The campfire, the last night, with the cacophony of frogs and the stream. It was a good trip and I was sad to see it end. What better way to end a day camping, what better way to end this series.
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Showing posts with label Gatlinburg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gatlinburg. Show all posts
Friday, August 15, 2014
Gatlinburg Trip part 10: The end
This post is the final in a series about our vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Look for more posts of trip from me, here is Part 9.
The campfire, the last night, with the cacophony of frogs and the stream. It was a good trip and I was sad to see it end. What better way to end a day camping, what better way to end this series.
Follow me on Facebook!
The campfire, the last night, with the cacophony of frogs and the stream. It was a good trip and I was sad to see it end. What better way to end a day camping, what better way to end this series.
Follow me on Facebook!
Monday, August 11, 2014
Gatlinburg Vacation part 6: Aquarium of the Smokies
This post is the sixth in a series about our vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Look for more posts of trip from me, here is Part 5 and Part 7.
There are tons and tons of tourist traps in Gatlinburg. Lots of ways to spend a boatload of money. Seeing what all there is to do, I came across the brochure for Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. The closest aquarium to us is in Chicago and we didn't stop on our trip there a couple of years ago. This was a top contender for our only tourist trap stop. Then, I had numerous people tell me it's a great place to go.
The decision was made, the kids were excited, we headed to the aquarium.
It did not disappoint, I think I had a smile on my face the whole time. Husband did, too. The kids talked about it for days. Oldest kid loved the sharks. Youngest kid loved the penguins.
We got to pet a jellyfish, watched the sting ray show, climbed into the penguin area. We marveled as the creatures swam over, under, and around us.
There are tons and tons of tourist traps in Gatlinburg. Lots of ways to spend a boatload of money. Seeing what all there is to do, I came across the brochure for Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. The closest aquarium to us is in Chicago and we didn't stop on our trip there a couple of years ago. This was a top contender for our only tourist trap stop. Then, I had numerous people tell me it's a great place to go.
The decision was made, the kids were excited, we headed to the aquarium.
It did not disappoint, I think I had a smile on my face the whole time. Husband did, too. The kids talked about it for days. Oldest kid loved the sharks. Youngest kid loved the penguins.
We got to pet a jellyfish, watched the sting ray show, climbed into the penguin area. We marveled as the creatures swam over, under, and around us.
Monday, August 4, 2014
Gatlinburg Vacation part 1: The campground
This post is the first in a series about our vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Look for more posts of trip from me, here is part 2.
When Husband and I decided to head to Gatlinburg for our family vacation this year, figuring out where we were staying and getting a reservation became my top priority. My first place to look was the Great Smoky Mountains National Park website. I quickly learned that most campsites in the park do not have electricity, and if they do have electricity it wouldn't be at the capacity to support our camper [cough: air conditioning].
So, then I went to Google and searched. I spent 2 full days scouring private campground websites. I was mentally exhausted when I finally settled on Crazy Horse/Adventure Bound. I liked the stream-side campsite opportunities, the full hook-up, the kids' activities, the feel that we were in the mountains. You can book your campsite on the website, but I decided to call to make my reservation. There's something about talking to a person when I wanted to do my best to get a bigger campsite of the options I was looking at.
I think my conversation worked well, we had a great campsite. I think my days of searching did well, too. It is a very nice campground.
Staff are friendly and helpful. Happy to chat or be on their way if that's what you want. And in a bit, you'll learn that they're safety oriented.
Our campsite was decently sized, it was far bigger than many sites we've had at private campgrounds. Having the stream right behind our campsite was absolutely lovely, probably my favorite part of our campsite. It drowned out all noise from our camping neighbors, the ambiance of the sound was incredibly relaxing. The downside to our campsite was the rental cabin directly across the stream. Thankfully, the cabin people didn't come outside much so it wasn't a big deal.
On our 2nd day, we hit the water slide and pool. It was Youngest Kid's first time on a big water slide, and because of her shorter height, she and I rode together. Hearing her giggle the whole way down the slide? It was completely awesome. It's a gentle but fun slide. The little pool at the end of the slide was a great depth for Youngest Kid, but she just loved riding with Dad & Mom. Then we headed to the swimming pool, which had varying depths for kids of all ages.
That night, a big storm rolled through the area. I mean a BIG storm. Campground staff came around early on and suggested that we put up our awning and utilize the campground bathrooms if we felt uncomfortable because of the weather. A bit later, still before a drop of rain fell, campground staff came around again and strongly suggested that we head to the campground bathroom for safety. We spent well over an hour in the Men's Bathroom with a lot of other campers. This was a first-time experience for me, taking shelter in a campground bathroom. An experience I hope to never have again. All the people were friendly, it was kind of a bonding time, we continued to chat with our bathroom friends for the rest of our visit. Thankfully, no tornado touched down near us, everyone and everything was safe.
Another highlight for our family at the campground was Jack Tales. A play of sorts, storytelling really. It involves Jack the Storyteller and campers - young and old - helping to act out the stories. Costumes are required and provided. This is right up Youngest Kid's alley, she dressed as a party animal and so did I. Oldest kid loved watching the show with Daddy. We went back for another show later in our stay and Youngest Kid was right in there again.
The location of the campground had us a bit outside of Gatlinburg, between the Greenbriar and Cosby entrances into Smoky Mountain National Park. Being away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Gatlinburg was a good fit for our family because we wanted the mountain experience.
Crazy Horse/Adventure Bound was a good home base for us on our vacation.
Don't forget to follow me on Facebook!
When Husband and I decided to head to Gatlinburg for our family vacation this year, figuring out where we were staying and getting a reservation became my top priority. My first place to look was the Great Smoky Mountains National Park website. I quickly learned that most campsites in the park do not have electricity, and if they do have electricity it wouldn't be at the capacity to support our camper [cough: air conditioning].
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I think my conversation worked well, we had a great campsite. I think my days of searching did well, too. It is a very nice campground.
Staff are friendly and helpful. Happy to chat or be on their way if that's what you want. And in a bit, you'll learn that they're safety oriented.
Our campsite was decently sized, it was far bigger than many sites we've had at private campgrounds. Having the stream right behind our campsite was absolutely lovely, probably my favorite part of our campsite. It drowned out all noise from our camping neighbors, the ambiance of the sound was incredibly relaxing. The downside to our campsite was the rental cabin directly across the stream. Thankfully, the cabin people didn't come outside much so it wasn't a big deal.
On our 2nd day, we hit the water slide and pool. It was Youngest Kid's first time on a big water slide, and because of her shorter height, she and I rode together. Hearing her giggle the whole way down the slide? It was completely awesome. It's a gentle but fun slide. The little pool at the end of the slide was a great depth for Youngest Kid, but she just loved riding with Dad & Mom. Then we headed to the swimming pool, which had varying depths for kids of all ages.
That night, a big storm rolled through the area. I mean a BIG storm. Campground staff came around early on and suggested that we put up our awning and utilize the campground bathrooms if we felt uncomfortable because of the weather. A bit later, still before a drop of rain fell, campground staff came around again and strongly suggested that we head to the campground bathroom for safety. We spent well over an hour in the Men's Bathroom with a lot of other campers. This was a first-time experience for me, taking shelter in a campground bathroom. An experience I hope to never have again. All the people were friendly, it was kind of a bonding time, we continued to chat with our bathroom friends for the rest of our visit. Thankfully, no tornado touched down near us, everyone and everything was safe.
The location of the campground had us a bit outside of Gatlinburg, between the Greenbriar and Cosby entrances into Smoky Mountain National Park. Being away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Gatlinburg was a good fit for our family because we wanted the mountain experience.
Crazy Horse/Adventure Bound was a good home base for us on our vacation.
Don't forget to follow me on Facebook!
Friday, June 20, 2014
Are we there yet? Car activities for kids
Kids get bored in the car. Technology keeps them occupied for only so long. The other day I shared about Car Travel Bins but was all secretive about what goes in them. Well, except for using cups to keep colored pencils in, I shared about that.
All this build-up. You'd think this was something far more exciting than kids' car activities. Lemme open the super-duper secret vault for you (I can feel it, you're on pins and needles, I know it).
Composition Notebooks. They're like $.89 each (big spender, eh?). They're open-ended, the kids can do whatever it is that they want in them. Draw pictures. Write a story. Play tic-tac-toe. Play hangman. I try to get cheap-o stickers (check out the dollar stores, I got 1000 stickers for $1) and stick them in the notebooks. Then, the kids can get creative with the stickers as story inspiration or making designs or who knows what they come up with.
Tangoes. They're magnetic puzzles. You get a handful of pieces in varying shapes and sizes. You get a booklet of pictures using the shapes and you have to try to figure out how to make the picture with the pieces. The answers are included, not that I've had to look at the answers or anything (nuh-uh, nope, not at all). We've got the Animals set, Objects set, and People set. When my kids get tired of figuring out the puzzles, they make their own fun shapes. My oldest even put faces on the pieces in one set and spent 45 minutes making them interact with each other. After I saw what she did, I thought about saying, "Hey, don't do that," but she was content and I'm not the one playing with these puzzles, so it wasn't an issue for me.
Mystery bottles. Originally an idea from Pinterest (you can follow me, I'm not super active at this time),
we've also had campground hosts do them as an activity at their campsite for the kids. Take an empty water
bottle (easy after a camping weekend), clean it and make sure it's completely dry. Find a bunch of small objects, between 10-20, depending on how big your bottle is. Use a funnel and start filling the water bottle with uncooked rice, adding the small objects intermittently. You don't want to fill the bottle all the way to the top so that there is movement inside the bottle as the kids try to find the objects. As you're searching for small objects, get creative or use things that aren't used much anymore - silly bands, coins, hair ties, paper clips, beads, a bell, game pieces from a game missing too many pieces, paper clip, small toys. I try to keep a list of what is in the bottles to help with knowing what to find. When you're done filling the bottle, add some glue to the lid as you put it on to minimize rice explosions in the car. My kids want to make more, even though we've got 4 already.
Activity Books. There are all kinds. I've got these pictured Lego activity books tucked away for our upcoming trip to Gatlinburg. I've got Mad Libs, tucked away, too (can't lie, I'm looking forward to those). Youngest spent countless hours working through her My Remarkably Sparkly Sticker and Doodling Purse, there are other versions, too. We've also got some fashion design activity book that I can't search for because of sleeping children. Before our trip to Alum Creek which involved a trip to the American Girl store, I picked up some AG activity books on sale specifically for the car ride. Basically, if your kid has an interest, there's an activity book for it. I might get my act together and print some worksheets for Oldest to practice her math skills on the way to Gatlinburg.
Camping Snacks. My kids know that they get "camping snacks" for the car ride to and from a campground. In the cookie aisle, there are plastic cups of Nabisco treats. I don't normally buy Chips Ahoy or Teddy Grahams or Oreos or Nutter Butters, so these are treats in every sense. The plastic cups are self-contained, they're easy, they have a lid (of course, plenty have been dropped/spilled/given to the eagerly awaiting dog). When these are on sale for $1, I stock up.
The kids will help pack what goes into their bins, they may add a few things that I didn't include here, they may not put in all that I've said. This is just the ideas I use to help start and end our trip on the right foot and in the right mood.
By the way, we have a Facebook page now and you can follow by clicking here.
All this build-up. You'd think this was something far more exciting than kids' car activities. Lemme open the super-duper secret vault for you (I can feel it, you're on pins and needles, I know it).
Composition Notebooks. They're like $.89 each (big spender, eh?). They're open-ended, the kids can do whatever it is that they want in them. Draw pictures. Write a story. Play tic-tac-toe. Play hangman. I try to get cheap-o stickers (check out the dollar stores, I got 1000 stickers for $1) and stick them in the notebooks. Then, the kids can get creative with the stickers as story inspiration or making designs or who knows what they come up with.
Tangoes. They're magnetic puzzles. You get a handful of pieces in varying shapes and sizes. You get a booklet of pictures using the shapes and you have to try to figure out how to make the picture with the pieces. The answers are included, not that I've had to look at the answers or anything (nuh-uh, nope, not at all). We've got the Animals set, Objects set, and People set. When my kids get tired of figuring out the puzzles, they make their own fun shapes. My oldest even put faces on the pieces in one set and spent 45 minutes making them interact with each other. After I saw what she did, I thought about saying, "Hey, don't do that," but she was content and I'm not the one playing with these puzzles, so it wasn't an issue for me.
The kids will help pack what goes into their bins, they may add a few things that I didn't include here, they may not put in all that I've said. This is just the ideas I use to help start and end our trip on the right foot and in the right mood.
By the way, we have a Facebook page now and you can follow by clicking here.
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