Finally

Today we saw the "final" Star Wars movie of the Skywalker era, or something like that.  I mean obviously there'll be more Star Wars movies.  It's just the part where there are Skywalkers:  that part is over.  Maybe.  I think what they're trying to say is that the "main story" is over, which is that story that began back 42 years ago.  Which... well....

There was this big party in the movie a celebration that happens every 42 years, and that was no doubt tied into reality, which is to say this was just a celebration of 42 years of Star Wars.  As such, we got to see little blips of different places all throughout, from Bespin to Coruscant to the forest moon of Endor.  Many characters were back in one way or another, all squeezed in as part of the celebration.

We got our seats in the back row, and can you believe that Ba-Ba and Nana came along with us?  They sure did!  The five of us went to the Port Orange theater here, and of course we got the big tub of popcorn.  The seats are comfortable, and the theater was nice with sound and a huge screen.  It was just fun to have all of us there for a movie.

It was a longer movie, or at least the experience there was with the trailers and commercials and so forth.  So when we got out of the theater, it was already dusk, and the new year was looming!  We drove home, and celebrated the last Taco Tuesday of 2019 today, and after that watched some fireworks on the beach.

As we've done the last few years, we watched the livestream from the Magic Kingdom, the fireworks show that counted down the last seconds of 2019.  Counting down along with Goofy, Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Daisy, we spent the last few seconds of 2019 in the bedroom watching the year end, and of course watching the big celebration not far from here as the new year begins.

We were all pretty tired!  It was a little more difficult making it to midnight this year, but we did barely make it.  Some might say that sums up the year, or at least the month:  we were holding on and barely made it through.  This blog sort of defies that in a way.  I mean, it records a lot of good things that happened along the way.  We could focus on cancer, bad doctor reports, and all kinds of stresses. But there was a lot to be grateful for, and a lot of good news throughout the year.

It might be like that Star Wars movie.  There was a lot that happened in it that made no logical sense whatsoever.  But... by the end of it all, rather than focus on all the negative aspects, the better choice is to look at all the good within, and be grateful we're here together.

Chiropractor Visit, then South

We completely forgot we had a visit with Doc Williams this morning!  I mean, we remembered this morning - but yesterday we realized we had this appointment, but at the same time we knew we were going to Florida.  So this morning we did the right thing and went to that appointment - and then left from there to go to Florida.  It made no sense to drive home and then back down again.

So we met with Doc Williams and each of us got our adjustments.

Or, at least a headlock or two!  And then it was drive time, heading south on our usual journey to Daytona.  The traffic was there again in Henry County as it always is, but otherwise the trip was rather smooth.  In fact, it was rather dull!

What helped were all the podcasts we were listening to on the way down, really filling the time.  The recent one on Dolly was great, something we listened to three episodes of.  There was a Ripley's one we were listening to, and then another concert show featuring Abbie the Spoon Lady.  Finally, we were listening to several messages by Perry Stone as well.  These really helped this occasionally monotonous ride down.

We stopped in Cordele, and ate at the Chick-Fil-A there as always.  We filled up with gas there, and that's when Daddy started driving nonstop until we got to Daytona.  It was a straight drive down, and it was a rather quick one too.  The roads were thick with lots of holiday traffic, but everyone was behaving, so we made it down without really any incident.

What a nice greeting here in Florida.  Ba-Ba was in the parking lot with Nana, both of them there to say hello as we arrived.  It's so great to see him doing so much better!  We did a lot of talking and catching up, and Daddy was already working on KidPak stuff here on the balcony.  Madison is set up on her computer as well, and the weather is actually a little cooler outside.  For Florida, it's cool anyway.

We said our prayers, grateful to get here safely, and grateful that everyone is doing well.  It's going to be a nice time down here.

Last KidPak of 2019

This morning was our last KidPak service of 2019, and it was our usual New Year's Eve themed service, although there was a train element to it, as we're still in the midst of our "All Aboard" theme. We were talking about waiting at the station, waiting on God - who is always on time.

Daddy was talking about the future, and all the great things in store, and remarkable inventions - even flying trains.  Which was just a cheap excuse to show Doc Brown's train.  But the other invention was that mind-scanning device that we use frequently at KidPak, so we used that on kids to show them on the big screen how they could use their time in the year 2020.  It was silly fun, and of course there was a nice message to follow.

Mommy had spaghetti for us when we got back, which was delicious as always.  And the rest of the day... we were packing for a little bit, although mostly it was Mommy.  Madison and Daddy tried this game for the first time, this one she just got for Christmas called "Super Smash Brothers."  It was fun for Madison to see all the characters, and I know she'll be playing this one a lot in the coming months.  She's already hooked.

We went to bed earlier tonight, as we were tired from last night, and we're getting up for a big journey tomorrow.  We're going from one vacation to another, with Kidpak in between.  Not much time for rest lately, is there?

Daddy was thinking he might have a few moments to rest next week, but then he was reminded of all the upcoming deadlines... and yeah, we'll just save that "rest" thing for later I guess!

Reflections of Dolly

This morning we came back to Dollywood for a bit, but as it turns out, we stayed a bit longer than originally planned.  I think the original thought was to catch a show, perhaps, and then maybe a ride that Madison didn't get to do with Mommy yesterday.  But the weather was nice, and Mommy was feeling better today, so we made up for some lost time yesterday and did a few more things that we missed out on yesterday, and that was pretty nice.

I love the fact that upon arriving, the first thing we did was go into the bakery for a look-see.  The thing about season passes is that you're able to do that, walking in and just looking around at scenery and taking your time about things.  It would be nice one time to sit in those rocking chairs towards the back, the Rocking Chair Union, and sit for a spell.

Today was that sort of day, with us leaving the bakery and walking over to a favorite store of Mommy and Madison's, one that they like to look around at, one filled with all kinds of girl things, like clothing and jewelry.  Daddy stepped outside and took some pictures, including this one here.

It's a reflection of Dolly in a puddle from the rain last night.  It was interesting to see right there in the concrete, a bit surreal, actually.

Everything in the whole park is decorated so nice.  This old 50's town even had some great storefront windows filled with items that had a Christmas or December theme.

When the girls got out, we returned to Red's Diner there to get ourselves something to eat.  We used our mugs and got a few things to eat, filling our tummies before heading out again.

Close by is the museum that's right there, so we looked around inside that again.  Madison wanted to see the coat of many colors once more, but there is a whole lot more to see there of course.

We made our way in, took a few photos and saw the jedi hologram Dolly, and then shortly after that there was the coat of many colors again.  Madison posed for a picture beside it.

There's a lot to see and read there in the museum.  We typically spend quite a bit of time in there, just looking around and seeing new things.

You can see Mommy and Madison here reading something on the wall.  There was a new area too, one dedicated to the charity set up to help those who lost their homes in that terrible forest fire a few years ago.

After this, we were over to the ride that we came here for.  Madison likes this ride a lot, and Mommy does too - they were riding it together, although the line for the ride was pretty substantial.  Daddy waited nearby in a waiting area that was in the shade, a nice spot to just sit and relax.  Finally, as you can see above, Mommy and Madison got on board, and they had a great time going up... and down.

It's not quite a huge free fall, but it's a nice ride nonetheless.  Madison is a little fearful of heights, so this - for now - is as far as we go up.  She sort of has this idea of her maximum height to go up, and this ride pretty much reaches that altitude.

Afterwards, we did one other ride today, and this one is traditional, of course.  It's Dumbo!

Or, it's Dollywood's version of Dumbo.  Flying elephants are a popular ride - the line for this one was long too.  All three of us waited in line for this one, and it was a nice, long ride going up... and down... and round and round...

It was fun, of course!  Getting off the elephants, we looked at the clock and saw that we had time to head over to a show, the one called "Christmas in the Smokies."  We walked over towards the area where the show was, and the line was ginormous!  But we got in line nevertheless, and we got into the show, despite the warnings that we "might not make it in."  

As for the show itself, it was really, really good.  The singers were extremely talented, and there were a few new Christmas songs that were very moving.  A song sung by Gabriel, Mary and Joseph was one of our favorites, but there were plenty of other classics as well, along with period costumes and a very nice set.  

When the show was done, we made our way back to the Christmas shop nearby, and sure enough, there was the ornament we were looking for, a small coat of many colors.  We found it in the shop right away, a nice souvenir of our Christmas in the Smokies.

Afterwards, the plan was to leave, but there was this other show we missed yesterday, and we just barely got into this one too, timing it perfectly really.  

It was called "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," and it was nice.  We liked the other production better, but this one was worth seeing as well.  The shows here are so great though - all of these have a Christmas theme to them, so I imagine when things start up again in the spring there'll be shows of a different kind playing, which will be great to see.

After this show, it was definitely time to leave.  We stopped to get some candy and fudge, and also our official cards for the season passes.  But after that... it took forever to leave.  The trams were infrequent, the crowds leaving were huge, and the traffic in Pigeon Forge was immense.  It's the holiday season, and that's all you can say. 

We left late, and Daddy drove home in darkness - and rain - but we made it safely, and before midnight.  It was a long drive, but listening to all kinds of podcasts helped, and it was an easy drive once we got out of Pigeon Forge.  

It was a nice trip overall, our Christmas getaway.  It was a Smoky Mountain Christmas, and we'll be sure to do it again... maybe next year!

Tender Tennessee Christmas

We were back into the Dollyverse today, a new term we just heard from a podcast we've been listening to.  It's a fun way to describe all things related to Dolly Parton, but the irony is that Madison was listening to this podcast which featured both Dolly and simultaneously a story of civil war in Lebanon.  It was an interesting podcast, but what made it ironic is that Madison did projects this semester on both Dolly Parton and Lebanon.  

Anyway, we got up later, as Daddy didn't sleep that well in this hotel - although we can blame some of that on still feeling a little sick.  Still, we got up, ate a bit, and were off to Dollywood, and you could hear the Christmas music in the background just setting up the atmosphere.  Occasionally we heard the song "Tender Tennessee Christmas," and that just said everything.  That's exactly what we were having.

We got into the park for Day Two, and it took us a while to navigate the parking tram crowds and so forth, plus getting into the park itself - so we cut things close.  Still, we made it in just in time to see the production of "It's a Wonderful Life."

We got there just in time to see this - it was a musical version of the classic story, and its in the theater right at that front entrance.  They did a great job with this!  It was over an hour long, and just sucked you into the story.  The song they gave Mr. Potter was hilarious, and although the story was actually shorter and had to cut a few things out, it was still engaging and the performances and songs were really well done.

Speaking of "well done," afterwards, we went over to the Front Porch, that restaurant we visited the first time we went to Dollywood.  There was a half-hour wait, but I'm not sure what happened here - a party of three didn't show up and we were right there, and less than five minutes later, we had favor and were in the restaurant.  It's a nice place!  There are gluten-free options there, and the other food there is delicious as well.  We all ate a very filling meal once more.

Afterwards, we went for a spin on the old 50's cars, listening to "Jingle Bell Rock" and older Christmas songs.  Mommy and Madison traditionally ride this one together, with Daddy trailing behind.  I managed to get this picture as we were looping by each other.  It's a fun ride.

We did the carousel after this, going for a spin on that ride.  Madison gets on a horse, while Mommy and Daddy have a seat on one of the thrones they have set up on either side.  It's basically a seat for two, where we sit together and go for a spin.  Here's Mommy just before the ride.

After that, things got a little sketchy for us.  Mommy wasn't feeling that well, and it was all due to the recent hospital visit.  It's normal stuff, which is unfortunate that we call it normal, but we had to head back there and leave Mommy at the hotel.  She had this lap top and she had Disney Plus, so she had somethings to do while there and while she recovered.  But the rest of the day was Madison and Daddy, and there were primarily two rides Madison had on her mind.  This was one of them:

The bumper cars.  I am not making this up.  We went on this ride five times again tonight.  It's like an I-285 simulator!

This one got hit a little too hard!  We had another funny moment where four cars got wedged together, completely blocking up the entire pathway, and causing the mother of all traffic jams.  It was this solid mass of immovable bumper cars, and that also shut things down for a bit.  But Madison loved every minute of it.

We got some drink cups, and we got some cotton candy too.  And then we were on the Scrambler a few times as well, the other ride that Madison wanted to go on.  Daddy more or less endures that spinning ride, but Madison loves going on it!

We headed back to the 50's area, pretty much on our way out of the park at that point.  Most people were doing the same thing, leaving the park for the day.  We knew we'd be back again tomorrow.

In the end, we went back to the other car ride over the track, and rode on through the night just before the closing hour of the park.  But as everyone was leaving the park for the night, Daddy handed the camera to Madison so she could take some photos herself.  These below are some of the ones she took!

And so we found ourselves at the entrance of the park again.  We looked up and there we saw Rudolph, wishing us all a good night!

At one point, Rudolph saw us both and waved goodbye.  As he was doing this, there was more snow falling on the ground from above.  It's snowing a lot up here in Pigeon Forge, but only in Dollywood for some reason...

Anyway, it was a pleasant night.  Mommy was doing much better when we got home.  We didn't have any trouble getting to the tram and getting to the hotel again, and Madison had a great time tonight, doing all the rides she wanted to do.  There's one ride she still wants to do left, and that one we'll conquer tomorrow.  But despite the setback today, it was still a pretty full day with lots of fun in the Dollyverse.

Into the Dollyverse

Okay, we ate the gag gift:  Pringles Roasted Turkey flavor.  We did that on our way up to Pigeon Forge this afternoon, a pretty nice drive north the day after Christmas.  Traffic wasn't too bad further up, although in our immediate area things were a bit thick.  We packed and left, not in too much of a hurry as our only plan was really to check into our hotel and then head over to Dollywood by nightfall.  We accomplished that goal easily.  Our hotel isn't the best place, but it was open on the day after Christmas when we made these last-minute reservations.  Next time, we'll be planning ahead a little more so.  But no matter, what we came for was Dollywood and the Christmas lights there, and they did not disappoint!

Our only thought was to just walk around and see the lights, and there was so much to see.  We used our season passes for the first time, got our free parking and walked into a winter wonderland!

Lights and butterflies were everywhere, and as much as there is to see each October with pumpkins and so forth, there are a just as many other things to see with the place completely decked out for Christmas.  There were so many Christmas lights all over the place, and so many things to see, just walking around.

At the middle of one area, a large LED Christmas tree glowed, and actually had a bit of a light show on the half-hour, several times each night.

As you can see above and below, it changed colors and actually became animated, at one point even looking like the coat of many colors that Dolly herself wore once upon a time.

At the conclusion of the show, snow actually began falling all around us - or at least something that looked like snow.  The crowd was thrilled, including Mommy and Madison.

It was a nice touch.  It was actually pretty chilly too, which was fine as it added to the overall atmosphere of the place.  Here's Madison now, wearing her new Atlanta Braves hat amongst the falling snow.

Afterwards, we were in an area called Glacier Gulch, which had this beautiful blue light display that is impossible to just show in one picture.  This one below sort of sets it up.

These strings of light surround you completely, and it's a quiet area with a soundtrack of tinkling ice and forest sounds, one that everyone quietly goes through, completely reverent in a way.  It was beautiful.

Just below that, there was a meet-and-greet, and we had an opportunity to take a photo with Clarice, the reindeer from "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."  This area was so nice, with Sam the Snowman and other decorations from the famous television special there.  It just added to the magic!

We dropped by the chapel after this, and it too was decked out with Christmas lights, looking quite nice as always.  There are church services here each Sunday, and we were sorely tempted to attend one this weekend, if only for the fact that we have our own church responsibilities this upcoming Sunday.

Nevertheless, Madison sat down at the church's old piano and played a tune.  She needs to catch up on her practice a bit - and also the piano needs a little tuning!

Just outside the church was a nativity scene, which reminds us of the reason for the season.  But you'll see a lot of that throughout the entire park, as Dolly reminds us that Christmas is all about Jesus' birth.  This is so obvious, and yet sometimes forgotten by others, and therefore pleasant to be reminded of.

The interior of the church was decorated, and in fact the whole place was decked out.  Even the music tracks on certain rides were tied to Christmas - the carousel played Christmas music and the little cars on the roadway were playing 50's Christmas music.  Everything looked just lovely for Christmas.

In the older areas, all the buildings were lined with Christmas lights of differing colors, illuminating the entire park.  You can see here below, we're surrounded by lights on trees and buildings.

In this photo above, we're seated somewhere special.  We got there early enough - because we're trained by our experiences at Disney - to get prime seating for the Christmas parade there at Dollywood.  It's called "The Parade of Many Colors," and the place where we were standing/leaning was actually a place that is usually reserved because you can see so much all at once - it was a prime viewing area.  But being a weekday, we were able to get there and sit there.  Daddy held the spot as Mommy and Madison toured the old Dolly home - we were on the front porch of that as the parade would go by.  And soon enough, it did start coming.

It takes a lot to compete with a Magic Kingdom parade, but this did do the job.  It was a beautiful parade, with lively Christmas music and excited participants.  The costumes and lights were colorful and fantastic!

Sure enough, a train went by, along with gingerbread men and candy canes and elves and all sorts of Christmas magic.  Everything else was so lit up as well, you didn't need a flash for cameras and you didn't have a hard time seeing anything around you.

As you can see here, from our vantage point, we could see all the way down to the market area and watch the parade as it approached and passed by.

And then we could get a nice look at each float or costume as it got closer.  It was all very exciting, and just a perfect thing for the Christmas season.

These snow globe costumes were a big hit.  And this parade, it just kept on going by with more and more and more.  Eventually towards the end, there again was that reminder of the reason for the season, which made this parade even more meaningful, fun, and a wonderful celebration.

The music was familiar, from Michael W. Smith and other Christian recording artists, and this float above celebrating peace on earth was gorgeous - only outdone by this float below showing the Nativity scene itself.

If there was one thing we came here for tonight, it was the parade, and it did not disappoint us in the least.  We still had a bit of time and energy (we slept in this morning very much!). So we explored the park some more after this, including a swing by the iconic water wheel area, looking so beautiful at Christmas time.

And we walked up through Glacier Gulch again, this time to go explore a new area that opened just this year.  Everything was decorated, even the old mining building there.

We passed by all this, and we then found the entrance we were looking for, the entrance to a new area of the park called Wildwood Grove.  It was later, but the park extended their hours for us, and we were able to explore this freshly opened area of the park, now decorated for the first time for Christmas.

There weren't as many people over here in this area, so we could move around without worry of long lines or bumping into so many others.  The decorations were amazing - take a look at this water feature.

It looks like a stringed instrument, but that's water coming from the stem of this branch.  The whole area had the look of something you'd see in the world of Tinkerbell, but minus all the fairies.  And there were plenty of new rides, some of which too tempting for Mommy and Madison to pass up on!

Look at them hopping along on these little frogs!  There was no line at all for this, so why not?  They "hopped" on, and had a good time riding along.  Madison had her hand in the air at one time like she was riding in a rodeo!

There were all sorts of photo opportunities along the way, including this nice cut-out area we spotted nearby the frog and the bear ride.  Oh, I forgot about the bear ride.  Want to see the bear ride?

This was super cute.  Mommy couldn't pass up on this one either.  You rode these little bears through a forest area, a long path of into a wooded area.  It's a very pleasant ride, and you can tell above that Mommy was loving it.

Oh, and I almost forgot the acorn ride.  That was crazy.  We all three fit into this spinning acorn that whirled up and up and up - we spun and went upward into the night.  I think the funny part was the three of us actually fitting into this enclosed acorn, but we did it, and it was pretty fun too.

We didn't expect to do any rides tonight, but the lines were short and it was fun.  And also, it was close to the exit too.  That part of the park is near the entrance/exit.  So once we were done exploring this new section, it was time to find our way back to the parking tram again.  It was busy there, but things moved along.  We parked a long way off, as there were some pretty big crowds.  But it was a fun night, and again a complete surprise to Madison we were even going until she got that Christmas gift yesterday.

The neat thing is we'll be going to Dollywood tomorrow.  And the next day too.  That's the great thing about season passes.  Hopefully we'll catch some shows, but the season pass allows you to relax somewhat in your planning, and that's what we'll be doing a lot of this weekend:  enjoying a relaxing time at Dollywood.