Wild Plums and Ski Slopes- Day 3

On Friday, Bubbe, MC, and I went to a quaint little tea room off the beaten path (thanks for the tip, Heather!) Reservations for the Wild Plum Tea Room were made before we left Tupelo. Knowing how much Mary Conlee loves a tea party, we knew this was the perfect place for her! We enjoyed the tea, wild plum muffins, fruit and sandwiches. But most of all, we loved being together. The boys dropped us off and headed off on their own lunch adventure, which consisted of getting lost in the back woods of Tennessee and grabbing some Nabs from a convenience store. We got the better end of that deal!

 
On our way to the Wild Plum Tea Room

 
Enjoying the gardens

 
The girls' lunch

 
Lovin' that Wild Plum Tea!

That afternoon, we rode the sky lift over Gatlinburg. With the sun in our faces and the wind at our back, we loved soaring through the sky. We even spotted Pop and Bubbe waiting for us at the bottom.

 
Headed to the top!

 
Dangling over the creek


Live from atop Gatlinburg

 
The boys didn't like the girls "turning around, taking pictures, and acting silly," as Cole put it!

 
Downtown Gatlinburg

 
Bubbe and Pop looked like little ants from where we sat!

 
The girls on their way down

We made our way to the Mayfield ice cream stand. We also enjoyed watching salt water taffy being made at the Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen...two of our Gatlinburg favorites!

 
Stretching the taffy to aerate it

 
Twisting the colors to get ready to cut into pieces

 
Yummm...the final product!

Later that afternoon, we went to the top of Ober Mountain. Part of the excitement of coming to Gatlinburg this time of year is the warmer temps with snow still on the the mountain tops! We brought ski bibs and jackets just in case we talked them into hitting the slopes. We saw the Simmons family waiting in line to snow tube! We had to wait for a later session, so Judd and the kids did a few loops around the ice skating rink, while I warmed up on the slopes. I wanted a few practice runs before our night skiing session. The four of us spent an hour and a half on the snow tubes. It was a lot of fun and the kids loved being in snow. We took them back the chalet and they stayed with Bubbe and Pop while Judd and I enjoyed some night skiing. Judd kept saying he was getting old and that it was harder to ski than it used to be. I guess it would be when you're trying to ski the "black diamonds." I did quite fine on the greens and bunny slopes...I'm not getting old at all!


Daddy and MC on ice skates


Snow tubing


Riding the ramp back to the top of the hill


Somebody push me!


Down they go!


Finally...some grown up fun on the slopes!