When I'm Wrong, I Say I'm Wrong...

Remember that line at the end of the movie Dirty Dancing (the original) where Baby's dad, Dr. Houseman, tries to make amends with Johnny??? He says "When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong." And, then he doesn't say he was wrong. He turns to Baby and tells her how wonderful she looked dancing the last dance of the season up on the stage in front of everyone after having secretly practiced the whole summer with Johnny and falling in love with him.

Well, this is sort of like that but I didn't spend all summer in a clandestine love affair with a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks who happens to be an excellent dancer. This is me in the role of Dr. Houseman actually admitting I was wrong in front of the whole wide internet.

For years I've been snickering behind people's backs and making fun and acting better than other people. Their choices were not my choices and I thought mine were better. I thought their choice was indicative of the type of person they must be. Well, I'm here to say, loud and proud that I was wrong and I admit it.

Admit what you might ask???

I LOVE GATLINBURG, PIGEON FORGE and DOLLYWOOD!!!!! 

Jim and I decided to take the kids on a little spring break trip Monday - Friday last week and I begrudgingly decided to look at options around Gatlinburg, TN. I knew the kids would love it, but I didn't think I would enjoy it. Well, I was wrong. I didn't just enjoy it, I loved it. I loved the tourist traps, I loved the fudge shops, I loved the carnival rides, I loved the dinner theaters, I loved the cheesy-ness of it all. But most of all I loved the scenery. Gah, the scenery took my breath away at every turn. Even driving south through Pigeon Forge with all that tourist mess on either side of the road the mountains loom up right in front of you. It's amazing. 

I found a great little 3 bedroom cabin on VRBO, just outside Pigeon Forge that had a rushing stream right behind it and so I knew that would provide hours of entertainment for our big kids. The cabin was close enough to the main drag to be convenient but far enough away to feel secluded. We made some loose plans about things we wanted to do while we were there and set out for the drive. 

It wasn't all roses and rainbows because traveling with kids never is, but overall it was a great trip and we all agreed we would go back again. Here were our highlights.

1. Cade's Cove - Jim's family has a timeshare chalet in Gatlinburg that he used to visit regularly when he was younger, and apparently, it was a tradition to visit Cade's Cove. It's become a running joke in his family and anytime someone mentions the Gatlinburg area, Cade's Cove comes up. I haven't been to the Gatlinburg area as an adult. The last time I was there was in high school and we all know that teenagers' brains are not yet fully formed so they can't fully appreciate anything. 

Anyway, I had never been to Cade's Cove and because it had become a joke in Jim's family I didn't really know what to expect, but it was so, so, so beautiful. The meadows and mountain views were spectacular. The history was really interesting (although with three kids in tow it was difficult to truly process that part) and the drive to and from was just as lovely as the loop itself. 

Deer crossing right in front of us.

Methodist Church from Cade's Cove

Working grist mill from Cade's Cove 

2. Dollywood - What a great park! I was prepared to laugh this off, but it was so lovely. We live near Kings Island and it was every bit as nice as Kings Island (if not nicer!). There was an international festival going on with unique musical acts performing throughout the park as well as food and merchandise from those countries. They had a lot of rides that all of our kids could enjoy. In fact, we only saw about one third of the park because our big kids didn't want to leave one particular area. The cost of admission was typical as was the cost of food and drinks in the park, but we went in expecting that, so it wasn't an issue. We spent a full 7 hours at the park with a 16 month old, 9 year old and 10 year old and everyone had fun. 

This kind of fun leads to this kind of nap.

It may look like Graer is very lovingly supporting Nora's head as we push the stroller up a rather steep incline, but he is actually holding onto his new sword to make sure it didn't fall out of the stroller as I pushed it up the rather steep incline. Because priorities.

Our big kids opted for the double seat together all on their own. They ran ahead and got on the ride before I could even catch up to them. When I walked up to get a picture of them on the last ride of the day, this is what I found. My heart nearly burst!

3. The stream behind our cabin - There are TONS of options for places to stay in the area, but I knew I wanted a cabin and I knew I wanted to FEEL like I was in a cabin in the woods. I got what I wanted. When I saw the listing for this cabin with the stream running behind it, I knew the kids would love it and they absolutely did. They spent time out there every day picking out cool stones and sticks, skipping rocks, wading in the water... just general unplugged kid stuff which was so awesome. There was a little waterfall to the left and then a little rushing rapids to the right. You could hear the rushing water from the deck of the cabin and if it had been warmer we could have left the windows open and heard it from bed at night. I loved it. 

The cabin itself was a decent amount of space for us as a family of 5. It had 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms (albeit small), a full kitchen with a washer & dryer, double-sided fireplace, easy parking, huge decks, and one other feature my kids loved - a spiral staircase! It could have been a little more updated, but everything worked fine, was clean and we basically just slept there and had breakfast, so we didn't need more than what we had. Plus, we live in a 2 bedroom, 1 bath bungalow, so having just 1 extra bedroom and bathroom felt luxurious. If you're interested, you can check out the cabin listing on VRBO here.

The gorgeous little waterfall.

This girl. Such beauty.

Tried and tried for a pic with everyone looking at the camera! Success!

I simply couldn't stop taking pictures of anything that would sit still in front of the waterfall. Including me.

My daddy would be so proud. I skipped some rocks!

Seeing all three kids love this natural playground was so great. I love that they can unplug and enjoy the nature around them.

The view of the stream from the deck of the cabin. It was just a 10-15 foot slope down from the lower level. 

The deck off the kitchen and master bedroom. It went all the way across the back of the cabin, wrapped around one side of the house and across the front. HUGE!

The view of the back of the cabin from the stream. All the decking makes it look really big.

So, there you have it. I was wrong. I officially apologize to all those I secretly made fun of or made judgements about (though you may not know who you are because I did it secretly). Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Dollywood are all awesome. 

I... had... the time of my life. Oh, I never felt this way before. Yes, I swear. It's the truth. And, I owe it all to you.