Gatlinburg Trip, Day 2

Saturday, July 4th—
We all slept in a bit. I was up first. Started breakfast. Then Ryan and Robin…and finally Meg (by maybe 10:00). We ate a good breakfast: some bacon, some eggs, watermelon from home, and (of course), juice and cereal. Then Meg and the children went down to the hot tub. It was like a swimming pool to them! By the time they got out and everyone dried off, it was time for lunch. We had hot dogs, beans, and chips, apple slices, and milk.
We didn’t leave for Gatlinburg until 3:00 PM or just after. The goal of the day was to explore the place, and eventually watch fireworks. We got the LAST parking space in a lot that advertised $6 for the whole day. We walked around some. Bought shirts. Bought candy. Watched candy being made. Went to the Ripley’s Mirror Maze place. Oh! At the candy place, Robin wanted a candy apple. Of course, Ryan wanted one, too—you know…the ones with a bright red candy coating? Well! Eating for Ryan is a whole-body experience. We sat on a bench while he just licked the candy coating for at least 30 minutes before he actually took a bite of apple…and by the time he was done, he had it everywhere! It was in his hair, on his socks, his sweatshirt, all over his hands….and, of course, all over his face, including up his nose! Virtually everyone who passed by looked on with amusement. Robin was messy for her…but not nearly as much as her bro! I walked back to the car to get a pack of wipes. I doubt that there is much left of that pack!
We found a Chinese restaurant for supper. By this time, the children were pooped and so were very well behaved. I discovered that both of my grandchildren like shrimp! It was a fairly expensive meal, but they seemed hungry and ate well.
A bit later, we stopped at a Ben and Jerry’s and got ice cream. Yet another whole-body deal for Ry! After that, things went somewhat downhill. “Whacko” fatigue began to take over. We continued to walk around, listening to various country music live groups, then Robin had to go to the bathroom, which required (as far as I could tell) a trek nearly back to the car to the public toilets. There were a whopping three stalls and a line! Meg and Ryan stayed where they were while Robin and I made the trek. She was in the stall a long time, God bless her! We went back to find Meg and Ry. I was getting out of patience with the crowds of people who seem oblivious to people around them…
It was beginning to get dark. We hoped the fireworks would start soon, but they waited until 10:00 to light the fuses. We were told that we just needed to be downtown to see the “look-up” fireworks. (Look up and they’d be there.) In the meantime, the children were finding other children and other activities to distract them. They were both dead tired but were running around like crazy with other kids until Meg put the kibosh on that. Once the fireworks started, Ryan sat quietly by himself watching the spectacle. Robin got distracted and sideways with her mother, but I noticed that when the fireworks finale started, she watched. And what a finale it was! That last blast alone must have cost $20,000. I’ve never seen anything like it!
Gatlinburg is 50 times more crowded than Nashville, IN, during fall foliage. The traffic is horrible. There is nowhere to park. We found ONE grocery store, late today. (Someone suggested Wal-Mart back in Pigeon Forge, but I said we’d do fast food and/or starve before we’d go back there!)
In any case, we finished off the day with Ryan listening to Veggie Tale versions of songs from my generation. It cracks me up to hear him singing “Blowing in the Wind” and “Crocodile Rock.” Robin stayed in our room to play Leapster. We were all tired babies!