SEA 2 Shore

We made it!!!  From the Pacific to the Atlantic.  We were quite giddy pulling into the driveway in Longport.  Now for a few days of rest at the shore with family. ❤️

After all the driving we have done, Shenandoah National Park didn’t help us much with it’s 105 mile long, windy “Skyline Drive”.  With only four places to enter the drive, it’s pretty much a requirement if you want to get in and see the park.  We entered about 1/3 of the way in and drove to the top.  Along the way, we saw a bear cub and enjoyed a short hike to a scenic overlook.  We all agreed, while the park is beautiful, thanks to where we live, it’s not much different than the views and hikes you get on our own trails around the Maple Valley area.  Nevertheless, the girls acquired another badge and we all appreciated it’s history.

Written by Emily

Day 13

On our way to Waynesboro, Virginia we made a pit stop at Appomattox Court House. The Appomattox Court House is where the Civil War ended. In the parlor at the McLean house, General Lee surrendered to General Grant, ending the civil war. We saw exactly where it all happened and could imagine the scene.  It was so incredible to walk in and around the buildings. We looked at artifacts and touched the walls of buildings that were built in the early 1800s. I loved learning about all of the history behind the Appomattox Court House. My favorite thing that I learned was about the Silent Witness. The Silent Witness is a doll that was left in the parlor by Lulu McLean. The soldiers that were in the room at the time of the surrender called this doll the Silent Witness and one of the soldiers took her home as a souvenir. In the late 1990s the doll was donated to the museum at the National Historic Site. Appomattox Court House was one of my favorite stops on the trip so far. I can’t wait to study American history next year!

By Maelle

“I’m so excited to get the badge! I love earning badges! Just one more page to do!”

At each National Park or historical site, my sisters and I do the Jr Ranger program. We get a little book and if we finish the book we get a Jr Ranger badge. So far we have gotten 12 badges on this trip. The books have activities and challenges to complete. I like the drawing pages and the crosswords the best. Sometimes we have to go to a Ranger program and learn about one small piece of the park. My favorite ranger talk was with a ranger in Zion National Park. She taught me about Bob the Boulder who broke off a cliff during a heavy rain.

I have also used my own spending money on two Jr Ranger things- a hat and a vest. I put most of the badges on my hat. Some have to go on my vest. I also like buying pins and patches for my vest.

I hope to earn a couple more badges before we get home. National Parks are so fun!

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.

Scene: At Granny’s cafe. Family is enjoying a buffet dinner with southern classics…

Maelle: These are the best chicken fingers I’ve ever had.

Mom: Glad they’re tasty!

(Maelle finishes two pieces and then breaks a piece in half. It is clearly not chicken)

Maelle: What is wrong with this chicken?

Waitress: That’s fried catfish, honey.

Just a short drive for the Brestles today! Short for us is under 6 hours. 🤣

Our day started with an unexpected treat- breakfast with Kris and Sam. It was also our first trip to a Waffle House and will likely be our last. 🤦🏻‍♀️

We made it to Pigeon Forge and headed straight to Dollywood for the evening. The park was empty and we rode everything we wanted, walked the whole loop, and enjoyed the friendly and wholesome nature of the park as a whole.

No driving for us tomorrow! We’ll head to Splash Country and beat the heat for the day.

642 miles today.

Crossed 2 state lines.

Girls earned two Jr. Ranger badges at Fort Smith Historic Site in Arkansas.

Ordered five plates of barbecue for dinner in Memphis.

Watched more movies than I’d like to admit.

Loving this trip and cherishing the time with my family.