I was invited to go with Mallory and Lynda Ann to Mallory's mission stomping grounds of Tennessee. I've never been to Tennessee and honestly never had it on any list to go see. I was more than pleasantly surprised and quickly learned why Mallory loved Tennessee and her mission so much. So, let's start at the beginning.
We left Salt Lake Tuesday morning, the 29th of April. We didn't quite make it through security because my bag got tagged to be inspected. I couldn't imagine why, but it did. Mallory snapped a picture of me waiting for my bag to be inspected. There wasn't anything in there to be alarmed about so the inspection was quick and easy.
From there down the walk way and on to the plane.
The three of us waiting to board.
In flight and ready for a our 5 day vacation full of fun and adventure.
About 4 hours later we safely arrived in Nashville, Tennessee.
We got our rental car and were on our way to Hendersonville to find something to eat and tour the area before heading out to Gatlinburg, which was a four hour drive. We drove by a National Cemetery. They always make me proud and sad at the same time. Proud of America and the freedoms we have and sad that it cost so many lives.
We arrived in Hendersonville about 5:30 and were ready for some good food at Slim Chickens.
We wandered around Hendersonville to see where Mallory served. Lots of fun places to see and explore. There were deer all over the place. Not just one or two but almost herds of them on people's lawns, parks, etc. I would later find out that deer and I don't do well together, but that is for later.
This area was Old Hickory Lake that Mallory walked along many times during her stay here years ago. It was beautiful and very peaceful. Lots of wild life around and in the lake.
The sunset was gorgeous!
A mother and her baby.
Mallory got lots of comments on her shirt.
Her pocket sized Gam thinks she is cool!!
From here we headed out to Gatlinburg. But we made a stop along the way at a place that is famous. It is a huge gas station and store. When I say huge, I mean bigger than any gas station I've ever seen. It is called Buc-ee's. Look it up.
Mallory capturing pictures of me laughing at Lynda Ann. I don't remember what was so funny but what ever it was it doubled me over at the time.
We bought a few items and then continued our journey to Gatlinburg. We arrived about 10:00 p.m., checked in to the. Brookside Resort and all fell happily into bed for the night.
Annie got us a room with a balcony that was right next to a stream. We slept with the window open all night so that we could hear the water.
Annie does a lot of research and knows how to pick them!
The next morning, the first thing on our list was breakfast. Lots and lots of eating places with every kind of food you could possibly want. Being a more traditional group se settled for Pancake Cabin. Delicious!
After breakfast our next stop was the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
We drove through the most beautiful country you could imagine.
Okay now here I will put in some pictures that only the three of us are going to appreciate in the future. I look at them and they still make me laugh. For some reason I was trying to have my arms placed that same as Lynda Ann's. And for some crazy reason, I couldn't figure it out. When you look at it, it is pretty simple, right? Well, not for my 80 year old brain. Yes we had a good laugh over this moment in time!
You can see that Lynda is totally losing it with laughter. I'm still totally confused and Mallory just keeps snapping pictures!
Finally got it!!
And then it started all over again.
We do have fun together!
From this area we drove to a place in the Smoky Mountains called Bryson City. There is a long walk that you can take to the top to over look the mountains.
On the trail. It was pretty steep and most people had to take rest stops along the way.
This gives you an idea of the winding trail. This is near the top.
At the top.
Mallory and Lynda Ann standing together as they are walking back down.
Parking lot down below us.
How can one not appreciate the beauties of nature and what God has created for us to enjoy!
We watched this bird cleaning out the top of this stump. Probably for nesting.
Our next area was to some very old farms that have now been deserted. This one was the Ogle Farm. Started in 1883. Now owned by the National Parks.
We got in the car and decided to take a drive through one area of the Smoky Mountains. We got the best surprise of our trip as we traveled through this next area. We came around a bend in the narrow road and notice many cars in front of us were stopped. Lynda immediately said that it was either a car with a flat tire or possible bears. It was a one way road so there was no way to pass anyone. You just had to sit and wonder what was going on ahead. As we slowly moved up the road, I glanced out the window and right below me were three black bears. A mother and her two cubs!
I was literally hanging out the window to get these pictures. The bears were right off the side of the road.
We drove a little further and the same thing happened. Cars all stopped ahead of us and slowly moving forward. Mallory spotted the next set of bears. Another mother and her two cubs. They were right below Mallory's window.
Seriously, you could almost reach out and touch them, they were so close to the road.
But that isn't all. We went a little further and you guessed it, we saw another bunch of cars stopped and as we got closer there was another bear! This one was alone.
You could easily say that it was this moment in time that just made the day about as good as it could possibly get! To be able to see black bears in their own environment was amazing. Apparently they were just coming out of hibernation and were all hungry. What an incredible sight! Seven bears!
It was finally time to leave the forest area and head back to Gatlinburg to attend Dolly Parton's Sampede and Dinner Show. This was fun and very entertaining.
I shot a straw wrapper at Lynda Ann and it stuck to her forehead. Yup, had a good laugh over that one!
This was a chicken that they put on your plate. A whole chicken! They also served soup, mashed potatoes, and barbecued pork. The dessert was an apple turnover.
All the time you are eating there is a show going on in the arena.
You could pet the horses after.
They had two little pigs racing around the arena. This little pig just stopped toward the end and they had to come and pick him up. He was not in the mood to race!
They had chosen little kids from the audience to chase chickens across the line. That was very entertaining.
You can see that chickens go where they want!
It was a very fun evening. Thanks to Annie for arranging this for us.
As we were leaving the show we stopped in the souvenir shop and I found these crazy looking things that we couldn't figure out what they were other than they were Christmas. Your guess is as good as mine!
This pretty much concludes our first two days. The next two will be on the next post. What an absolutely fun two days!
