Over the Mountains and Through the Woods.....

This past week, I had the opportunity to go with my grandmother to Tennessee for a few days. I met her and her cousin and his wife in Pigeon Forge on Sunday. I beat them up there, so I got to get in a little retail therapy before my "Senior Week" kicked off! All in all, I had a wonderful time and enjoyed getting to spend time with my grandmother and see the beautiful scenery that the Smoky Mountains are known for. The only complaint I can say is that my idea of a steak house IS NOT Golden Corral and hopefully this week will be my only appearance at one of those establishments again. (Not a big fan of the stop and sweat buffets)

On Monday, we braced from the cold and headed out to Dollywood. It was Gospel Week and there were many Gospel groups there singing. I didn't take any pictures while at Dollywood. My hands were too cold to get my camera out! We left at lunch and then road up through Gatlinburg and hit the road tour through the national park.

On Tuesday, it rained and rained and rained some more. We didn't really do anything on Tuesday, due to the rain. Although I did slip away and went to the huge Christmas shop and picked up some ornaments for me and Mama Bernice. (and maybe one for JR and Brutus to celebrate their first Christmas)

Wednesday turned out to be a gorgeous and warm day. We started out in the morning for Cades Cove. I absolutely loved it out there. I wish Joseph had been there to see all the beautiful scenery and wildlife. Really breathtaking.

Wednesday was a great day, that is until after lunch. Lindy and Marie decided to go back to Dollywood for some more shows, so we decided to just hang back and do a little sightseeing/shopping by ourselves. We hopped in my car and away we went. That is until I heard a CLOMP, CLOMP, CLOMP. Of course, grandma heard it too. So I pulled over, just thinking maybe I had a limb or something caught under my car. Umm....no. It was my tire. Yes. My front left tire decided that now was the time to start coming off, with my worry-wort grandmother in there with me. To my defense, I knew I needed new tires and was trying to get a new set before this trip, but my tire size is not standard and everywhere I called was out in Tallahassee and Thomasville. So I was hoping that they would be okay until I returned. But they apparently weren't. So we found a nice little tire shop and thankfully, they had my tires. No trip to Knoxville to hunt some down!! So I got to ride home on four brand new tires, so nice and smooth. I was just thankful it did it when it did and not driving 75 down the interstate!

So that was my trip. I had a great time and I was happy to go and let my grandmother enjoy seeing the mountains again. Maybe next year the whole family can go!