Our Thanksgiving Tennessee Trip & Travel Tips: Day One

A Travel Journal…

I almost didn’t blog about this trip.  I haven’t been publishing a lot of posts lately.  The time I have to give to Teacher Mom Talks has been consumed by creating Write with Mrs. Wonder videos and designing Instagram stories because that’s just what I love to do.

But on our last day in Tennessee, we visited The Apple Barn.  This was a place I vaguely remember going to as a child.  As we were walking around and touring, I found a book called, Ciderella and the Little Glass Sipper.  It was only $5.

Before my daughter was even born, I started the tradition of buying a book for her when we took a vacation.  But as time went on, we began to accumulate a bunch of books that we just don’t have space for.  I used to write letters to her about our trips in the front or back cover of the book, but then I began podcasting and/or blogging, so all of my documentation ended up in a virtual space.

But on this vacation, I didn’t plan to blog about it or even seek out any particular book to keep the tradition alive.  The book just came to us at a reasonable rate and I figured, if I’m going to take some time to write, I might as well, write it on my blog.  For that reason, I’ve decided to write this blog post like a travel journal for my children, but I also try to write to share information for those that might find it helpful, if they decide to take a similar journey themselves…

Day One

To My Two Dear Children,

We departed our home Monday, November 25th at 2:30am.  We loaded up in a minivan we rented for the trip with Dodad and Meme.  Both of you were extremely well behaved during the car ride.  You slept in the dark and when you woke in the light you dumped out all your toys and played together.

When it reached breakfast time, we climbed out of the Toyota van and headed inside to order Chick Fil A.  Sissy was confused by the breakfast style food that Chick Fil A served but you both ate it anyways and spent some time playing in the kid zone.

After a while on the road, we propped up the iPad and you enjoyed a couple of movies as we finished the end of our trip.

But before we landed at our final destination, your dad started craving a peppermint milkshake, and then Dodad and I also got a hankering for one too.  So we all stopped at Chick Fil A once more for some lunch.

I was so thrilled when you pulled out your kids meal prize to find conversation cards.  I love stuff like this!  I wish I could remember all the answers you responded to when I asked you the questions.  I know you told me if you could take a new person anywhere in your town you would take them to our new neighbor’s backyard and I think on another question you responded to visiting Paris and seeing the Eiffel Tower.

We enjoyed our trip up, especially observing all the Fall colors, landscapes, and scenery.  We passed by old barns, cotton fields, and as we whirled around the Smoky Mountain roads, we pulled off the side of the street to see elk and later on down the road a bit, we spotted some icy snow too.  We took our time getting up to Pigeon Forge but it made the adventure even more fun.

After a trip through some tunnels and riding down many busy roads full of tourist attractions, we arrived at Bear Cove Falls.  We were the first ones there.  The two of you were amazed by the stairs, while I was exhausted and just wanted to sit down.  The home was gorgeous though.  It had four bedrooms, a large kitchen and living room, a jacuzzi, two back decks, a pool table room, poker room, arcade, and games.  The whole house was well stocked and we were even greeted with a bottle of sparkling wine and Lindt chocolates.

I sat upstairs with you as you both enjoyed dropping red and yellow game pieces inside the Connect Four stand.  We played with Jenga for a bit and got adjusted to the new space.   Everyone was pretty tired after a long drive so we ordered pizza, hopped in the spa, and then dressed in our pajamas for bed.

Talk About It:  How was your Thanksgiving?

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