Spring Break Trip - Thursday, April 9
A chronicle of our eight day spring-break trip from Nappanee, Indiana to Lexington, Kentucky and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Spring Break Trip - Thursday, April 9, 2009
Staying in Pigeon Forge at the Inn at Christmas Place.
We ate breakfast at the hotel.
After breakfast we headed back to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The road to Clingman's Dome was open. That's where we headed. The kids added a new state to our list of ones they have visited: North Carolina.
This was a warm day, but the elevation of Clingman's Dome is 6,643 feet. At that elevation it was pretty chilly. We headed up the half-mile trail pushing Landen's jogging stroller, but only a tenth of a mile up, the snow became too deep to push the stroller any farther. Landen was going to have to walk through the snow with the rest of us. He made it just fine. I think the top of the mountain is frequently shrouded in clouds, but the weather was crystal clear this day. The view from the top was outstanding! We met another family from Nappanee at the top. They are in the slide show. On the way down we hiked on the Appalachian Trail for about 20 feet (just to say we did it.) We picked up Landen's stroller, which we had left by a bench, and headed back to the van.
On the way back toward Pigeon Forge we stopped and hiked the Sugarland Nature Trail. This spot was the complete opposite of the three previous places we visted in the park (Laurel Falls, Cade's Cove and Clingman's Dome.) All three of those spots were packed with people. At Sugarland almost no one else was around. And it is a beautiful trail. There are a few chimney's and a stone fence from the 1800s along the trail. The best part is a rocky creek which can easily be hiked across to a rocky island. Landen loved throwing rocks in the river. We stayed there for about an hour.
At about 2:20 we decided it was time to get lunch/supper. We went to Kinkaku Japanese Steak House. It is the number one rated restaurant in Pigeon Forge on Trip Advisor. We had seen that the less expensive lunch menu lasted until 3:00. We made it just before 3. It was only $33 for the five of us (plus tax and tip.) This was the first time the kids had been to a Japanese Steak House. We had an excellent chef. He was funny, kept us all entertained and prepared an excellent meal for us.
After the steak house we went back to the hotel and swam. Landen was tired, so Kristi put him to bed early. Kylee, Makenna and I went to the lobby and got free cookies and milk and watched the singing Santa. (Who did an excellent job - and did not appear in full Santa garb, thank goodness.) The girls and I then went to Walgreen's and rented Marley & Me from the Red Box. I was impressed with the Red Box. The movie was pretty good too.
Spring Break Trip - Thursday, April 9, 2009
Staying in Pigeon Forge at the Inn at Christmas Place.
We ate breakfast at the hotel.
After breakfast we headed back to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The road to Clingman's Dome was open. That's where we headed. The kids added a new state to our list of ones they have visited: North Carolina.
This was a warm day, but the elevation of Clingman's Dome is 6,643 feet. At that elevation it was pretty chilly. We headed up the half-mile trail pushing Landen's jogging stroller, but only a tenth of a mile up, the snow became too deep to push the stroller any farther. Landen was going to have to walk through the snow with the rest of us. He made it just fine. I think the top of the mountain is frequently shrouded in clouds, but the weather was crystal clear this day. The view from the top was outstanding! We met another family from Nappanee at the top. They are in the slide show. On the way down we hiked on the Appalachian Trail for about 20 feet (just to say we did it.) We picked up Landen's stroller, which we had left by a bench, and headed back to the van.
On the way back toward Pigeon Forge we stopped and hiked the Sugarland Nature Trail. This spot was the complete opposite of the three previous places we visted in the park (Laurel Falls, Cade's Cove and Clingman's Dome.) All three of those spots were packed with people. At Sugarland almost no one else was around. And it is a beautiful trail. There are a few chimney's and a stone fence from the 1800s along the trail. The best part is a rocky creek which can easily be hiked across to a rocky island. Landen loved throwing rocks in the river. We stayed there for about an hour.
At about 2:20 we decided it was time to get lunch/supper. We went to Kinkaku Japanese Steak House. It is the number one rated restaurant in Pigeon Forge on Trip Advisor. We had seen that the less expensive lunch menu lasted until 3:00. We made it just before 3. It was only $33 for the five of us (plus tax and tip.) This was the first time the kids had been to a Japanese Steak House. We had an excellent chef. He was funny, kept us all entertained and prepared an excellent meal for us.
After the steak house we went back to the hotel and swam. Landen was tired, so Kristi put him to bed early. Kylee, Makenna and I went to the lobby and got free cookies and milk and watched the singing Santa. (Who did an excellent job - and did not appear in full Santa garb, thank goodness.) The girls and I then went to Walgreen's and rented Marley & Me from the Red Box. I was impressed with the Red Box. The movie was pretty good too.
Labels: spring break 2009
posted by Steve Gall at
10:29 PM
1 Comments:
looks like a great time.thats awesome.
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