Pigeon Forge Mini-Vacation

Last Wednesday afternoon we headed out for Pigeon Forge! We found a great deal on a cabin and this was a great time for Greg, Nina, and the kids to go also. We hadn't been on a trip with them since July of 2001 when we went to Topsail, NC. That was the trip that we found out that we were having Holly on Sunday and that Mama had cancer on that Tuesday.

So we all decided it was time to get away for a day or two!

This was our cabin, Black Bear Den. It was suppose to be in a valley area with no steep mountains to drive up.
This hill above may not look steep, but when you arrive at 9:00 p.m. it is a little steep and very slick!!! We almost didn't make it to our cabin that night, but God saw to it that we did! It was a great example that we used during our devotion time together :D

The living room with everybody gettin' comfortable!

We had very warm weather on Thursday and Friday, but it got cool at night. So Brian tried to start a fire in the fireplace. This is him and Greg picking up pine cones for kindling.

The front view off the cabin's porch.

Thursday morning we headed to The Old Mill Restaurant. Breakfast cutoff was at 11:00 a.m. and we arrived about 11:15 a.m. so we had their lunch. It was absolutely delicious!

We headed over to the General Store after lunch. They also have a mill that was built in 1830. The original owner, Isaac Love, established the post office in this area. They named the town after the Little Pigeon River and the Iron Forge that his father, William Love had built.

I thought this sign was neat with the license plates made in the form of the USA.

No trip to TN is complete without a trip to the Smoky Mountain Knife Works.

We did some other shopping and grabbed some snacks and tried to head back to the cabin before dark. In case that hill was frozen again! It got really warm during the day, but the sun never directly hit that area of the hill, so the snow and ice wasn't melting very well. But yay we made it safely back.

The next morning we went to downtown Gatlinburg. I love the drive between PF and Gatlinburg. It is always so pretty ~ even in the dead of winter!

We ate at the Pancake Pantry and it was so good!

Here is my "morning star" breakfast! I took a picture so that I could make it sometime.

We were gonna ride go-carts indoors at Cooters, but then decided to play putt putt inside at another place.

But we got to look around in Cooters. Remember these old kids meal boxes that had the top of the car lift off the bottom. It was neat seeing them again.

I was obsessed with Bo Duke and I remember one year my Sunday School teacher getting me this Bo doll. Wow ~ memories!

This lady's name is Martha Ogle. Her husband came to this area around 1802 and cut logs to build a cabin. He then returned home to get his family and one more crop grown before they came to settle here. But when he returned home there was an epidemic of Malaria and he didn't make it. But in 1806-1807 Martha returned with her 2 daughters and 5 sons, and her brother and his family. They found the logs that her husband had knotched out and built this cabin. Isn't that neat!

The town was actually named after a man named, Radford Gatlin. He came to town in 1854 and had a general store. He established the post office in 1856 and the town was named Gatlinburg then. But he had major disagreements with most people in town so they ran him out in 1859.

Here is the original Ogle cabin. It had been moved but this is the structure that Martha and her family built.

I just love this! Going to G-burg for years I never knew the history, but with homeschooling we do now!

The marker.

Next up was the Bass Pro Shop!

Going for a ride in the elevator.

DUCK!
This picture cracks me up!

The Smoky Mountains.

That night we ate at No Way Jose's and it was very yummy! We won't mention the time when I spilled my water all over Brian's lap. But he was fast and scooted out of the way just in time.

We had a fantastic time. It was a time for sweet fellowship and revival and we'll cherish this trip for a long time. Or until we can go again!

The Lord truly blessed us with a wonderful time!