duright

We got up early October 2nd, drove Smith's to the airport and left Atlanta on our way to Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee. We paid $2.02 for a gallon of gas, the cheapest we paid on our trip, although we seldom paid more than $2.15. We left Atlanta and drove through North Carolina. We stopped in Franklin, North Carolina for lunch and ate at Zaxby's. They had a great poster of Sam Elliott right outside the women's restroom. Needless to say, that made my day. We were in the Great Smokey Mountains. They were really beautiful. There were, it seemed, hundreds of varieties of trees and a beautiful haze over the tops of the mountains. We wondered of that's why the called them "smoky". We got to Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee and checked in. We started laundry (remembered how much we hate laundromats) and started planning the next day's events at Dollywood. We got the call from Beth that evening. She had given birth to a beautiful, healthy, wonderfully perfect daughter, Sunny Day. Mother and baby were doing fine, which was the most important thing. Sweet Sunny weighed in at 7 lbs., 2 oz. After much laughing and crying, I gave a prayer of thanks that night that God had been so good to us, once again. We knew it would be hard to wait to get to Jackson, Wyoming on our way home to see our newest granddaughter. We got up the next morning and took the trolley the few miles to Dollywood. It was really great. Wayde rode the biggest wooden roller coaster in America, as well as just about every other ride in the park. I did go on the river rampage ride. They said you "may" get wet. There was no "may" about it, we got soaked. I rode that one and the ride on the old locomotive that ran into the hills. There were lots of craftsmen around, great music playing everywhere and it was a truly enjoyable day. I would love to take my family there. At the recommendation of our friend David, in Eugene, we ate supper at a restaurant called the Apple Barn in the neighboring town of Sevierville. Best fried chicken I have ever eaten. It was a great meal.