wasn't too happy with us.

So if it was so much fun, why do I call it the Slide of Death? Let me just say that I'm glad we keep Advil in the trailer. I'm not as young as I once was. :mort1:

After the slide, we paid for our 5 big, beautiful pumpkins that each girl had picked out, and we headed back toward the campground. It was now early afternoon, and we needed lunch, plus I wanted to check out the football games on tv. But we didn't quite make it back before we found another diversion.

A festival!

We parked the van and got out to walk around. We've always enjoyed fall festivals. We checked out the craft booths, and then found the food tents. The girls were hungry, so we got them some corn dogs and chicken fingers. Man, at this moment the whole low carb thing REALLY sucked. But we stayed strong. The girls said the corn dogs were the best they'd ever had. I watched the old guy making them. They were really homemade, and looked delicious. Oh well, next time. We had some nice edamame to look forward to back at the camper.

Coming up....You Can Fry Anything (But Don't Forget The Camera)

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

That slide looks awesome!

[LONE-STAR 370]

I need to build a slide.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Love the look on the girl's faces coming down the slide. What a great day you had and just think if you get a bumper crop of corn, you can set up a booth at the festival next year. :jumpforjoy

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Sounds like a really cool day!!

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

I love the slide pics of the girls! I'm impressed by your willpower, I'm not sure I could resist "fall festival food!"

[stefa70 205]

The slide looks like a blast, and the pics of the girls coming down it are great!

TCD will be quite happy that they called that the Corn Box instead of the Corn Hole. :whew:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I think we are going to book our big trip of the year again during 4th of July week to Tenn. We had such a good time this year for 8 nights we are thinking of just making it a tradition. Staying up and around where you do, you don't even notice the crowds unless you go into town. Since I hate crowds, the fort during the 4th and halloween is always a no no for us. Did I mention I hate crowds...lol We never waited in line in the smokey's to hike on a trail or take in the views. Love the report.

We've never stayed at one of the campgrounds closer into town. We've just been to the Jellystone twice and the KOA in Townsend several times. I'm like you...keep me away from the crowds. I can always drive into town for a couple hours to do stuff, then escape to the peace and quiet again.

I was telling my Steve that I would like to go to Gatlinburg for the 4th this year. Do you think you all would stay at Smoky Bear again? We've never been there for the 4th of July. Where can you watch the fireworks? One thing I would love to do just to say I did it, (and it would be easier for us as my kids are older ) is watch the parade at midnight on the 4th in Gatlinburg. Dave, I am done hijacking your thread now. :rofl3:

What is this midnight parade you speak of?? Sounds pretty cool!

Oh, and hijack away. I don't know where I'm going with this thing anyways. :rofl2:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

That slide looks awesome!

It was very cool. I'd never seen one like it before.

I need to build a slide.

Ok, but if you use sewer pipe, just be sure to hose it out first.

Love the look on the girl's faces coming down the slide. What a great day you had and just think if you get a bumper crop of corn, you can set up a booth at the festival next year. :jumpforjoy

Great minds think alike. Dave's Roasted Corn and Corncob Pipe Shack

Sounds like a really cool day!!

The only thing that would have improved it would have been Fiends. Which we enjoyed the next day....coming up!

I love the slide pics of the girls! I'm impressed by your willpower, I'm not sure I could resist "fall festival food!"

It wasn't easy. That's for sure! I love fried crap. And in fact, we fell off the wagon ever so slightly the next day. That's coming up later in this report.

The slide looks like a blast, and the pics of the girls coming down it are great!

TCD will be quite happy that they called that the Corn Box instead of the Corn Hole. :whew:

Please don't use the terms "cornbox" and "cornhole" together in my trip report. It kinda freaks me out a bit. :laugh:

[Sensei 18]

Every time I see Anna, I can't help but think what a wonderful life you've given her. I can only imagine what would have been in store for her if you hadn't made her a part of your family.

She is being exposed to things now that she probably could have never dreamed of in her home country.

Good on you, Dave. :bravo:

Thanks for sharing this with us.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

What a wonderful trip report the girls look like they has a great time on the slide I love the shots of Anna in the slide they looked like shots of fear and fun. We still have not planned anything for next year and a Tn GG would look like a good trip. Any love the trip report you take great pictures.

[Starbuc71 162]

Gatlinburg is known for having the 1st 4th of July parade every year. That means thier parade starts in Downtown at 12:01 am. It's a huge event with big balloons, marching bands and the whole nine yards. People start setting up thier folding chairs along the parade route around noon to save them a good spot. Unfortunatley, we could not keep the kids up that late to attend and I figured parking and getting out of there would be a nightmare at 2am (crowds...ugh). I would like to see it once though. People who stay at hotels in town would be the easiest way since they could walk back.

[Starbuc71 162]

I was telling my Steve that I would like to go to Gatlinburg for the 4th this year. Do you think you all would stay at Smoky Bear again? We've never been there for the 4th of July. Where can you watch the fireworks? One thing I would love to do just to say I did it, (and it would be easier for us as my kids are older ) is watch the parade at midnight on the 4th in Gatlinburg. Dave, I am done hijacking your thread now. :rofl3:

Most likely we would be back at Smoky Bear. That is always our campground of choice. We didn't catch the firworks since I didn't want to deal with the traffic in Gatlinburg, but Pretty much anywhere around the town you could see them. I think Piegon Forge does a good show too if you don't mind the drive/traffic. The two towns are tough. One way in, one way out.

[wak648...Bill 94]

Heck, I like the sounds of a Gattlinburg GG next year. it is only a 10.5 hour drive right down 81 for us! With a little planning and with the right timing, it just might be doable.

Oh and Dave any diet that does not include beer, is just torture plan and simple!! Fort or no Fort, I dont know if I could do it.

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

Every time I see Anna, I can't help but think what a wonderful life you've given her. I can only imagine what would have been in store for her if you hadn't made her a part of your family.

She is being exposed to things now that she probably could have never dreamed of in her home country.

Good on you, Dave. :bravo:

Thanks for sharing this with us.

I was about to type the exact same thought. Ditto!!!