The next morning, Bruce, the kids and I took a different, more scenic route through Gatlinburg and into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. We had a nice picnic in the Chimney Rock picnic area, and took a 3/4 mile hike on a self-guided nature trail, learning all about the very diverse hardwood forests of the Smokies, the most diverse hardwood forest in any temperate climate. Afterwards, we drove up to Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in the Smokies at just over 6600 feet, and hiked the pretty intense, but paved, half mile up to the top, amazingly with very little whining from the girls (though Riona was on my back)! We then decided to drive back through Cherokee, North Carolina, hoping to drive for a stretch on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but unfortunately it was closed. The town of Cherokee, located in the Cherokee Indian Reservation, was pretty depressed, having the same hokey souvenir shops as Gatlinburg without any of the business.
The next day, we had lunch with Nanny (Ann) at Mr. Gatti’s Pizza in Maryville, then went to swim at the very nice Alcoa swimming pool. The kids loved the giant slide, and Isabella even braved the small diving board herself.
On Wednesday, we decided to go to Dollywood. This was definitely another hit with the kids. We spent ten hours there, doing everything from riding the “race car ride” four times (Isabella) to buying hand-made lye soap and fresh-milled cornmeal from the grist mill located right there. Bruce and I were even able to ride a couple of roller coasters, as Donna sat with the kids.
Thursday and Friday, we hung out with Ann and Don and Donna and the kids. Bruce and I went on a short hike in Panther Creek State Park, right near Donna’s house, while the other kids played on the big playground there.
On Saturday we headed to Kentucky, where we made a stop at Elizabeth’s husband’s parents’ house, located in Lewisburg. We enjoyed swimming in the pool, had a nice pizza dinner, and then went on a hike the following morning in a nearby nature preserve. The pool really felt good the second time around, and Jeanie, Zak’s mother, prepared a delicious taco dinner before we drove the two hours to Elizabeth and Zak’s house.
On Monday, we mostly hung around Elizabeth’s house, weary from traveling. In the afternoon, we drove over to Murray, walked around the town square, and had some fast-melting ice cream from Dairy Queen in the scorching humidity. That evening, Elizabeth and Zak treated us to a night out in Paducah to celebrate our tenth anniversary while they watched the girls and took them swimming at a neighbor’s pool. We went to Whaler’s Catch, a local seafood place, had a delicious dinner, and then walked around the downtown area and the banks of the Tennessee/Ohio Rivers, watching all the huge barges push goods towards the Mississippi.
The next morning, Zak stayed home till late in the morning to spend a little more time with the girls. We packed up and headed out after lunch, driving all night and arriving home, completely drained, at six this morning. We are now getting ready for the upcoming school year. Isabella has Back-to-School-Night tomorrow night, we have a mandatory orientation on Saturday morning, and I have a ton of stuff to do to get my classrooms ready before I officially return on August 7.
