Our Trip to Gatlinburg

For almost 15 years, Russ and I have traveled to Gatlinburg, Tennessee around his birthday. It has become a family tradition. It is a cheesy little town, but we love it, and the kids look forward to the trip every year. We usually cross over the Great Smoky Mountains (unless the road is closed due to snow and ice and then we go all the way around) and have a contest to see who can guess how low the temperature is at the top. The winner gets a magnet from Magnet World (sounds really silly as I type it, but it is great fun when it's happening!). We always go to the Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen to see the candy being made, Treasure Golf, outlet shopping (yea me!), dinner at No Way Jose's Cantina and some form of overpriced Ripley-esque entertainment. This year we went to the Wonder Works museum which I must say was a pleasant surprise. It had interactive learning activities and experiments that the whole family enjoyed. We all laid on a bed of nails and learned why it would not puncture your skin, Russ rode a self propelled carnival type ride demonstrating the effects of air compression, and too many others to list....We spent several hours there and would love to go back. The boys also all rode Nascar gocarts and had a blast! Emma enjoyed herself too although she was just really along for the ride. We skipped the Ripley Aquarium this year but it is always a family favorite. It really beats out the Chattanooga Aquarium, but is not quite as awesome as the new Atlanta Aquarium. We visited a lady at the Mountain Woodcarvers shop that we have seen there every year since we started going. She always remembers us and anything we have ever told her. I think about all of the tourists she has encountered over the years and she still remembers us and details about our life. She is retiring in March and we will miss her very much! We really had a wonderful trip, and we arrived back in Marietta to attend the family celebration for Russ' and his sister's birthdays.