Sunday, August 28, 2011

The Honeymoon

We decided to get a hotel package deal in place of a cabin because we got a ton of things to do in with the deal for about the same price. The hotel was not private and did not have a private hot tub was the only real disadvantage. The hot tub was out of order we later learned after buying Bub some shorts to go, that was really sad but we survived it has not been the first time my hot tub was not working on a stay in Gatlinburg. This being said our stay was booked for 3 nights and included tickets to ride the cable cars to Ober Gatlinburg, Ripley's Aquarium, The brand new Titanic Attraction, and Wonder Works. Super deal for two honeymooners! We checked in our room June 11 and decided not to do any of the attraction things we had tickets to do but instead go out and walk around Galinburg. We decided Star Cars would be our first attraction we visited.
 


Star Cars was awesome! I consider it to be a bit expensive still for the price but nice to go through if you really enjoy viewing cars that have been in famous movies. This was not the first time I had been through the museum but enough time had passed that very few cars were the same. My favorite car of course was Bumble Bee. I also liked the Charlies Angels car, the Smoky and the Bandit TransAm, and I liked not only the car but the background of the old Mabry Courthouse when viewing the Andy Griffith car. Bub really liked the Italin Job car and the one from The Fast and the Furious. They also had Dolly Parton's Cadillac, a jeep from Mash, a Jurrasic Park truck, and the truck from Twister which they had a cool effect with. The museum took us about an hour to go through.



Ripley's Aquarium was our second attraction and the first we visited with our package deal tickets. It was awesome. This was the second time I had been but the first time Bub had got to go. I did see some things I did not recall seeing before such as the octopus and the awesome penguin addition which I loved. Those are just the cutest little birds I have ever seen. I still loved the shark tunnel and the jelly fish like before but they are competing with these penguins for my overall favorite vote. I did not notice the huge scratch on the wall of the shark tunnel this time where the shark had attacked some years back. I do not know if they have replaced it or just do not draw attention to it like they did the first time I visited. Bub and I really enjoyed the aquarium and bought a couple postcards for mementos. We walked over to the little mall with Bub's favorite shop the Pepper Palace. I like this store too because I can go around and sample the dips to see what really is the best to buy before I make a decision. Bub bought a small bottle of hot sauce deemed to be the hottest in the dimension I believe and it must have really been. He tested it choosing to not have his picture taken for their wall of testers but should have! It was hot enough he thought we were going to have to leave because it was setting him on fire and took his breath. We had a few more stops in the mall before heading back to our car and the hotel. It was a nice day. We spent the rest of the evening chillaxing and walking around to a few more shops.

The next day we did the remaining things that was included in our hotel package. First, we went to Ober Gatlingburg which I was really excited about and I can not say I was really disappointed. I have always wanted to ride the cable cars and this was mine and Bub's first time of ever doing it. This was probably what I looked the most forward to doing out of all the things we booked. The scenery was beautiful. I can not say I was as pleased as I have been in the past with the helicopter tours but was well pleased. This was a much cheaper alternative at some pictures at higher elevations. Bub took most of the pictures here because I was hidden in a mass of people on the way up and too busy gazing on the way back down. The great advantage to this deal was you could ride the cars anytime you wanted until 8 O' clock the next day. I thought this was an awesome deal and I really did consider going back later but we had many other activities we had to do before they ran out. The actual park at Ober Gatlingburg was much like an amusement park. We walked around and checked everything out but didn't ride anything because the chairlifts to the higher part of the mountain did not allow cameras. I am a tourist I live with my camera in my hand if it is not allowed I am not interested! We did not spend a lot of time at Ober Gatlinburg and chose not to purchase our picture they had taken of us because it was a bit expensive and I felt I did not look that great in it.

The Titanic a really interesting tour. You were handed a card while you waited to enter the ship of the person you would be on the Titanic once you completed your journey you would learn if you died in the chilling waters or survived. I was a first class maid. Bub was a second class gentleman. The tour was filled with facts and actual artifacts that were found after the dreadful crash. You had the opportunity to touch an iceberg and see how long you could hold your hand in the 28 degree water the passengers were left floating in. You also got the chance to see a room where parts from the Titanic movie was filmed. They had replicas of the beautiful heart necklace on sale and I admit I almost bought one. They were very beautiful. The end of the tour had games you could play and I successfully maneuvered the ship to avoid the crash. We purchased our picture here.
                                                                           
Wonder Works was pretty cool but I really missed little man here. It was like one big huge arcade mixed a bit with a fair. I got to feel the wind of a tornado and an earthquake. I also played an awesome flight simulation and a war game which I must say I did not score half bad. This is one of those attractions when you visit plan to stay all day because I can assure you if you enjoy games, weird facts, and wild rides you will love this place. I really enjoyed the quizzes they had you could take to see aspects of your personality and the images you can see more than one thing in. They also had a bed of nails I was too big of a coward to lay on but it did look kinda cool when a little boy showed me up by doing it. Overall I would vote this as an awesome family attraction and a super way to keep the kids entertained...and the parents too.
       
                                 The last thing we did before heading home was to take a pleasant early morning drive up into the mountains. I have always enjoyed the scenery and serenity the Smoky Mountains offers. I have been many times but still enjoy a trip up the winging roads to the Carolina line. We stopped at our usual spot and I snapped some great pictures of the Chimneys which is the bottom small picture above. We were amazed to find they were actually doing road work on the roads going up the mountain. I must say I am glad to see it they have become worn and destructed from cold weather in winter, hot summer days in summer, and all the traffic a tourist town brings. We stopped at a couple of the little pull offs and snapped pictures before getting out for a short walk at the stop before you cross into Carolina. We walked to the top of the big rock monument and took a few pictures before heading home.

I have to say we had a wonderful honeymoon. We even had a great trip that really didn't seem to last that long on the way up there and back. We even had a few drivers honk their horn for us when they saw our just married sign in the back window. I am the luckiest woman in the world to have someone who loves me like my husband does. We both now realize the gift we have and the necessary steps to maintain the bond we share. I have faith we will be old timers sitting on the porch watching our grandchildren play fussing on our son for making them do something we know we would have made him do when he was their age.           






More True Love Comments
 
So sorry it took so long for me to update the blog with the honeymoon post. I promise I am going to try to do better. I hope to begin posting at least once a week. Please keep in mind I am a full time mom and student now should I back slide. 



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