Dollywood

This past weekend Michael and I went to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. We went with our friend Kelly, her three boys, mother, father, and two sisters. Going with kids always makes the experience more enjoyable. To quote Michael, "I found the 5 year old in me again." I got to ride the Dumbo ride with Kelly's youngest son who directed me when to make the elephant fly up and down. Kids get so excited with everything especially when we get off of rides. We just loved listening to their perspective of the rides. It was Michael's first trip there which is always an experience no matter how many times one goes there.

Dollywood is on the edge of the Smokie Mountains; therefore, it draws a very local crowd along with people from all over the states. Dolly Parton created the theme park as a tribute to the area. There are rides as well as museums to learn about the culture of the Tennessee Appalachian Mountains. In addition, there is a nice museum about Dolly's life and where she started. It truly is amazing how she built herself up from literally nothing. Some might find her annoying, but I think that she is quite entertaining who has stayed true to who she is, quirks and all.

I don't know if it is because of where the park is located, but the fashion of Dollywood is ALWAYS very interesting. Amusement park dress can always be interesting, but Dollywood seems to be extra terrible. There are the normal people there in normal clothing. However, we lost count of how many mullets we saw, too tight of clothing on larger people, children who never go out of the house, and just so many other fashion no-nos. Some of it is really quite sad, but come on people. The tv show "What Not to Wear" would have absolutely no idea where to begin with all of the fashion issues in that park. I'm not a huge fan of reality shows, but special episodes where they go to amusement parks and discuss what not to wear would probably be fairly entertaining. Michael was flabbergasted by the atrocious attire of the client el at the park. I cannot give an accurate explanation of what it is like to people watch there as it is simply something one must experience. Nevertheless, fashion aside, the park is a wonderful place. It is kept impeccably clean with toilet paper in every stall of every bathroom. Plus, the floor of the bathroom is clean too! This point may not be very important to some, but if you have been to enough amusement parks then you know what the state of bathrooms can be like.

Anyway, the last part that needs to be discussed is the food. Dollywood has been rated as one of the top amusement parks for its food. We ate BBQ, kettle corn, funnel cakes, onion rings, and sausage. You would think that we have gigantic, but most of the food was shared with the entire group. Seriously, I can't say enough good things about the food. Oh yea, one more thing. Dollywood is known for being very East TN. There's a lot of culture there, and they have a bald eagle sanctuary. The entire park is covered in trees with a side of it being on the side of a mountain which is where the eagles live. When I visit Dollywood, I rarely get to see an eagle as they are hiding somewhere. However, this time, we saw three of them! It was really exciting.

The Past Few Weeks and Frozen Head State Park

I know it's been a while since I last posted something that detailed our lives here. August was an absolutely an insane month. It began with the beach which can read about in an earlier posting. Then we went to Charlotte to visit Catherine, John, baby Jack, and puppy Sophie. We had a fantastic time with them. Jack is a very sweet baby. It was also the first time I saw Michael with a baby, and he is a natural! However, the night before we left Charlotte, I received the unfortunate news that my Grammy had passed away.

Thus, off to Chicago for me to be with my mom and aunt to help with funeral arrangements and just to be with them. A couple of days later the family started to arrive. Now, most people simply have to arrange for the funeral, yet, because my Grammy did not believe in organized religion. She believed in God just not through a set church. Therefore, I planned the funeral service with help from Erin and Joey. It was seriously one of the hardest things I had ever done. We had a graveside service for Grammy that ended up being nice. The day was a perfectly warm summer day. One she would have loved. I led the service while Erin, Joey, and Michael read Bible verses and spoke about our grandmother. I never thought that I would have to do something like that, but I did, and my mother and aunt thought it was a wonderful ceremony.

After Chicago and a day and a half a home, we set off for Virgina. There we dropped off Erin at UVA for college. I know its crazy but leaving her there really made me miss college. I think it was the small dorm rooms. But seriously, there's something about a college campus. Plus, it was cool being somewhere that Thomas Jefferson built. Since we were all the way up there, we went to visit my Grandma Ruth for a few days. We took her out to dinner with my parents, Aunt Elizabeth, Pat, Uncle Dave, and Toni. It was a wonderful evening with my family :). On our way home, we stopped to Kelly and her three boys in Bristol, VA. Not only was it wonderful to have a break from driving, but it was great to see them. She lives in Qatar with her family so seeing them was a treat. Kelly also taught me how to knit! I currently knitting a scarf for myself and a Christmas present for Michael. It's slow going, but I'm getting there.

Once we were home from VA, Michael and I were able to get into a routine of daily life or working out, eating well, and job searching which is going. I don't want to say too much for fear of scaring something away.

This past weekend has been fun. We went to the club to watch UT win its season opener against Western Kentucky. On Sunday we took a family hike in Frozen Head State Park. It was both Manga and Michael's first hike in the USA. Manga could not have been more excited. She ran around everything. The woods are very new to her with all kinds of new smells and sights. A few times she caught the scent of some sort of an animal, but being the good girl she is, Manga never strayed very far. Furthermore, she rolled around in the mud and thought the whole experience was simply amazing. When we got to the car, Manga flopped down and fell asleep which she has also done for all of today. Tomorrow I will have an energized puppy again, but for now, she is still tired.