Lola Mommy flew back to the US with us for a short vacation. Unfortunately, she came in the middle of winter and it was too cold to go out! Like the birds, papa and mama decided that we, too, should fly south for the winter. And so, because we didn't have wings, we drove Monty (our car) six hours towards Tennessee.
The sound of the creek beside our hotel room at night lulls us into a relaxing sleep! Wow!
We stayed at Twin Islands Best Western. Well, the hotel itself was a bit old for our sossy taste, but it was located right in the heart of Gatlinburg and we were able to walk to all the attractions! In fact, Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies was right beside our icky hotel. Naturally, the Aquarium was our first stop. I enjoyed myself so much! This aquarium was bigger than the previous aquariums we've been to. Also, having lola there pushing my umbroller everywhere, I was able to have a lot of pictures taken.
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My pusher!
Family picture outside the aquarium.
It's my turn to go solo!
That's me at Wendy's. I remember I ate a baked potato topped with cheese and broccoli! Yummy!
After our quick lunch at Wendy's (we were reaaally hungry), we walked along the main avenue of Gatlinburg (Parkway). The strip is so nice! There were a lot of stores selling souvenirs, local crafts, and food!! Mama and papa were able to eat yummy fudge squares, and if mama's tummy wasn't so full yet, she would've persuaded my papa to eat some more hotdogs, pretzels, cinnamon bread, corn on the cob, and caramel apples! The other Ripley's attractions could also be found on this street like the Believe It or Not Museum, Haunted Adventure, Moving Theater, Super Fun Zone, and Davy Crockett Minigolf. Not only that, there were other interesting attractions (that we never got to visit) like: Christus Gardens, Earthquake (the ride), Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park, Space Needle, Star Cars Museum, World of Illusions, and Sweet Fanny Adams Theater.
Three generations of women, crossing a bridge.
While lola was looking for a Gatlinburg T-shirt for lolo, papa and I posed for mama. Behind us are some of the quaint local stores.
While I slept and lola was watching over me, papa and mama went for a ride at the Skylift. It took them up the mountain where they were able to see a magnificent view of the Smokies.
Ooohhh, skylift! Papa and mama went up, up, and away!
This is the view from the top of the skylift. The Mountains are really beautiful. They're really smoky, and really great.
For dinner, Mama wanted to go and see the Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede Show (there's a yummy dinner that comes with the show) but, imagine our disappointment when we learned that the show was closed for the winter! We ended up having dinner at the Old Mill Restaurant, which was yummy, too!
The following day, we went to mass early. We checked-out of the hotel and went to Pigeon Forge.
Welcome to Pigeon Forge!
Like last night, we again were disappointed because Dollywood, Dolly Parton's theme park, was also closed for the winter! This Dolly Parton lady is so difficult! Anyway, papa promised that we will return in the Fall when the Smoky Mountains turn a beautiful shade of orange.
At Pigeon Forge, we took lola to the Elvis Museum. I think lola was sad because we were not able to go to Memphis to see Elvis' mansion. That's why we dropped by the Pigeon Forge Elvis Musueum instead. The museum is the largest private collection of Elvis memorabilia. I think this made her happy.
Elvis fan!
A pose beside Elvis' red guitar.
Our last stop, before, heading home was The Christmas Place. The Christmas Place is actually a store where they sell only Christmas-related items like ornaments, decorations, and collectibles. Since the Christmas season just ended, we didn't buy anything. Instead, we just took some pictures outside the store.
Here's lola and I outside. The facade of the building is really nice!
Santa was a bit scary!
Wow, it's the polar express. This means we should be going home!
I enjoyed our adventure a lot. I think Lola enjoyed herself, too.
*For more of our pictures, you can visit our Gatlinburg folder at my webshots site.