Solitude in the Smokies (trip report 6/23-27)
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TerriB · 06-28-2005, 09:45 AM

Who: me (30 wks. preggo & gestational diabetic)
DH
DS (aka Rob, 3y 11 m)
Where: Townsend, TN
Why: Family Vacation

Thursday, June 23rd

Roused Rob at 6:30 and carried him out to the minivan in his pjs (had clothes to put on him later), hoping he would doze back off. Should have known better. Got a late start (6:45 a.m. vs 6-6:30 a.m.) but still managed to beat the morning rush. The late start meant we didn't make it all the way to Lexington for breakfast as we had planned. Should have taken that as a sign of things to come. We stopped at the Cracker Barrel in Dry Ridge, KY instead.

As we were exiting for the restaurant, DH realized he forgot the game controllers for the Playstation (which he had connected to our new overhead DVD player). So while he and Rob are in the restroom, getting Rob ready for the day, I consult the waitress as to the location of the nearest Wal-Mart. Bonus -- it is just down the road, less than 1/2 a mile!!

After breakfast, we head to Wal-Mart. DH finds controllers he deems acceptable (but they need batteries, so he had to get those as well), and I pick me up some dried fruit to use for my morning snacks (which have become nuts and dried fruit, especially when I'm out and about). We also get Rob some sunglasses as it appears he left his at home.

We pay for our purchases and try again to get underway, but things to seem to be conspiring against us. Less than 20 miles after our stop, we hit unmoving traffic.

According to the "gossip" along the traffic, there was a serious accident with fatalities (did see the emergency helicopter leave). We were there almost 2 hours. Some people found a way to pass the time.

Finally got rolling again.

Stopped at the rest area in Jackson, KY for a picninc lunch and to let Rob run off some energy. Reenergized, we start out again, hoping against odds that Rob will nap in the car. No such luck since DH had been letting him play Playstation games. About 11 miles from the Kentucky-Tenn state line, we hit another backup

At least this one moved, albeit slowly, because it was from construction. They had one lane open, and people were using the closed lane to pass the slow traffic then (as I call it) "begging over" when they got closer to the construction. That plus the large number of semis slowed things up immensely, but Rob took it in stride.

On the other side of the construction (just barely), we stopped at the Tenn. Welcome Center for a preggo break (dr. requires a stop every 90 minutes) and to grab a state map. I was consulting the map as I walked back to the minivan and had forgotten about the two-foot high concrete planters they had sitting in the middle of the sidewalk until I walked into one of them. I have a nice big bruise as a souvenier of our stop at the Welcome Center. LOL

Finally reached our cabin around 4:30 p.m.

Unloaded the van and put away the perishables. I don't know if it was the way they were packed, the insulating power of the cooler, the cooling ability of our ice sheets, how cool we kept the inside of the minivan, or some combination thereof, but the frozen stuff I packed at home arrived at the cabin still frozen solid. Here is a quick tour of the cabin.

The living area (yes, that's a whirlpool tub in the corner near the fireplace)

Rob's Room

Our Room

The beds in these rooms were like 3 feet high. DH actually had to climb into bed. We had bought a small air mattress for Rob to sleep on because the bed was queen-sized. Given the height, we were glad we had it along.

The kitchen

The Porch (looking in at the tub)

and the other side

We headed out to dinner at the Back Porch Restaurant (very close to our cabin). Had a table on their "porch" overlooking the river. DH had the pan fried chicken while I had the fried trout. Both of us rated the food as very good, but Rob had had enough for one day and really showed himself. Back to the cabin and we called it a day.

TerriB · 06-28-2005, 09:52 AM

Who: me (30 wks. preggo & gestational diabetic)
DH
DS (aka Rob, 3y 11 m)
Where: Townsend, TN
Why: Family Vacation

Friday, June 24th (our tenth anniversary)

Had originally planned this as a down day, but again things conspired against us. I realized I had not packed any additional testing strips and didn't have enough for the whole trip. In addition to some food stuff that I had forgotten, we also thought we needed a bag of ice because the ice maker in the cabin had only dropped two sets of cubes since we had been there. So it was back into town. Was able to get my strips without any problems and found the food stuff we needed. DH and Rob got lunch at Burger Kings while I ran over to Kroger for some lunch stuff for me (BK's flame-broiling disagrees with me). Then it was back to the cabin.

As we neared dinnertime, I checked on the chicken that I moved from the freezer to the fridge that morning. Still frozen solid. So at 6 p.m., we head out again for dinner. We first stop at Apple Valley Farms Kitchen, but the menu is more lunchy than dinner oriented, so, since it is our anniversary, we decide to head into Gatlinburg for what had been our favorite restaurant -- the former Burning Bush, now the Applewood.

The route we take deposits us in the middle of the chaos that is Pigeon Forge. I hate traffic, and this in nothing but wall-to-wall taillights. We catch a small reprieve in between PF and Gatlinburg, but it is the same bumper-to-bumper stop and go in Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg gets on DH's nerves more than PF because there is no room between the sidewalk and the road. We finally get to the restaurant, but can't find a parking place. I'm ready to throw in the towel and head back to the cabin, but DH has decided since he's come this far (and it has taken this long) he is going to eat here NO MATTER WHAT. Not the stress my blood sugar needs.

We finally find a spot and get into the restaurant. There's no one at the hostess stand!!! After a couple of minutes wait, we are finally pointed (not escorted) to a table. We sit there a while without menus before someone comes to take our drink order. At that point we ask for menus, and it takes another 10 minutes before those come. We are brought the house speciality "Applewood Juleps" (non-alcoholic) and apple fritters with apple butter. I have to decline all of these, but Rob, my juice-hater, liked the julep so well that he ordered it for his drink (kept calling it apple juice).

By the time we order our food and the first course (soup) is brought out, it is 8 p.m. All told, from the first bite of soup to the last bite dessert, it took an hour, not including how long we had to wait for drinks and menus. I'm not sure if they are chronically understaffed or were just not expecting such a rush on a Friday night, but I only saw a total 4 different waitresses (counting ours) in what parts of the restaurant I could see.

We took a different route home (through the national park) and had much less traffic, but since it was dark, DH was a bit paranoid about encountering wildlife, namely deer. Little did he know what fate had in store in the next 48 hours.

TerriB · 06-28-2005, 09:54 AM

Who: me (30 wks. preggo & gestational diabetic)
DH
DS (aka Rob, 3y 11 m)
Where: Townsend, TN
Why: Family Vacation

Saturday, June 25

Before the trip, Rob had been asking for a "guys' day out" (he and DH went to the circus back in March without me and Rob loved the time with Dad). So, DH and I decided this would be their "guys' day out" in the national park. DH took Rob on a nature drive/hike. According to him, along the way they saw several deer just standing beside the road, watching the traffic go by. Here are a couple of picture of them "on the trail".

I had packed them a pb&j picnic lunch, which they ate before their hike. They got home about 4 p.m. While they were gone, I read and napped. Overall an uneventful day.

TerriB · 06-28-2005, 09:57 AM

Who: me (30 wks. preggo & gestational diabetic)
DH
DS (aka Rob, 3y 11 m)
Where: Townsend, TN
Why: Family Vacation

Sunday, June 26

Since we didn't get our down-day on Friday, we made this our quasi-down-day as we were getting things together to go home. Our excitement came in the afternoon. As I was getting my lunch ready, I looked out the kitchen sink window and locked gazes with a visitor.

Of course, we all know the real reason she (yes, she, without a doubt, she) was there.

Rob thought it was absolutely fascinating.

After lunch, everyone took a nap. And I do mean everyone.

A little later, closer to dinnertime, we had another visitor.

After dinner and bath, DH loaded what he could into the van, then it was bedtime all the way around, because we wanted an early start the next day.

TerriB · 06-28-2005, 09:59 AM

Who: me (30 wks. preggo & gestational diabetic)
DH
DS (aka Rob, 3y 11 m)
Where: Townsend, TN
Why: Family Vacation

Monday, June 27th

We finish loading the minivan, then head to Apple Valley Farm Kitchen for breakfast. At 8 a.m., they're closed!! So we drop the key off at the office and head into Marysville for breakfast at Hardee's. A quick stop at BP for gas and ice, then it is on the way home. We make a preggo stop at the KY welcome center (which has no planters in the middle of the sidewalk) and stop for lunch at the Cracker Barrel at exit 115 (a usual stopping place for us when we're headed to Huntington, WV). Home by 3:30 p.m.

End of our tale of the trail.