Robert F. Thomas Chapel

This morning, we got up, got dressed, and went to church!  This is the first church service our family has been to together since March, and yes it's the Robert F. Thomas chapel in Dollywood.  We got there a little early, in fact too early.  So early, that Madison and I went to the Demolition Derby first and rode about three times today, and even got on the Scrambler one time.  Afterwards, we got to the church in time for service this morning.

I helped drag out the chairs with some of the others for service, and there were chalk marks on the ground around the chairs to create sections for people to sit in.  There were several groups of people there for church when it started, and it was nice.  The message was from Psalm 85, the service itself points delivered between brief songs we all sang together, including "Amazing Grace," of course.  When all was said and done, we were grateful for the chance to go to church - in an amusement park, no less.  It was a very unique experience!

Madison and I helped with the chairs putting them up afterwards, and then we were back to Daredevil Falls, which is right next to the church, pretty much.  We went down the Lost River a few times in a row, as the line was super short.  In fact, today's lines were much, much shorter than yesterday's, which were hardly there at all.  We walked on the ride two times in a row, and then stuck around in the area because there was a "Wings of America" show starting soon.  The three of us got front row seats there, and yes, everything was spaced out somewhat because of the pandemic, so there weren't as many people in the audience.  We waited a bit, and then got to see one of the few shows there are going on right now, this due to the pandemic.  

Being in the front seat, we got some great pictures.  This is the red-tailed hawk, and below is an owl that is found in Egypt.

There was another owl, and another smaller hawk as well.  But one of our favorites was the buzzard, who we've seen a few times before at this show.

The show is great because it's put on by an organization that helps protect a lot of these feathered friends.  The focus is mostly on eagles there, of which they've saved something like 179.  But the other birds were very fun to watch. 

I love this shot of the vulture about to land.  It's got a challenging job, the vulture does.  We have a pretty good appreciation of the skill set this remarkable bird had, including smelling something dead up to four miles away.  Of course, everyone was waiting for the grand finale after this, and that was this amazing Bir here, America.

Literally, the name of this eagle is America.  This bald eagle seems to be doing well here, although the left wing might be working kind of funny.  Actually, America is doing just fine, and is quite sizable in fact.  It's a very large bird.

In the 1960's, there were under 400 nesting couples in America, and the bald eagle was clearly in trouble, threatened with extinction.  This is one of the good stories, and of course this conservation group has done a great job promoting this super important bird, and helping to protect it.

Okay, so the show we walked down through the Blacksmith's area, admiring the rain chains they have there.  Firstly, I've never heard of a rain chain before.  It's a unique item.  Secondly, the very next day we saw an advertisement on our specific social media feed, one all about rain chains.  As if they were peeping in on us, hmmmm?

Anyway, we got to the Front Porch Cafe again, and got pretty much the same thing as yesterday.  Madison used up a lot of their hot sauce, while I was enjoying the corn soup.  It was a nice meal there.  The service has been really good, and the waitresses completely understanding about Mommy's dietary needs.

The rest of the day was spent with Mommy getting some rest back and the hotel, while Madison and I were all over the park again.  We rode River Rampage two times in a row, and got pretty soaked there.  I got more wet this time around for sure, and Madison just got a little splash or two.  No, not me.  It was as if someone walked up to me with a bucket of water and threw it on me!  Which is okay, because that's the whole point of the ride.  That, and things being completely random as to who gets wet here or there.  

One funny thought early in the ride.  We looked to the right, and saw a place where they floated the unused or damaged boats.  There was one without the inflatable thing around it, just the interior.  These poor boats lost due to storms and battle.  Arrr.  This brought up a small conversation about Davy Jones happening upon the crew of these round, circular boats, asking dismayed tourists if they fear death.  In fact, Davy Jones is there right now, his crew looking through the debris of wrecked amusement park boats, asking those quivering tourists if they'd like to join his crew.  It's Dollywood, so those that say no are just shown the exit, which just behind them.  Maccus can give them a hand off the boat so they can find their way, and please don't forget to put on your mask.  Of course, the act of putting on your mask suggests you might in fact fear death, so Davy Jones and his crew are a little ambivalent about the mask thing.  For one, it's difficult to put on a mask that accommodates a lot of tentacles on your face, even if you're immortal and only doing it to be a good example for others.  The more pressing thing about the mask is by putting it on, you're saying you possibly fear death.  So Davy Jones is sort of in a quandary there.  Lately, he's opted to not wear a mask, but he's letting his crew decide for themselves which path they feel is best to take on their own journey.  The great thing is that at Dollywood, you don't technically have to wear a mask on water rides, so there's no judgment there.  Davy Jones does not have a "Karen" on board.  We're sure how that "no mask on water rides" rule applies to the seven seas, or even that little upside down place near his locker.  Next time I see him, I'll ask.

ANYWAY, and more on topic, we did the 50's cars again, and this time Madison had her own car.  She picked a white one with a fancy decoration on it.  She was quite happy with her car.

We did the bumper cars again after that, and she got some good hits on me tonight. We've done these bumper cars over ten times I think!  This was the last time though, as we had to get up the hill and to the train station.

At the train station, we finally made it on there for a ride.  We have not made it for a ride yet, as there have been long lines and limited seating due to the pandemic situation.  But tonight we got there with enough time, and on the last ride, no doubt!  We were able to enjoy this train ride so much, just because it's a train, darn it.  Seriously, it was a very nice ride.  Also, we saw some wild turkeys along the way, which was nice!

After the train ride, we did River Rampage one more time, just because the line was super short and we had just barely enough time.  Then, it was time to head out to the exit.  We stopped at the Emporium and did a good bit of shopping.  Madison got herself a necklace, and we just did some looking around for nothing in particular.  We went home after this, or at least back to the condo.  

It was late, but we watched the latest KidPak service together, but not long after that, it was time for bed.  We were pretty wiped out from all the activity, but it was a really nice day!