Dollywood

Today we had a blast at Dollywood!  This is another one of our favorite places to go when we visit Todd’s family.  Grace had so much fun and was quite adventurous.  She surprised us at Splash Country the other day, and today she continued the trend of wanting to try new things on her own.  It’s so great to see her enjoying new experiences instead of clinging and being scared (like in times past). 

We started the day (crazily) by going on a water ride.  Todd took her on a boat where you use huge water guns to super-soak everyone.  When they debarked at the end of the ride, they looked like two wet rats and their shoes were squishing with every step. 

Since it was the beginning of the day and the crowds were pretty slim, Todd and I took advantage of the short lines to ride the adult roller coasters.  It was quite the experience, and I’ll sum it up by saying that at the end of the Tennessee Tornado, I was literally drooling.

We made our way to the kiddie park where Grace enthusiastically rode all the rides she could and pouted about the rides she was too small to board (just one more inch until she reaches the 42 inch milestone where she can ride almost everything). 

We took a break for an early lunch at a sandwich shop where we enjoyed turkey wraps and fruit salad.  Grace took her apple to go.

Here’s a picture of Todd and Grace right before we saw the 4-D Brendan Frazier movie “Journey To The Center Of The Earth.”  Unfortunately, Grace and I had to sit in the non-motion seats because she lacked one inch! 

To beat the afternoon heat, we went to Dolly’s country musical/acrobatic show and a Kraft Brothers live animal show (which was great!).  Then we went back to the kiddie park for more rides that Grace could enjoy.  Here she is on a ride that takes you up high and drops you fast.  She was the smallest person on this ride and was so thrilled that we let her do it twice in a row.  They actually stopped the ride on the second time to let an older kid off who was screaming.  Grace informed me, “Mama, when I was a little girl I was scared and cried, but I’m a big girl now and I’m not scared.”  What a difference a year makes!

At the end of the day, Grace rode the ferris wheel with Nan.  So sweet.

We had so much fun today, and I know that Grace is going to remember this for a long time!  We completely wore her out and she happily fell asleep about five minutes into the car ride home.

Tomorrow we’re getting up early and eating breakfast at the Gatlinburg Pancake Pantry, climbing Clingman’s Dome, then shopping at the Tanger Outlet (if we’re still alive after climbing a mountain!).  Hopefully I’ll post a few pictures of the beautiful Smokies tomorrow after our hike!