Our Trip To Dollywood: Part 4

Saturday, Oct. 1st, we got up a little early so we could be at the Old Mill Restaurant when it opened at 8:00 am. The Old Mill Restaurant was once a grist mill that was a hub of activity in the Pigeon Forge Community in the 1880's. (If you want to learn more about its history go to the following link: Old Mill History.)When we arrived, we were seated right away and at a table with a view of the river. 

It wasn't long before a basket of banana nut muffins were on our table and our drinks were being served. After looking at the menu for a few minutes, we were placing our orders. DH ordered the Old Mill Country Breakfast with sausage. DD ordered the Old Mill Biscuit Breakfast with ham. I ordered the Old Mill Country Breakfast with ham. It was all delicious and we stuffed ourselves. 

Inside the restaurant is all wood.

 

After we paid, we walked next door to the Old Mill Store to look around. When we left the store, we walked on down to the bridge to take pictures of the river and the water wheel. We enjoyed our meal and visit to the Old Mill. 

(If you are planning a trip to the Pigeon Forge area, I would recommend planning a visit to the Old Mill Restaurant. The food is great and the service was excellent. It is one of those must sees.)

Soon after, we headed back to the campground to start packing up. We go left around 9:30 am. The ride back was just as beautiful as the ride up. We arrived home around 1:30 pm (or there abouts.) We started unpacking the van and the camper. 

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but one we will always remember!

Simply enjoying the simple life God blessed me with! 

Our Trip To Dollywood: Part 3

As we entered the park, we took the advice we were given when we first went to Disney World - go to your left. People are naturally inclined to go to their right, but if you go to the left as you enter a park you will encounter fewer people. This advice has never failed us. 

When we came to the first ride, - which happened to be a roller coaster called Thunderhead - we got in the very short line to ride it. Oh, my, was it rough but oh, so much fun! They wouldn't let you carry any bags of any sort on the ride. After we got off I knew why, we would have lost them in the midst of the ride. In fact, I lost the cloth headband I was wearing, but it was worth it! 

We went on to ride several more roller coaster. DH rode of them in the park, but DD and I were more selective. My favorite was the Mystery Mine. DD's was the  FireChaser Express.  DH's was the Wild Eagle and his least favorite was the Tennessee Tornado. He also liked the newest roller coaster the Lightning Rod.

My favorite.

Yes, you hang upside down for a second on the Mystery Mine.

DD's favorite.

DH and DD are riding in the back car for their second time on the FireChaser Express.

DH's favorite.

DH's least favorite.

Some of the other rides we rode included; the Blazing Fury, the Dollywood Express, and the  Village Carousel.  The Blazing Fury was a gentle indoor roller coaster through a small 1880's mining town. The train ride was a peaceful way to spend about 20 minutes and the scenery is beautiful. It also gives you a different perspective to some of the attractions in the park. DD and I had to ride the Carousel. It is our little tradition. 

A view of the roller coaster Thunderhead from the train ride.

In between riding we did a little shopping in the many stores in the park. We stopped by the Grist Mill for some of Dollywood's famous Cinnamon Bread. We also stopped by the Sweet Shoppe for some fudge. There were a lot of craft booths and demonstrations set up when we were there. We stopped to watch a man and his horse making sorghum molasses. In the area around the Lightning Rod, there were a lot of classic cars setting around which were neat to look at. 

If you go to Dollywood, their cinnamon bread is a must get. YUMMY!

I looked everywhere with something with my name on it, a key chain or something. All I found was a kitchen. LOL!

A man and his horse juicing sorghum cane to turn into sorghum molasses.

Some of the classic cars sitting around Lightning rod.

The Lightning Rod was our last stop before heading out. We were exhausted but happy about the day we spent at Dollywood as a family. 

Living a simple life and enjoying the time spent with family! 

Our Trip To Dollywood: Part 2

Friday, September 30th, we slept a little later than usual. Once we were up,  DH went to MacDonald's (which was right down the road from the campground) to get us biscuits for breakfast. We then took our time getting ready for our day at Dollywood. We headed out about 9:30 am and made our way to Dollywood. 

After getting parked and catching a trolley to the park entrance, we turned in our letter to get our two free park tickets(which my MIL won at a silent auction) and purchased one more. We were in the park by 9:45 am and on our first ride shortly there after. 

The whole park was decked out in fall decorations and they had started putting up some Christmas decorations. Every nook, cranny, and corner was decorated with hay bales, corn stalks, pumpkins, gourds, leaves, sunflowers, and mums. They had several areas set up for the perfect picture taking opportunity. 

I am going to caption this picture like DH did on his FB page - "We don't know these people. The were just in the way."

Usually things like this creep me out, but I thought the pumpkin people were cute.

Christmas decorations going up.

We picked a good day to go. The weather was nice. A little cool in the morning, but just perfect by the afternoon. All the rides we rode, we walked right on or had to wait for one person to get on in front of us. 

This was our first time at Dollywood. We were impressed by the parks decor and theme. The fall decorations were beautiful. The rides we rode were a lot of fun. The train ride was a nice relaxing way to spend about 20 minutes. It was nice to get to see the house Dolly Parton grew up in. The schoolhouse was a nice peek into what school life looked like in East Tennessee in the 1890's. The chapel was absolutely gorgeous in its simplicity and I would love to attend a service there sometime. 

One of the negatives about Dollywood would be the amount of walking you have to do. It is A LOT of walking. So if you are planning a trip in the future keep that in mind. Another negative was the food choices. I wasn't that impressed. It was a lot of fast food and Southern type of food with a lot of fried things. I know fast food is easy for a busy pace and the other food it fits the theme of the park, but I wanted healthier options. We finally ended up getting a Steak-n-Cheese sandwich with peppers, onions, and mushrooms from "The Market". The sandwich came with homemade chips on the side. It was good and the healthiest choice we could find. 

We had a good time and a good day, but, boy, we were wore out when we got back to the camper. We were even too tried to out to eat at the steak house we wanted to try. DH just went out and got us some sandwiches from Chick Fil A. We all crashed shortly there after. 

Check back in tomorrow for more of our day at Dollywood and the rides we rode. 

Enjoy a simple trip as a family and loving every minute of it!