Growing a Little Schulze: April 2012

We took advantage of a few open days in Jeff's schedule for a last minute family getaway to Gatlinburg. We left the evening on March 13th and came back up on the 15th. We thought we'd be good on the drive up: we'd stop and get dinner about half way through for a break and then Claire would drift off to sleep around bedtime. Well, she did eventually fall asleep. But only for about 45 minutes. She woke up around 9 and cried and cried. We discovered that she would calm down if one of us held her hand. So Jeff and I took turns wrenching our arm into the back seat to hold her little hand for 45 minutes or so.

We had booked a king suite at the Sleep Inn because it was supposed to have a bedroom and a separate sitting room. The hope was to put some separation between us and Claire for sleeping since we all sleep better that way and we could still talk or watch TV after she went to bed. This was not what we got. Apparently those rooms were all full. So our king suite was an in-room (literally) hot tub, next to a king bed, next to a sofa. The front desk was not terribly accommodation so Jeff paid a little more for two adjoining rooms, which was what we had tried to avoid in the first place. It just seems so indulgent to have a room just for a one year old.

Our first day there we explored the town of Gatlinburg. We enjoyed the aquarium, and the little shops, and the aerial tram up the mountain. Jeff enjoyed the Ripley's Believe or Not museums. I was thrilled that Claire napped in her strolled! We weren't sure if she would since she hasn't done it since she was 6 months old.

Looking down at the town of Gatlinburg

Checking out the fishies!

Just chillin out on the glass

Look at those teeth!

Jellyfish

Saying hi to the diver feeding the rays

In the evening we went to a dinner show in Pigeon Forge. Jeff vetoed the ones featuring horses. Apparently he has bad memories of a visit when he was younger to the Dixie Stampede show and not being able to breathe much due to his allergies to horses. I know, what a lame excuse! :) So we chose a lumberjack show. I was nervous about how Claire would do, but she did okay until near the end. She started getting restless and it was near bedtime so we had to get up and walk a little bit. She did enjoy the food. Especially the baked beans. And since the high chair / counter top setup put her mouth right at counter top height she could suck them right off the edge!

Ready for food

Watching the show

Lumberjacks! Yo ho!

The next day we explored a little of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Lunch time! Claire just wants to play in the rocks!

We drove to Cade's Cove. It's a green valley nestled in the mountains, first settled in the early 1800s. An 11 mile loop road features multiple historic buildings. So we saw some old houses, churches, and a working mill. It was nice to drive a little bit, stop to check out a building, and then drive a little more to cool off. Claire didn't seem to thoroughly enjoy it though. Probably too much car time for her.

We left the park by way of a primitive road. Which is just code for dirt/gravel road in rough shape, drive at your own risk. I was sitting in back with Claire trying to keep her happy on the car ride home. Jeff was up front having the time of his life, driving through puddles, powering up hills, and hugging curves. That road let us out on the "tail of the dragon" road so I was feeling a little green by the time we were out of the mountains.