The Great Smoky Mountains

We made it to our second national park, The Great Smoky Mountains. I have felt we have been way overdue for a big trip. We haven't traveled much as traveling with Gus and Lou is a nightmare, but I know Cole and Henry would love to do more, so it was great to finally get away. 

Not gonna lie, portions of this trip were rough and it was very tiring, but overall I thought it went very well. We checked off most things on our list of activities and saw some bears, which we were hoping would happen. 

Our cabin was super nice. Three levels with an amazing view from each. It also had a hot tub, pool table, and multi-cade arcade game thing. Cole and Henry really got into pool. I'm surprised I don't actually have a picture of them playing. There's now talk that we may need a table in the garage. 

Horseback riding was definitely a highlight. I feel bad Kristin missed that, but the horses got real close to the edge of the trail where there was often a crazy drop off. I don't think she would have liked that. 

We hiked Laurel Falls, Clingsman Dome and around the Sugarlands Visitor Center. I thought it was very cool, but not everyone loved the hikes. Admittedly, Gus and Lou were pretty terrible for them.  

We ended up driving around a lot; between the cabin, going into the mountains and doing town stuff in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. By the time we got home, Cole said he was just going to take his bike everywhere and not ride in a car for a few weeks.  

For whatever reason the pictures did not load in any particular order and I'm not going to spend the time rearranging them, so here are a ton of pictures from our vacation. I actually paired this down considerably, believe or not. 

There are a lot of horseback riding pics because I paid for them, which makes me feel like I should use them for something.  

I have to say. I look like a natural.

We left pretty late, so on our way there we stopped around Indianapolis. It was tough to find a hotel (as Kristin predicted), so we ended up in a LaQuinta that cost WAY more than it should. It was not nice. Gus woke up early with me for breakfast and packing things up. Thanks buddy. He loved the continental breakfast. 

We also stopped in Louisville. We probably should have taken the tour of Louisville Slugger, but we just stopped in for a quick peak. Maybe next time.

Looks real comfortable.

I almost forgot. The Ripley's Aquarium was a highlight. Definitely glad we did that. 

These milkshake creations at The Crazy Masons Milkshake Bar are unbelievable. They weren't easy to eat though. 

Our cabin is up there somewhere

We went up to the top of the Space Needle in Gatlinburg. Cole and I don't like heights, so it was challenging, but we managed. 

We saw these big hats around town and didn't know what they were about other than being from this restaurant called Dick's Last Resort. The shtick at this place is that the staff is mean and will make fun of you and they don't care about anything. The food is also awful, but I'm not sure if that is intentional or not. 

Anyway, they also give everyone a hat that says something funny or mean about them. I'm not pictured, but mine was something about being a better dad with beer. The boys thought this place was hilarious. Some of what they wrote on the hats we saw was pretty funny. I was surprised at some. They took some real risks of going too far and offending people. I'd mention a couple, but probably not family blog appropriate. 

"I still breastfeed"

"Free to a good home"

"I love fat chicks and cold beer" (Gus)

"I poop a lot" (Lou)

"High Maintenance Low Performance"

The waiter apparently knows Kristin pretty well.

The pictures below are from this place where you buy buckets with sand and "gems" and then you can sift out the gems. Then people make jewelry out of their "precious" stones. Such a huge ripoff and really expensive. I feel okay about it because at least we knew it was a ripoff. I think people there really thought they were going to get some valuable gems and jewelry out of the deal. I think it was actually pretty high on Cole and Henry's list of the highlights from the trip, so I suppose that makes it worth it. 

The first bear pic below we saw at the ice cream place (see pic above). I spotted it across the street. At first, it was actually right next to the building in the upper left corner of the picture. It amazes me that you could just casually walk out of a building and run into a freaking bear. Crazy.

Then we got home from ice cream and saw this guy. He walked right by our cabin and back into the woods. 

This is us. Cabin 102.

So this is Kristin's face every time I take a picture. I get a scowl and then she will finally smile like below. 

This just looks uncomfortable. 

Kristin drove the whole way there and back. She gets car sick so she has to drive. Or maybe she just prefers to drive and let me tend to the four annoying children in the back.