Saturday, October 6, 2012

Smoky Mountains Vacation, Part I

We had so much fun on our recent trip to the Smoky Mountains.  Given that Charlotte is now walking and has no interest in sitting still, I was nervous as to how she would behave in the car, on hikes, etc.  She far exceeded my expectations!  She was a little trooper and had no trouble keeping up on the fast-paced family vacation.  It was so much fun to take Charlotte back to all of my favorite places in Gatlinburg and re-experience things with her.  It brought back so many wonderful memories from over the years.
Happy to be out of the car in Chattanooga for lunch at Tony's Pasta Shop (an old favorite from the swimming days).  Brandon and I took turns eating and walking outside with Charlotte.  I had picked this place because she likes pasta and thought she would get a good lunch ... oh well.  This was just a preview of what was to come in terms of her eating on vacation
Love the baby TOMS!
Driving up the very narrow, steep road to our cabin 
Our cabin!  Brandon did a great job finding this place on VRBO
If only the place didn't have stairs ... Charlotte was obsessed and they had to be kept blocked off by furniture
Woke up to a black bear in our driveway!
Charlotte dressed and ready to go to Cades Cove

Trying out the backpack
It didn't last long as Charlotte wanted to be out walking
Our good friends Daniel and Corinne were able to join us for several days





Not happy about being held, she wanted to be walking around the graveyard
We had beautiful weather!








Our nightly escape to the hot tub
Walking through downtown Gatlinburg to one of the many pancake houses in town ... Charlotte refused to eat pancakes at any of them.  In fact, her diet on this trip mostly consisted of milk and crackers

The famous Grotto Falls hike
To our amazement, Charlotte promptly fell asleep
We hiked for some time past the falls, and she stayed asleep until we passed a horseback rider who screamed in her ear that she was "missing all the action".  Thanks a lot.  At least she was content almost all the way back to the car


Doing the last part of the hike herself

Still to come ... the aquarium, more hiking, and Ober Gatlinburg 

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