Soon after getting home from Wyoming, we were off on another adventure! We headed east to Knoxville, Tennessee for the weekend with our friends Steven & Katie Skovran and Jaimen & Cali Dixon. Steven is from Knoxville so we stayed a night at his parents house and then headed the next morning to Dollywood!
You may remember that we took Emmy to Disneyland earlier in the year, but this was going to be our first time having her at an amusement park for an entire day. We were a little worried we would have to leave early, but the day started out pretty well. She started to feel the excitement on the tram ride from the parking lot.
Dollywood was a lot bigger, and cooler, than we expected. It was a really nice park. There were fun rides, tons of awesome smelling food, neat stores, and cool Dolly Parton memorabilia. We were on the lookout for Dolly all day, but never found her. We did go through her tour bus, though.
Emmy was a trooper the whole day. We never had to leave, and she never fussed. We made sure to keep her hydrated and well fed, which was all she really needed for a happy day.
Steven was an expert on Dollywood, which I appreciate as a self-proclaimed expert on Disneyland. You need to know a park well to get the most out of it.
In the afternoon, when the heat was at its peak, Cory, Emmy and I broke off from the rest of the group and headed to the air-conditioned theater to watch a bubble show. Mostly we just wanted to escape the heat and rest, but the show ended up being spectacular. I didn't know you could do so many cool and entertaining things with bubbles.
The finale of the show was filling the whole place with bubbles. Emmy was LOVING it.
This sweet girl took a few naps throughout the day, which made us feel good. She would just quietly catch some zzz's without fussing.
The naps helped her have a happy disposition when she was awake!
I don't know if you have heard of Dippin' Dots. They have been the ice cream of the future for the past 20 years. They were necessary to keep the body temperatures at an optimal level.
From Dollywood we headed to a cabin we rented in the Smoky Mountains, where we were going to stay for a couple of nights.
It was a fun and rustic atmosphere.
The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out at the cabin and exploring Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. We heard Gatlinburg described as the Redneck Riviera. All I know is, Pigeon Forge should be crowned the Pancake House, Mini-Golf, Outdoor Go-Kart, Dinner Theater Capitol of the World. Gatlinburg had some of that stuff as well, but Pigeon Forge was on another level. We caught some of the live music while walking through Gatlinburg.
Steven requested eating dinner at Bubba Gump's, so we all headed there for some seafood and Forrest Gump movie trivia. I had never been to a Bubba Gump's that I know of, so it was a fun experience for us. We loved our trip to East Tennessee, and appreciate the invitation from our friends.
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