Summer Vacation 2012: Gatlinburg

Before leaving for Gatlinburg, we handed AC a gallon ziploc bag to fill with her favorite things to take on our trip. This is what she picked.

Our trip began like many vacations do: with a long car ride. Anna Claire is so good and so easy in the car! We did have the DVD player to help entertain her, so that was a blessing. She likes the apps on my phone, especially My Playhome, but was more content looking out the window and talking to us. Excited, I think. She napped for about an hour of the drive, after stopping in Cookeville for breakfast at Chick-Fil-A. We should eat breakfast there more often. She ate up the fruit cup, yogurt, and also Larry's eggs and my chicken biscuit.

When we arrived in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, I thought I had two hours before I had to present at the TAMS conference (Tennessee Association of Middle Schools). Then Larry informed me it was an hour later: time change.

Panic ensued, but we made it to the event center in plenty of time for me to set up before 2, when I would actually have to speak.

Anna Claire loved exploring the event center with her Daddy while I was presenting. She got to check out the waterfall in front of the building, go to the arcade, and get an ice cream. :)

Then the fun began...for me. We headed to our hotel. It was clean and had an awesome pool. Two requisites when traveling with a child. We were hungry by the time we got checked in and settled, so we headed out toward the Gatlinburg strip, in walking distance from our hotel. Anna Claire was a champ for walking up and down the hills during our stay. She could totally be a San Franciscan.

As I reflect on our trip, I keep flashing back to one moment at Bubba Gump Shrimp where a man was told he had to stand up in a chair and shake his booty to get his free birthday drink from the waitress. Anna Claire loved watching him shake his booty! She was clapping along with all the waiters and afterward she said, "I want see him shake his booty 'gain!" I need to preserve that moment in print before I forgot it! :)

Bubba Gump was a good experience for us all. We were greeted at the door with sidewalk chalk and strawberry lemonade while we waited to be seated. There were tons of dipping sauces to try for our shrimp during our meal. Larry and I dominated Forrest Gump trivia. And Anna Claire scored as we were leaving, acquiring a shiny red balloon, that would later be coveted by literally every child we met on the streets of Gatlinburg the remainder of the evening.

Anna Claired loved going in and out of the shops along the strip. These folks def market to children. So many places pushing candy and ice cream, her two favorite food groups. We used our self-control though, only purchasing a rainbow lollipop and a Tummy Yum-E. There was a monkey store she loved going into that stamped her hands with monkey stamps. They are so kid-friendly. Must remember this store next time we visit.

Day 2 began at the Fun Spot. Anna Claire thought she was pretty tough driving these trucks. While riding the blue one she kept her eye on a purple one that another little girl was riding. She really wanted purple instead.

Got the purple one!

Daddy does not "do" dizzy rides, but rode these planes with AC that do spin.

This was a brave moment for both of them. Really BIG slide. Anna Claire climbed up all by herself, with Larry only walking behind her. Larry got a pretty bad burn on his arm from holding his arm out. Don't know if you can tell from the picture, but he is holding it out.

First ride on a roller coaster! Brave girl!

Cutie.

We rode the carousel when we first arrived at Fun Spot, but really wished we had picked the panda, so of course we went back and rode the panda.

Told AC she could have any snack from this ice cream sundae shaped concession stand. She picked apple juice.

Wanted to check out the castle and dragon at the mini golf place next door to Fun Spot.

Fred! Funny story about Fred. When we got home, Pop asked AC if she saw any bears in Gatlinburg. I said no. AC corrected, "We saw Fred!!"

Love this pic. I think we sat on just about every bench in Gatlinburg.

First trolley ride.

Let's ride trolley, 'gain!

We had AC believing she was really moving the ball at Ripley's.

First oyster!

She loved them! Had a 1/2 dozen (at Crawdaddy's)

What she REALLY wanted to do on our vacation: "Fwim!"

The BIG waterfall!

This is a happy child.

Got to get on a real train at the Cookeville train station on our way home.

Our last day was spent at the Tangers outlet mall. All three of us found some things we liked to take back home: AC got new Strawberry Shortcake and Hello Kitty Jibitz for her Crocs, and some new Twinkle Toes. Larry got a couple new shirts. I got a couple new shirts and some sandals.

I loved our Gatlinburg vacation. When we compare it to our Destin trip, Larry and I see that AC has made a LOT of progress. She gave us no fuss about sleeping in a big girl bed. It was also helpful to have a place with a bathtub. She loves her bath, and in Destin we only had showers, which scared her a bit. I do think it helped that we brought her bed rail that made the big girl bed feel more like a crib. She slept great and was just an awesome little girl the entire trip. We were extremely proud of her. Makes us want to take her more places.