Tuesday, July 18
We departed our hotel at noon for home sweet home.
We had lunch at a Krystal in Williamsburg, KY. It was fun going somewhere that was new to us. They serve mini-sandwiches similar to White Castle. My favorite was the chicken sandwich. We watched a backhoe tear up part of the concrete on one side of the restaurant. It kept us entertained for a while!
It's 5:30 p.m., and we're back in Indiana! We still have about a 4 to 5 hour drive home.
We stopped at Fry's in Fishers, IN. It's like a Wal-Mart for electronics -- pretty cool!
We stopped for dinner at Donato's (pizza), in Kokomo.
We arrived home just before midnight.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Photos From Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg
A Rainbow Fish!
Sharks Swimming Overhead!
A Patriotic Looking Fish! 
Monday, July 17 in Sevierville & Gatlinburg, TN
We started our day early with the complimentary breakfast, followed by swimming outdoors and in the lazy river. After swimming, we showered, and got ready for our last day in Tennessee.
Next door to our hotel, was a really neat store called The Beehive. Tom and the boys dropped me off, then drove across the highway to check out the helicopter rides. While they were there, they all decided they wanted to take a 6 minute helicopter ride; so they called me so I could capture the excitement on my camera! They picked me up at the store, and we headed over to Sevier County Choppers.
At this point, the best way to describe their experience, is to look at the photos and videos that I took from the ground, and that they took from the air!
Eric rode in the front seat with the pilot; and Tom and Kevin rode in the back. The pilot took them up about 2,000 feet. Eric said the pilot did a small drop, too! They all were really glad that they had the opportunity to experience it!
After the helicopter ride, we headed towards the Great Smokies. After what seemed like an hour of bumper to bumper traffic through Pigeon Forge (on a two-lane road), we finally entered Gatlinburg and the Great Smokies.
We went bear hunting, but didn't see any this time. It was a beautiful, sunny day in the Park.
After spending time taking photos in the Park, we headed back to Gatlinburg to the new Ripley's Aquarium. The Aquarium was awesome, and contained some sea life that we had never seen before.
After spending several hours at the Aquarium, we drove to Pigeon Forge for dinner. We ate dinner at Alabama Grill, which was kind of like a Gatlinburg Hard Rock Café.
We started our day early with the complimentary breakfast, followed by swimming outdoors and in the lazy river. After swimming, we showered, and got ready for our last day in Tennessee.
Next door to our hotel, was a really neat store called The Beehive. Tom and the boys dropped me off, then drove across the highway to check out the helicopter rides. While they were there, they all decided they wanted to take a 6 minute helicopter ride; so they called me so I could capture the excitement on my camera! They picked me up at the store, and we headed over to Sevier County Choppers.
At this point, the best way to describe their experience, is to look at the photos and videos that I took from the ground, and that they took from the air!
Eric rode in the front seat with the pilot; and Tom and Kevin rode in the back. The pilot took them up about 2,000 feet. Eric said the pilot did a small drop, too! They all were really glad that they had the opportunity to experience it!
After the helicopter ride, we headed towards the Great Smokies. After what seemed like an hour of bumper to bumper traffic through Pigeon Forge (on a two-lane road), we finally entered Gatlinburg and the Great Smokies.
We went bear hunting, but didn't see any this time. It was a beautiful, sunny day in the Park.
After spending time taking photos in the Park, we headed back to Gatlinburg to the new Ripley's Aquarium. The Aquarium was awesome, and contained some sea life that we had never seen before.
After spending several hours at the Aquarium, we drove to Pigeon Forge for dinner. We ate dinner at Alabama Grill, which was kind of like a Gatlinburg Hard Rock Café.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Sunday, July 16 in North Carolina, on our way to Gatlinburg
We are planning to stay in Sevierville, just north of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, the next two nights.
We drove to Little Switzerland to check out Emerald World. We bought a $35 bucket of mixed gems, and all had fun sifting through it looking for treasure! We did get some really neat stones, but no treasure.
On the way to Gatlinburg, we drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a beautiful drive on a gorgeous, sunny day! Surprisingly, Kevin and Eric wanted us to stop at every pull-off to take pictures! They BOTH really seemed to enjoy the views, and the curvy road. We honked our car horn in almost every tunnel!
After checking into our hotel (Clarion, Sevierville), we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We decided to call it a night so we could all get extra rest, since Eric is still fighting his cold.
We plan on swimming after breakfast tomorrow morning, since that is one of the things that we haven't done on our vacation yet. The hotel has an outdoor lazy river. We stayed at this hotel several years ago, and really liked it.
We are planning to stay in Sevierville, just north of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, the next two nights.
We drove to Little Switzerland to check out Emerald World. We bought a $35 bucket of mixed gems, and all had fun sifting through it looking for treasure! We did get some really neat stones, but no treasure.
On the way to Gatlinburg, we drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a beautiful drive on a gorgeous, sunny day! Surprisingly, Kevin and Eric wanted us to stop at every pull-off to take pictures! They BOTH really seemed to enjoy the views, and the curvy road. We honked our car horn in almost every tunnel!
After checking into our hotel (Clarion, Sevierville), we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We decided to call it a night so we could all get extra rest, since Eric is still fighting his cold.
We plan on swimming after breakfast tomorrow morning, since that is one of the things that we haven't done on our vacation yet. The hotel has an outdoor lazy river. We stayed at this hotel several years ago, and really liked it.
Saturday, July 15 to North Carolina
Tom was right about going to the park yesterday. The heat index is supposed to be over 100 today.
It's about noon, and we are leaving for North Carolina!
We ate lunch at a Bojangle's which was one of our favorite stops from a past road trip.
We arrived in Morganton, NC, about 8 p.m., unloaded the van, and got ready for dinner.
We ate dinner at The Fatz Café. It was similar to TGI Friday's, but better! They served warm poppy seed rolls with cinnamon butter--yummy!
We are staying overnight at the Hampton Inn, and are extremely pleased, on our way to visiting the gemstone mines in Franklin, NC, tomorrow. The beds and the pillows are soooo soft--makes everyone happy!
I am soooo excited about tomorrow, and the rest of our trip!!!
Tom was right about going to the park yesterday. The heat index is supposed to be over 100 today.
It's about noon, and we are leaving for North Carolina!
We ate lunch at a Bojangle's which was one of our favorite stops from a past road trip.
We arrived in Morganton, NC, about 8 p.m., unloaded the van, and got ready for dinner.
We ate dinner at The Fatz Café. It was similar to TGI Friday's, but better! They served warm poppy seed rolls with cinnamon butter--yummy!
We are staying overnight at the Hampton Inn, and are extremely pleased, on our way to visiting the gemstone mines in Franklin, NC, tomorrow. The beds and the pillows are soooo soft--makes everyone happy!
I am soooo excited about tomorrow, and the rest of our trip!!!
Friday, July 14 @ Williamsburg
We've all been spoiled by really nice hotels, until now... Actually, it probably wouldn't be quite so bad if it had better pillows; but ours are as flat as pancakes.
Tom REALLY wants to do Busch Gardens today, even though I think it would be better if we waited until tomorrow.
He went downstairs to use the internet, since ours in the room isn't working, to check on the hotel situation. The boys are happily playing Game Cube!
Turns out the internet problem was actually OUR fault, due to a broken cable!
Busch Gardens Europe (Williamsburg) is one of the nicest theme parks that I can remember going to. There are even complimentary pads and tampons available in the women's restrooms!
Tom and the boys rode ALL the roller coasters, while I checked out ALL the gift shops! The only ride I went on was the train around the park. It was hot and humid most of the day. I was really wishing I had someone to shop with and hang out with, but it was my own fault for not wanting to ride the coasters. We did check in with each other often, and met for lunch and an Irish dance show, which was awesome!
We left the park about 9 p.m., and stopped for dinner at a really neat restaurant called Food For Thought (Eat, Drink and Think). The food was great!
We've all been spoiled by really nice hotels, until now... Actually, it probably wouldn't be quite so bad if it had better pillows; but ours are as flat as pancakes.
Tom REALLY wants to do Busch Gardens today, even though I think it would be better if we waited until tomorrow.
He went downstairs to use the internet, since ours in the room isn't working, to check on the hotel situation. The boys are happily playing Game Cube!
Turns out the internet problem was actually OUR fault, due to a broken cable!
Busch Gardens Europe (Williamsburg) is one of the nicest theme parks that I can remember going to. There are even complimentary pads and tampons available in the women's restrooms!
Tom and the boys rode ALL the roller coasters, while I checked out ALL the gift shops! The only ride I went on was the train around the park. It was hot and humid most of the day. I was really wishing I had someone to shop with and hang out with, but it was my own fault for not wanting to ride the coasters. We did check in with each other often, and met for lunch and an Irish dance show, which was awesome!
We left the park about 9 p.m., and stopped for dinner at a really neat restaurant called Food For Thought (Eat, Drink and Think). The food was great!
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