Our adventure began Sunday, June 28th. We left early that morning and headed South to Tennessee. We made a playland lunch pit stop on the way so the little ones could get out and stretch their legs and their vocal cords. We finally reached our destination at around 5:30 pm. There it was...an 8 bedroom log "cabin" in the hills of Pigeon Forge. As should have been expected the pictures on the website were much nicer and cleaner than the version we actually received, but all in all it was great. We were there with family, our children, parents, nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters and in-laws. The house slept 24...we had 25. Most of the time there was plenty of room for all of us, the only times we became a little crowded was meal time or corn hole time. 25 people trying to fit into the kitchen to make their plates was a little tight, but still doable. It was when all of the furniture got moved to one side of the house for an indoor corn hole tournament that extended the length of the house (from the kitchen sink to the windows in the living room) blocking all access to the refrigerator that it was at it's worst. No access to the frig without disrupting the game is a big deal when you have thirsty children involved.
We tried to coordinate activities the best way we could with everyone but we did end up going our own separate ways a few times. There were tubing trips down the river, a trip to the dinosaur museum, more than one trip to the Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg, some laser tag, crazy go-cart driving, swimming, hot-tubing, hay riding, trail walking, souvenir shopping, lots of Krogering, black bear seeing, horse petting, a night at the Dixie Stampede and of course....corn hole contests in the house with a few nights of Texas Hold-Em thrown in.
Friday evening we went on a hayride through Cades Cove. It was amazing, incredible, awesome...you name it. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Sitting there seeing all of God's Majesty surround me left me speechless. The wildlife, the trees, the mountains....WOW! Sitting there on the trailer full of hay I leaned over and whispered to my husband..."so, when are we moving to Tennessee?". I would have stayed in a heartbeat. I would have stayed in one of those old homes built in the 1800's in Cades Cove if it meant I could be that close to God and his creations. It made me think of all of the things that people rush to do in a day. It made me think of all of the "advances" the world has made and how so many of them have created a selfish, self centered country. How people used to work together for the better of everyone. How families were committed and connected for life. How our value system has changed and how our lack of morals, ethics or commitment has seemed to take place of pride in our work and honor in our family.
I believe that God has given us many choices to make in life for reasons only he knows. I believe that God has created a wondrous beautiful world and people are so wrapped up in themselves lately that they don't take the time to thank Him and enjoy the gifts that he has given us.
So, I am seeing that my post may not have ended up like I planned it to when I started writing it, but I believe it ended up like it was supposed to. I planned on writing about our vacation and sharing stories of all the fun we had and the places we went. Instead it took a turn towards where we've been and where we're going...and in simple terms...I'm not liking where the world is heading.
I will end with sharing one of the best moments on our vacation....we were in the van traveling South to Tennessee and somewhere along the trip Adriana is sitting in the backseat listening to her FP3 (it's like an Ipod) she's singing along with her Bible Songs music and I hear Tori say "Adriana why do you have your hand raised?" Adriana's reply "I'm not raising my hand, I'm praising Jesus!" Amen, Baby...Amen! :-)
10 years ago