Author: Chris Brestle

We were so close to home we could taste it (or perhaps that was the wildfire smoke we were tasting).  After leaving Yellowstone we split the eleven hours of driving into two days putting us in Missoula, MT for the night.  We arrived at a good time so we grabbed dinner and what else are we going to do with two free hours?  That’s right, our 4th escape room of the trip at Big Sky Breakout.  We loved this room!  We found the launch codes, found the missing spy, and successfully escaped!

We were all having so much fun at the shore that it was hard to leave, but alas…we have 3,000+ miles ahead of us.  After saying our goodbyes to Mimi and Poppy this morning we turned the compass west for the first time.

Perhaps the most exciting stop of the entire trip…our first CAR WASH!!!  Not sure this Jersey Shore car wash has had dirt from Moab, UT in their drains before!

Today was a bit different than our prior days as our plans were more open ended.  Along our drive today we made three main stops.  First, we stopped at Valley Forge National Historic Park.  It is always awesome to be able to get a taste of history up close and personal.  Knowing we were standing in the same building as General George Washington is hard to fathom.

Upon leaving Valley Forge we drove through the Amish countryside.  We did a lot of Googling to understand their traditions and ways of living.  It was wild to be sharing the road with their horse and buggies.  It was like stepping back in time.

Our last stop was Hershey’s Chocolate World in Hershey, PA.  We wish we had more time to explore the town of Hershey but it was getting late so we enjoyed the free “ride” through how their chocolate gets made, had some dinner, and grabbed some treats for the car.  We’ll end tonight just outside of Pittsburgh as we target Cedar Point, OH tomorrow!

We spent two more days at the shore after Bronwyn’s last post.  Having grown up spending my summers down the shore, I quickly forget how much I take the unique fun of the shore for granted.  Our girls could spend days swimming and body boarding in the ocean.  They find the Ocean City boardwalk unique and fascinating with it’s unbeatable combination of rides, food, and shopping.  We all love the ability to hop on a beach cruiser and ride a bike to everything we need.  We even broke out the skim board and the girls realized it’s not as easy as it looks (and I realized I’m no longer 12…I think I pulled a hammy).  Hanging out with Aunt TT, Uncle JR, and Cousin Tyler was especially fun.  Mimi and Poppy are the ultimate hosts and the girls certainly didn’t want to leave…but we have 3,000 miles left to go…

When we started planning this trip, four weeks seemed like such a long time.  At this point, we’re realizing how we’re only really scratching the surface at many of the places we’ve visited.  What that means is that some days become crazy.  Like, “how did we do all that?” crazy.  Today was that day.

We started today at the crack of dawn by getting to Smoky Mountain National Park by 7:30am.  Did you know this is the busiest National Park in the country by a factor of two?!?!  They have over 11 million visitors per year and everything we read suggested to get there early.  We did, which meant we were able to take our first scenic loop before the Visitor Center even opened.  We were treated to a peaceful journey through some incredible forests with very few other people.

After a short trip to the Visitor Center to pick up the girls’ Junior Ranger books, we were off on the main loop of the park.  We saw some gorgeous scenery, attended a fascinating ranger talk inside a church that was built in the 1800s, and saw BEARS.  We spotted TEN black bears along our journey.  You could pull right off the side of the road and just see them so close (but the Rangers told us to be ready to get back in our cars as they can run faster than 30MPH).  The biggest thing I learned today…all 10 bears were up in the trees the whole time.  I had no idea they spent that much time up there!

We were planning on heading up to Clingmans Dome for a scenic view of the park but we had already sat in a lot of traffic in on the scenic loop, it started to get really hot, and the view from up there was a bit hazy on the webcam.  Instead, we headed back down through Gatlinburg and I dropped my sneak attack.  Remember yesterday I said Bronwyn limited me to one theme park in each direction?  Well, a one off attraction isn’t a theme park, right?  I had researched Rowdy Mountain which had two attractions.  The first is an Alpine Coaster.  We rode our first Alpine Coaster this past winter in Park City and we were looking forward to riding another one without ski boots on!  Secondly, they recently installed an Alpine Flyer…the first of its kind in the world.  Imagine a roller coaster that you ride in a personal swing.  Both were great fun!

After that it was back to the hotel for a quick dip in the pool to cool off before dinner.  The girls got a kick out of their “backside of water” picture (that’s for all you Jungle Cruise fans).

Lastly, if you know the Brestles you know we LOVE Escape Rooms.  We’ve done more than ten of them and they always prove to be a highlight of any day/trip.  Well, The Escape Game in Pigeon Forge blew us away tonight.  It took over the mantle of our new favorite room which had previously been held by Escape Whistler.  We found the gold and escaped with three minutes and twenty seconds remaining.  Woo hoo!  Off to Virginia tomorrow and only 48 hours away from The Shore…we’re coming Mimi!

So let’s get this out of the way first.  Being the theme park geek that I am, when we started this trip Bronwyn limited me to one park in each direction (smart woman).  The west-bound trip was easy…we’ll be going to Cedar Point next week.  East-bound was a bit more difficult.  I ultimately picked Dollywood…sitting right next to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  So glad we did.  This Resort is a gem.  The hotel is fantastic, the park is great fun, and the waterpark was a hit!  After so much driving we wanted to give the kids a simple day of fun.  And man, was it fun!

Breakfast

I’m pretty sure this hotel found out Bronwyn’s tastes and simply decorated the whole hotel in that manner.  Between the kettle pot chandelier and the personal servings of cereal served in mason jars, this hotel screams Bronwyn all the way!

Splash Country

We wanted to beat the crowds to Splash Country this AM (busy waterparks are no fun) so we landed up being the second group in line at the turnstile.  Turns out, the park was dead empty all day since the majority of surrounding school districts started school this week.  We rode everything multiple times and were out by 2pm (4 hours).  Never waited more than 10 minutes for a slide.  The park has a fantastic slide collection.  A little bit of everything.  The family agrees…the River Rush hydromagnetic water coaster is the favorite (we rode it six times).  It’s a well shaded and very scenic park as most of the slides are built on the hills rather than on standalone slide structures.  Pictures are few since my camera was in the locker all day.

Dollywood

Talk about perfect timing…we left Splash Country, showered/changed, and as we were waiting for the shuttle to go back to Dollywood a massive storm rolled in.  Wind, thunder, lightning…everything.  When we went to board the shuttle, the driver said “Uh, do you know all the rides are closed?”  So?  We’re from Seattle.  We’ve got our raincoats…let’s rock and roll!

This worked out perfectly as we ate some dinner as the storm was passing through, saw a show, and by the time the rides started to re-open, the park was completely dead.  Like walking on paths and not seeing a single person in either direction empty.  Like the picture below of Emily and Maelle waiting for the front row of one of the marquee coasters in the park…with not a single other customer in the station.  As Bronwyn mentioned in her earlier post, we did a TON last night so tonight’s visit was just icing on the cake.  We have a new appreciation for Dolly and her message of love and family.  We loved this Resort!  Tomorrow…Great Smoky Mountain National Park.