April 10, 2010 – Kevin, Penney, Andrea, her friend, Dani and I are headed to the mountains for Spring Break! We loaded up and hit the road about 2pm today, NOT as early as Kevin would have liked but he is taking 3 women and a Lady Bug :) Good luck this week dude!
The drive was really nice, lots of pretty spring trees and flowers beginning to bud out, I sure hope Penney packed the Zyrtek for my allergies.
The girls slept much of the way, Kevin and Penney talked business so I put the headphones on and listened to some tunes.
As we got to Knoxville, we found an Apple store… the IPad came out this past week and Penney just had to go check them out… Nope didn’t buy one, but spent a tons of time talking with Josh asking questions and playing with the machine. The 3G technology will not be available until the end of the month so Penney & Kevin decided to wait.
Back on the road, we stopped for a yummy dinner at Macaroni Grill, then off to the find a hotel. Penney neglected to make reservations for tonight :), but we found a nice Country Inn & Suites.
April 11, 2010 – On the road again… We are taking the scenic route today, through Maryville, Townsend and along the beautiful Parkway. We stopped several times to enjoy the views, and even put out toes into the icy cold water.
The stream is beautiful, we cannot wait to come back this summer and either raft or tube down it.
The girls even left their mark…
Our next stop is in Gatlinburg TN. This is a beautiful city with many unique shops, restaurants and attractions. We walked the streets, enjoying tasting free samples of homemade fudge, wandering in and out of specialty stores, stopped for a quick lunch and then headed up the sky lift to the top of the mountain to enjoy the views from the top!
Ripley’s has a huge presents here, including the Believe it or not, Guinness World of Records, Earth Quake Experience, the Mirror Maze and the Aquarium.
After a few hours we headed to Pigeon Forge to check in to our hotel. Penney was invited to stay at the New Spring Hill Suites, which had its grand opening only 3 days ago.
What a beautiful property, very spacious, well designed and decorated. There is a fitness center, indoor/outdoor pool, hot tub and lovely sitting area.
The General Manager was very welcoming.
Tonight we had a yummy dinner at TGIFridays, and then took a helicopter ride to see the beautiful city at sunset!
April 12, 2010 - This morning Andrea and Dani decided to sleep in (they stay up SO late), so I went with Kevin & Penney… we stopped at Cracker Barrel before hitting the shopping malls. Pigeon Forge has several outlet malls to choose from as well as many fun and interesting local stores.
So we go back and finally get the girls up and going… on to the newest attraction, the Titanic.
We were all given characters of people that actually sailed… Penney was Helen Churchill Candee, age 53 from Washington DC, Kevin was John Astor, age 47 the richest man on the ship and also married to an 18 year old. Andrea was Lillian Benthan, age 19 an orphan from Europe. Dani was Elaine Brown, age 15 her father was going to open a hotel in Washington. All had so much to live for and look forward too… and all were rescued and survived except for John (Kevin) Astor who was crushed when one of the smoke stacks collapsed.
The exhibit was very interesting and amazing, all of the employees were in character and told stories, we were able to sit in a lifeboat and hear the stories of the survivors. We felt the COLD water that so many others died in, and were able to see the memorial wall of all those saved and lost on April 15, 1912.
Next the girls wanted to ride in a Zorb… wow what a ride!
and then the sky scraper
We found a really fun and cool diner for Lupper (lunch and supper combo), Happy Days! Yummy chili cheese burger and fries!!
We rounded the evening out with go cart racing…
After a LONG day, we headed back to the hotel. The girls went tot he fitness center and swimming pool, however, I settled in to watch some tv while Kevin and Penney pulled out the laptops and played catch up on emails.
April 13, 2010 – Another beautiful sunny morning, cool crisp air so off we went for a drive in the mountains. Looking at the spring flowers and trees, the bubbling brooks and the awesomeness of God’s Country!
After a quick lunch we are on to more attractions and fun… more go cart riding, the mirror maze, and laser tag. Another full but fun filled afternoon.
Tomorrow we have to pack it up and head back home, sure wish we could extend our getaway a few more days!
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