Mountain Fever- Day 1

Ever since our suprise trip to Disney World, the kids have been wanting us to go on another "surprise" vacation. So for Spring Break, we decided to plan a trip to Gatlinburg and we kept the destination a secret. The only thing the kids knew was that we were going by car. We have been to Gatlinburg with my parents when Cole was a baby and again when Mary Conlee was almost a year old, but they don't have any memory of the mountains or what to expect. We did a great job keeping the destination a secret--until 4 days before we were set to leave. Cole overhead his Mom talking to Dr. Stone about their family trip to the mountains. We planned on meeting them for dinner one night, so our little detective discovered the secret of the "mountains." It was actually pretty funny to listen as he and MC tried to figure out what exactly we would be doing there. "Are we going to be sleeping in tents?" Of course, with no heat or electricity, kids! "Will we be cooking our food over the fire and drinking out of canteens?" Why yes, that's how mountain people live and so will we! "WIll we have to hike up the mountains?" You got it. Up the hills both ways in the snow, Cole. It was pretty funny to joke with them considering they didn't have a concept of what we would be doing. Each answer left them in giggles and very excited about the upcoming adventure! As much as we wanted to drive there and surprise them upon arrival, it was fun watching their excitement and anticipation of things to come. However, we were able to keep hidden the biggest surprise of all- the arrival of Bubbe and Pop, coming the 2nd day of our vacation.

Our first item on the agenda was dropping Brody off at the vet. We are going to miss the little guy!



We stopped an hour and a half from Gatlinburg in a little town known as Athens, TN. This is the home of one of the best kept secrets...Mayfield Dairy Farms. Although the stop was short and sweet, it happened to be one of our favorite memories from the trip! We absolutely fell in love with this frozen creamy treat! We were sad to learn that it isn't sold in stores in Mississippi, so we've since learned to ice it down in a cooler and bring it back home with us from Birmingham!


Oh no, Daddy! Being a dairy farmer isn't your thing!


That's so much cuter!


Inside the magic


MC sampling the merchandise

The best part of the drive was between Maryville, TN and getting into Gatlinburg. The hilly roads, mountains before us, and beautiful scenery out each window made us thank God for the beauty of the earth! We arrived in Gatlinburg and went straight to our check-in place. There, we got a map detailing the trek to our "home away from home." We drove up the familiar Ski Mountain Road, heading closer to Heaven and our Ober Mountaintop chalet. Through the winding roads, we traveled until we found our place. The view was breathtaking, the weather was incredible, and we were so excited to be in the MOUNTAINS!!! I can assure you that the kids were excited to trade the tent, campfire, and canteens for this. Everyone had their own room, including a spare bedroom on the main floor for my parents.


On top of the world...literally!


The Smoky Mountains with a little snow on top


Our deck overlooked the side of the mountain, with the town of Gatlinburg hidden below


One of the Gatlinburg trams went by our house numerous times each day


Written in large print, just in case we forgot where we were!

After we unloaded our belongings and the kids had their fill of foosball in the rec room, we headed down the mountain to the "strip" for dinner with one of our close Tupelo friends, the Stones. Being frequent Gatlinburg visitors, they recommended The Best Little Italian Restaurant...trust me, it WAS the best!


The kids' table...because they aren't "old enough to be with the adults!" Thank goodness, I've finally graduated!


Deborah and MA enjoy catching up...so much to talk about!


Judd and Van didn't want to miss out on their photo op!


The two Mae Maes and Lacey Gray


"Two Cool...Too Cool" Stephen and Cole

After dinner, we walked around the strip. Our first stop was to Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. This is one of Cole's favorite places on earth. He loved showing us around the "museum" and introducing his sister to the world of wacky and freaky things. On our way back to the car, we spotted a little yellow Mayfield Ice Cream sign and thus became party of our nightly routine!

We came back to our chalet to find the hot tub icy cold. With disappointed but extremely tired kids, they went to bed in hopes it would have time to heat up by morning!