Victory at Ober Gatlinburg
It was truck maintenance day today. We got an oil change before we left Washington, but we needed to get another one and a new fuel filter. Ron drove into the nearest town that had the oil filter he needed for his diesel truck (it is harder to find at oil change places than you think), while the kids and I tackled campsite chores. Well I did at least. But I enjoyed a DIY spa day by treating myself to a facial while I did my chores. I’m so happy I packed a few perks!
The kids continued to play and make friends at the playground. After Ron returned and we had lunch, we were off to Great Smoky Mountains NP. We drove to the visitor center to get a map and our bearings. This NP was free to enter, but they appreciate donations and they collected those in a fun way. We placed what we wanted to donate into boxes representing the country or state we’re from. Ariel was very excited to put some money in the Canada box and the WA box. I thought this was a pretty neat way for us to donate to the park.
We grabbed our souvenirs, hustled the kids out of the store, and then continued on our way. Ron had a secret agenda and drove us to Gatlinburg. He really wanted to check out Ober Gatlinburg, which is an amusement park and ski area. We took the aerial tram up the mountain and got an amazing view of the Smoky Mountains.
Once we were at the top we got our tickets for what Ron was most excited about: the alpine slide and the mountain coaster. It was also their Oktoberfest celebration so why not walk around with a beer too right? The kids climbed the rock wall and rode the umbrella ride, and then we headed to the mountain coaster. Just our luck they were having an issue on the track. After waiting about 30 minutes we decided to head to the alpine slide.
We took a ski lift chair up to the ride (I have always been nervous on these things) and boarded our sleds. It was Ariel and I vs. Ron and Wyatt. We were off to a quick start racing down the slide. Ron and Wyatt pulled ahead. Could we catch up to them? We tried, but no, we couldn’t gain enough speed. But, wait. We weren’t out and luck was on our side. The sled in front of Ron and Wyatt stopped before the finish line. Ariel and I laughed and cheered as we sailed by. We Yes I know they technically would have beat us but we enjoyed our little victory.
The kids were having a fantastic time, so we headed to the mountain coaster next for more thrills. By this time the issue on the track had been fixed but the line up was much longer. We decided the hour wait was a bit too long for us (this was longer than the line for the Peter Pan ride at DisneyLand and the kids barely survived that one). As a consolation, Ron and Ariel headed back to the Alpine Slide and I took Wyatt to the chair swing and umbrella ride again.
Ron and I knew we were pushing it timewise because Wyatt was already telling us he was starving. So, after a full afternoon on the mountain we headed back down on the tram to grab a bite to eat. Ron was really craving ribs so we found a restaurant called Calhoun’s. It apparently serves up the best ribs in America. There was a wait so while we waited I scoped out a local brewery and restaurant instead (I had this plan all along but had to be sneaky about how I executed it). We went in there to “wait” for our table at the other restaurant and ended up loving this new local place. We stayed there to try a flight of their beers and ended up ordering dinner. In the end Ron was happy with this choice and so was I. Yes!!
We all came home exhausted even though our day was a short one exploring. Ron was completely full and so was off to sleep before his head hit the pillow.
Goodnight from Tennessee!