Sunday, October 25, 2009

     After church today, we made our annual trip up to Gatlinburg.  It's somewhat of a pilgrimage to the mountains to feel the brisk cool air of the higher elevations, and see the brilliant colors of the leaves.  We timed it well this year - the weather was perfect, and the trees were vibrant with color.  It takes about three hours to make the drive up, but we all packed in the car, very ready for some time away.  

     Madison gets so excited when she knows we're going somewhere.  It's not like we tell her either - she's a very smart girl and can tell we're about to go and do something fun.  She starts running around the house, being overly helpful and making lots of noises.  She gets really impatient too - it seems nobody can pack fast enough!

     The trip was fairly easy - with the exception of the last fifteen miles through Smoky Mountain National Park.  It seems there was an accident there that must have stopped traffic nearly all the way back on that windy road. 

     The rivers were rushing by, so full compared to last year.  The weather was chilly, but that's what you'd expect this time of year in Gatlinburg.  We arrived at our hotel, the Bearskin Lodge - which was located right as you enter the city limits.

     This hotel looks like the Wilderness Lodge at Disney, doesn't it?  It's actually nowhere near as elaborate, but it is right there in town along the river and convenient walking distance to a lot of attractions.  Plus, it has a fireplace in the room, which is a plus!  Take a look at Madison, getting cozy by the fire:

     We walked around downtown and got some taffy from one of the candy shops.  No trip to Gatlinburg is complete unless you come back with taffy.  We ate at KFC tonight, figuring that tomorrow we'd eat some place nicer along the road.  Tonight, it was just nice walking up and down the street looking at fall decorations and sneaking into a shop or two in order to look around.  There's this one area called "The Village" that we like to drop by - the decorations are very nice.  Tomorrow, we'll drop by when the light is better so we can take some pictures.

     It was a late night tonight, but Mommy and Daddy got to use the jacuzzi as Madison fell asleep in the crib we brought along.  We watched "The Nanny" on television again and again until we figured we'd better get some sleep:  tomorrow's going to be a big day!