Day 3 began with the Carnes family getting up a bit earlier than we did on Day 2, with the direct intention to find pancakes. Apparently pancakes are popular here in the South, because we noticed over the past 2 days that there are numerous pancake-themed restaurants. We got up and made our way down Historic Nature Trail to the Log Cabin Flapjack Works (not sure on the name, but I like it). Note to self: Country Ham is salty. I'm pretty sure it was invented by deer lovers, because it tastes like a salt block. Fortunately, though, the pancakes were quite good. Another thing we found out about local cuisine was that their syrup has the consistency of coffee. I had to ask the waitress if it was ok or not, because I was pretty sure the only reason it could be so runny was that the 8-year-old who sat at table 8 before us had decided to pour his grape juice in whatever he could find - in this case the maple syrup container. Not so. The syrup was good, actually.
After breakfast we went back up to the Holiday Inn to pick up Chase Carnes and head to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, via the Historic Nature Trail (the same road that our hotel is on). It turned into a 1-way street, going into the park, where you could see cliffs, waterfalls, and creeks. We had many chances to stop the car and check out some of the natural beauty all around us. After the 15-mile trek through the park, we came out in Gatlinburg again, and decided that we hadn't had enough of the park yet, so we took the road through town and went back into the park.
As we entered, we saw a sign for "Clingman's Dome - 20 miles". That sounded cool, so we decided to head for that. After much driving at speeds between 20 and 30 mph (and one mistaken turn-around in North Carolina), we found the top of the hill. It was home to some absolutely great views, and lucky for both of us - permanent bathroom facilities.
After we were done with the park for the day, we dropped Mr. Chase at the hotel, and put the TV on Comedy Central for him (he loves Dave Chappelle).
We went to play some Hillbilly Golf after that - it is on the side of a mountain, and you have to ride a trolley 300 feet up to get to the first hole. Unfortunately the search for a mini-golf course that actually has a windmill continues, but this place was great. The trolley ride alone was worth the price of entry, if for nothing more than originality :) Once at the top of the hill, you play your way down half of the hill through 18 holes, complete with hole #18 that involves hitting the ball into a realistic outhouse. That's a what I call Hillbilly Golfin'!
After golf, we found dinner at the Alamo Steakhouse, and then cruised the Parkway to check out the local shops. We found some homemade candy, and a Purdue leash for Chase. I think the dog has been more spoiled on this trip than either Jill or I, but that's ok, he deserves it. After doing some shopping, it appeared that a storm is coming in, so we headed back up to the hotel to hang out with the doggie again, and give him some leftover steak.
This is probably that last post from the trip - thanks for checking in with us during our travel, and I hope you enjoyed reading about our "last hurrah" before the baby arrives.
Maddie is home now, and has been since last Wednesday. She is sleeping well between feedings (knock on wood?), and she eats more each day. Our pediatrician said that she's doing very well, and I would have to say that we agree. We've had a bunch of visitors in the past week, and Maddie has just loved the company (I'm assuming, she sleeps through most visits). The one to take her arrival the hardest has been Chase the Dog. Poor guy. He sleeps all day, lying around the house because he can't handle being up during the night for Maddie's multiple feedings. This seems a bit strange though, because while he does sleep in our room with us, we haven't asked him to actually FEED our daughter....sheesh. What a bum he is. I guess he didn't realize this is what we were signing up for :)
