New Years Vacation

 

 Space Needle ball drop and fireworks on New Years Eve

First mountain drive, looking smokey in the Smokeys...  hehe.

 Just posing cutely, this was a happy vacationing girl!

 Loved the Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg.  She also loved ducking in every tunnel or cove she could.

Yep, she's laying on the ledge, I'm pretty sure trying to show off for that little boy.  Flirt.

 Underwater tunnel...  Sharks, stingray, and turtles oh my!

SNOW!  It is January after all!  It was hard getting her to come in!

 Mountain drive in the snow, simply beautiful.

What's that you say officer?  There's a car that drove off the road ahead?  He says, "just give me a few minutes then you can pass."  Ok!  We kept going!

Ruby is now tunnel crazy, yelling "ahhhhhh" all the way through!

Smokey Mountain view from Cades Cove.

Wildlife in Cades Cove.

...then the camera died.  Thankfully it happened on the last day of our trip and not the first!


Notes from the trip:

Friday, 12/30/11

Left Montgomery 5:10 am 12/30 Friday, Gatlinburg arrival around 7:oo pm (with time change).  Ruby did excellent in the car, only fussed around dinner time, but vomited 8 miles before getting to the hotel!  100 degree fever, but acting crazy like usual!  Ruby loves playing in the hotel room. The night before we left I told ruby about the space needle ball drop and fireworks for new years, she kept going to the stairs wanting to see the ball drop and the next day in the car talked about the fire and "boom"!  Sad as it was that your belly was sick, there was nothing nicer than watching you drift off to sleep in my arms that night.  Oh, forgot to mention the two inch cockroach we saw in our hotel room...  Ugh.  No more sickness, thankfully!

Saturday, 12/31/11

NEW YEARS EVE 2011!!!  We waited all day for the ball drop and fireworks at midnight, and it was all worth the wait!  Breakfast, shopping, napping, swimming, napping then more shopping (another nap) and food.  We didn't even need to wake Ruby up for the midnight action, she took three catnaps during the day and was wired when her near normal bedtime came.  Ruby still talks about the ball drop and fireworks that go "boom"!!

Sunday, 1/1/12

Breakfast near the hotel, Smokey Mountain drive, more window shopping, then dinner at Bubba Gumps.  Fun day, pretty mellow, Ruby is now in love with play doh!

Monday, 1/2/12

We beat the massive crowds for breakfast at what would appear to be a old and famous pancake house, we were seated right away but when we left the crowd was roughly 25 people long, and growing. I will say that it would have been worth the wait!  Best pancakes ever!  After we went to the Ripley's Aquarium, and it was a blast.  Penguins, sharks, giant turtles, clown fish, sting rays...  The list goes on.  Nap, then dinner, play time and bed time.

Tuesday, 1/3/12

Last day here, mountain drive to Cades Cove, nap, shopping, a crazy good dinner at Bennett's BBQ, a last swim - the water was much warmer!  Packing for home, we leave in the a.m.

Wednesday, 1/4/12

Drive home, uneventful thankfully!  Sad to gone from the Smokies, but glad to be home.  Funniest thing is that we were in no rush to transition Ruby to her big girl bed, but the night we returned home she asked to sleep in her "big sister" bed!  Slept through the night with no problem, and hasn't gone back to the crib!