May 25-27 2005: Knoxville, Tennessee



Papa had a three-day assignment in Knoxville, and Mama and I tagged along. While Papa was at work, we spent most of our day at the hotel. Since this wasn't a full blown vacation, we only stayed at an Inn to save on expenses. The Red Roof Inn served it's purpose. We had a clean room with cable TV and a comfy bed but, of course, it was no Four Seasons. :)


Day 1


After office hours, papa brought us to the nearby West Town Mall in Kingston Avenue. Like most malls, it had the same department stores and retail shops like Dillard's JC Penney, Sears, The Gap, Victoria's SEcrets, etc. It's the first time, though, that we saw a Proffitt's store. Haha, not so earth-shattering, our discovery is, I'm afraid. Not even remarkable enough to have our picture taken, hehe.


Day 2


It's not a trip to Knoxville unless you drop by the World's Fair Park and have your pictures taken with the Sunsphere as your background. Here are our pictures.



They should have made the marker a bit bigger, some kids thought it was a garbage can, heehee.



That's the SunSphere behind us. Wow!



A statue dedicated to all the war dogs.



When we arrived, a lot of kids were playing in the fountain. Too bad I didnt bring my swimsuit! It looked so much fun!


We also drove around the Downtown area and passed by some of the other landmarks such as the University of Tennessee, The Three Rivers Rambler, The Candy Factory, and the Old Victorian homes near the Knoxville Museum of Art. Mama wanted to ride the Trolley that would take us around the area for free but, it was getting late and Papa was getting really hungry (especially when he saw The Butcher Shop, a steak house at the L&N Depot, which is a stone's throw from the Knoxville Convention Center). Mama, though, isn't a fan of steak (as am I), so we decided to eat somewhere else.


Guess where we ended up? West Town Mall! Haha!


Day 3


Papa was able to leave work early so after checking out from the Inn, we had lunch at... you guessed it... the West Town Mall. Only this time, Mama had a (long-overdue) pedicure which made the three-hour drive to Knoxville all worth her while.


Overall, it was an interesting experience. We should go with Papa on his out-of-town assignments more often. :D

May 21 2005: Cincinnati, Ohio


Our first theme park visit here in the continental southeast. Paramount's King's Island (PKI) is about an hour and a half's drive from our home in Lexington. Mama and Papa overslept so we were only able to leave at 10am already, and arrive at PKI at around 12pm. The ticket costs $45 each for a single-day pass but, for the same price, Papa got the ticket where we could go back to PKI free on the second visit. Nice deal!



Paramount's King's Island!


At the entrance, the Rugrats were waiting for me!!!



Here is my picture with Angelica Pickles. Pardon me for giving mama a hard time, I am a bit afraid of giant mascots.


We got to ride the 'Scooby-doo and the Haunted Castle' attraction. I sat between Papa and Mama as we zapped the ghosts with the laser flashlights given to us by Shaggy. Of course, papa got the highest score. Zoinks!



Scooby-dooby-doo! I love you!


After a quick lunch at Chick-fil-a, Papa took me for a ride at the Flintstones merry-go-round. Papa made me ride a pink dinosaur but I got scared. I don't think I'll ever inherit Mama's love for roller coasters.



Scary-go-round!


And then, Mama took me to Hanna-Barbera Land and together, we rode a Land Rover, hehe. I had fun here!



I loved driving this contraption! Mama actually got dizzy from spinning around.


We made our way to Nickelodeon Central. Guess who was there!? My favorite: Dora the Explorer! I was so shy to touch her, but I couldn't take my eyes off her. Mama set me down on the ground (because she was carrying me), and I started to dance my "We Did It!" dance steps. Dora danced with me, yey! That was so much fun!



Dora, where's Boots? And Benny? And Issa? And Tico? And Backpack? And the Map???


I also had pictures taken with Spongebob and Blue! Here they are:








Now, it's time for my Mama to ride her scary rides. Due to time constraints, she was only able to ride 3: The Beast, Tomb Raider, and Flight of Fear. The lines were sooo long. It took Mama about 2 hours just to get on one ride!


The Beast is the world's longest wooden roller coaster. And very fast! It travelled at 70mph for 5.5 minutes. To think that the coaster was built way back in the late 70s, it still kept its reputation as one of the best roller coasters in the world.


Mama initially wanted to try Tomb Raider first, but they had to close down the ride because "somebody got sick inside". Eeeew. After riding the beast, and standing in line for another 2 hours, Mama was in thrill heaven! The ride was a giant swing. It turned upside down, and water would jet up and touch your head. I don't think my Papa could and would ever ride this one.


Finally, mama had time to ride one last coaster. The Flight of Fear is so much like Space Mountain in Disneyworld where the track was engulfed by darkness and you wouldnt be able to see where youre going. Mama said she's had better, hehe.


The newest attraction on King's Island is The Italian Job, a thrill ride based on the movie of the same title. It was on a test run and the tickets were limited. Too bad because mama was already able to convince papa to try the ride. Well, it seems like papa has more escapes than Houdini on coaster rides, hehe.


Here's a sample of the kind of roller coasters Mama loves to ride: the Vortex.



So noisy!! So scary, too! The people will go through all seven loops??? Wow!


Papa wanted to get me a stuffed toy from the gallery games, but he ended up spending a lot but getting beaten by younger kids, hehe! He really didn't have the talent for throwing balls or tossing rings at stationary objects, hehe! Peace papa!



Sure shot na please, Papa? Hehe.


Our last stop before heading home was dinner at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Shack. It was nothing like the Bubba Gump restaurant in Greenbelt (Manila). This one was a fast food place that didn't really have any ambience at all. Well, it just proves that you'll really never know what youre going to get.



Not busog. Not happy. Small smile only.


And so, we head for home. I know were coming back here someday. We still have the free day, and Mama has yet to ride her rides. As for me, I still need 9 more inches to ride!


Till then... zoiks!