Brownie Troop # 84 took their first trip to the corn maze at Maybury Park. The whole family went, and it was FUN! :O) It didn't take us very long to go through the maze due to the kids' amazing ability to guide us through. In fact, it was still light when we finished! 
Welcome to the corn maze!
Anita and her fellow brownies on the wagon back from the corn maze.
Hell yeah! We're getting four or five free rose bushes from a Freecycler in Wayne today. I'll post some pics when they are in the ground. We're going to get them today after we pick up the kids.
I saw the post in one of the Freecycle digests I am subscribed to, and I immediately sent the person a note not thinking that they would still be available. The post was an hour old, and believe me, things go pretty quickly off the list. Ask Fai, who I helped today get rid of her stuff before she moves to Seattle (BOO HOO - but that's off-topic!)
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Editor's Note: Pictures of the roses will go here! :O)
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A funny thing happened to me today while I was at the IBM Southfield building. It was just like any other day... I followed two people into Elevator No. 4. They just came from the cafeteria and both got off at the 5th Floor. I continued on my journey up ... and up .... and up ... past my floor (10) to the 15th floor. Then, the elevator stayed on the highest floor of the building and then moved to the 11th floor. I waited for a few seconds, and then I pressed several floor buttons without avail. I could hear the other elevators on both sides of me going up and down.
Finally, I pressed the button that rings security.
Security: "Security!"
Peg: "Hi, I'm in Elevator No. 4... I'm stuck at the 11th floor."
Security: * Pause * OK, "We'll have to call the Elevator Engineer Company."
Peg: "OK, Thanks!"
After a few minutes, the elevator opened its door at the 11th floor. In walked another person who was talking on his Blackberry. I informed him quickly that this elevator was not working right. However, I thought that if the door opened, the elevator must be working... so, I stepped back in. (I used the analogy that this is the part in a movie, where I would yell at the screen, "Don't go back in there, you idiot!!!" Argh! :O))
In the midst of all this, I tried to call Michael (no answer) and then ended up calling and talking to my sister Fai. Finally, I had to hang up during this confusion.
After the man was done with his conversation, he and I introduced ourselves and exchanged plesantries. We eventually ran out of things to talk about, and we had to make a few phone calls to inform people that we would be late. I spoke to my one colleague, Patty, during this time and she said that she was also stuck last Friday in Elevator No. 4. ARGH!
Every now and then, Security would call:
Security: "Are you doing OK in there?"
Peg: "Yes. The door opened up at the 11th Floor. Someone is here with me now."
Security: "The next time the door opens: Leave the elevator. The Elevator Engineer will be here in 20 minutes."
Peg: "OK. Thanks!" (In my head, I'm thinking, "Why the heck didn't I do it earlier?!")
Finally, the Elevator Engineer arrived and pried the doors with his hands. Hallelujah! We both said "good-byes," left quickly and went to the other elevators. After all, I was helping set up a booth at the IBM Ice Cream Social today!
I IM'd with Patty, and we both looked up this guy that I was in the elevator with. Here is his title:
Here I was with a top-level Senior Manager, and I never knew it. Wished I was a bit more witty... but at least I didn't say anything inappropriate either. Phew ... :OD
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Editor's Final Note: It looked like they had fixed Elevator No. 4 when I left the building 'cos people were all filing in there. But, I'll skip to the other elevators from now on! :O)
Today is the last day of our trip and also happens to be Michael's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :OD However, as always, it's always action packed. We decided to tag along with Grandma and Grandpa and head over to Cherokee, NC. They were headed to the casino. We were headed to see the reservation and learn more about Cherokee culture. Of course, I didn't realise how close we were to The Biltmore in Asheville, NC. Next time!
The first thing we noticed was that all of the street signs and stores (where available) had both English and Cherokee characters. Other than that, you would probably can't tell that the land you are standing on is part of the Indian reservation.
After our visit, we went to the working farm on the National Park Service property right outside of the Smokies heading in to Gatlinburg. We visited and observed a lot of different housing structures that always had a purpose. There were pigs and chickens as well. Some other NPS personnel were cutting sorghum plants down for the sorghum syrup making activity over the weekend.
With that said ... great, fun and educational trip overall. I hope you enjoyed the stories and pictures!
A street sign in English and Cherokee characters.
The Indian Chiefs at the first souvenir shop on the Cherokee reservation. 
I wasn't sure if I should be insulted or laugh when I first saw this disclaimer on this doll. 
The kids actually remembered the rhyme on this paddle the next day!
Minnie with a coon-skin hat and a slingshot. I weep for my future... 
I *almost* bought a pair. 
An interesting sign outside one of the many souvenir shops. 
A Museum of the Cherokee Indian dedicated to the Cherokee Indians. Very interesting exhibits and stories. Definitely a must-do if you have a couple of hours. 
Available at the gift store... You too can learn Cherokee which was created by the late great Sequoyah. 
The kids outside of the Museum of Cherokee Indians with Sequoyah, creator and teacher of the Cherokee language. 
One of the homes on the working farm managed by the National Park Service. Look at the size of the wood beams!
Believe it or not, these are public areas set aside by the National Park Service. Not sure how they all came about, but interesting indeed. This was outside of the farm.
Today's adventure is at Dollywood conceptualized by the talented and great Dolly Parton. It is quite expensive to go there, but it was fun. My advice is to buy Dollywood tickets at the various discount ticket outlets that are in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. We were there from 1.00 PM until closing time at 8.00 PM!
Surprisingly enough, there are a number of arts and crafts booths spread throughout the property. There was a bee-keeping house, many live performances (some by Dolly's kin - but we did not see them), and lots of games and rides! Some of the rides we rode on included a Veggie Tales rollercoaster (pretty twisty), Ferris Wheel, Round-About, bumper cars (AWESOME!), a water soaker ride, and others. The weather was good, and there were not many lines. In some cases, we were able to ride on the rides multiple times!
BTW, The Thunderhead was AMAZING!
Michael and the kids near the entrance of Dollywood.
We're having a blast up here!
We're STILL having a blast up here!
The kids (and I behind Minnie) on the carousel. The colours were lovely!
I thought this was an interesting tidbit. When this question comes up on Jeopardy, I can answer it! BTW, Yum is eating a lollypop made out of sorghum.
Today, we moved out of the cabin in the morning and into the "Presidential Suite" of the Family Inn of America (FIA). My advice to you: Do *NOT* stay in the Presidential Suite at the FIA. In fact, it's probably better that you don't stay at any of the FIA brands. If you decide to visit Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge one day, I would recommend that you do NOT stay at the FIA Twin Malls. The list of infractions are too numerous to mention here, but you can rest assured that I jotted them down and gave to Grandma to present to their "management." You are better off staying at one of the other name brand hotels. The Marriott and Holiday Inn looked especially good.
The Free Continental Breakfast was coffee, orange juice / fruit punch that was ONLY plugged in during the breakfast hours (6.30 AM - 10.30 AM EST) and glazed donuts. The free Breakfast Special was at another hotel called The Grand Hotel 10 minutes away. We went there and discovered that the free breakfast was either pancakes or biscuits and gravy. This did not include the drink. Here is the stickler: You had to pay for a drink to get either pancakes or biscuits and gravy for free. You could have upgraded to the breakfast bar for $ 4.00 and had some lovely canned fruit cocktail (ala Sysco), burned up hockey pucks (err, sausage) and limp pancakes. As Minnie sang later, "The Grand Hotel is not very grand." Indeed.
We convened a short family meeting and opted to go elsewhere. We decided to go to Shoney's, and interestingly enough, most of the waitstaff and managers were Polish natives. A lot of them were going to university or just finished their studies.
After Shoney's, we unpacked at the Presidential Suite and prepared to go to the Great China Acrobats show down the road. Michael's sister and her family went when they were in Gatlinburg, and it sounded like great fun. We went to the 3.00 PM show which lasted two hours with a fifteen minute intermission. The performances were outstanding overall, and the kids even had an opportunity to meet, shake hands and get autographs of the performers.
Of course, I know what you're thinking.... "What the hell are they doing in Pigeon Forge, TN?" You and I are thinking along the same lines, and I am not sure why they selected Pigeon Forge, but I do know that a lot more folks are more educated as a result of watching the show.
After the show, we had dinner at the Mandarin House. We received a 10% discount with a ticket stub. My only gripe about this buffet is that there was no dim sum or sushi. Oh well, it was fairly good for a Chinese buffet. Enjoy the pics!
The kids outside on the deck of the cabin helping us move out. 
The kids with first group of the Great China Acrobats troupe.
The kids with the second group of the Great China Acrobats troupe.
The kids with the last group of the Great China Acrobats troupe. Michael said that he saw a number of them leave from the back entrance in street clothes pretty quickly!
Our second full day in Gatlinburg, TN started off with a drive through the Motor Nature Trail. We stopped at a few areas for pictures with the Smoky Mountains in the background. At one point, we stopped and decided to hike to the Grotto Falls. We encountered a lot of enthusiastic hikers en route there and back. Everyone was smiling and had a friendly "Hello!" A brief annoying moment was this one chick who was using the walkie talkie feature of her phone and communicating with her husband every bloody step of the way. Finally, we allowed her and her friend to pass so we wouldn't have to hear her conversation. No offense, but the whole world doesn't want to know that you're letting your husband know where you are and every beautiful speck that you see. Idiot... OK, but enough of my ranting. Back to positive blog mode....
After the hour-long hike to the Grotto Falls, we continued on the Motor Nature Trail and off to the Ripley's Aquarium which was AWESOME! It may not be the largest, but it was definitely fun. We stopped and watched the divers feed the sharks and rays. We also held horseshoe crabs and petted the rays. Very cool. 
The beginning of the trail towards the Grotto Falls. 
Yummer posing by this old tree whose roots have grown over this rock!
Minnie, Roger and Yum taking a break on the way to the Grotto Falls.
A little blurry, but here are the Grotto Falls! It was a hike classified as "Moderate."
A close up shot of the top of Grotto Falls.
Part of the formation of rocks as we hiked down from the Grotto Falls.
Red-bellied pirahnas at the Ripley's Aquarium. 
A shark as viewed under the specially designed underground tunnel that we went under. There were many varieties of rays, sharks and other saltwater fish swimming literally inches from your face. 
A REAL close-up of the same shark.
The kids and I holding a baby horseshoe crab. 
A beautiful picture from their jellyfish tank. Leave a message or send me a note if you want to see the video I took. Looks pretty cool if it's looped. 
A few of the rays in "Stingray Bay" where you can pet one. Very cool!
Our first day in Gatlinburg, TN! Woo hoo! The kids, Michael and I got up early in the morning and took off. Our cabin for the first three nights was in the Smokies and we had to drive down around LOTS of mountain curves. Phew... Some of the roads were very narrow, and there weren't barriers to prevent the car closest to the edge from falling down to the bottom. It was a bit disconcerting, but when you do it twice, it really does get easier. Of course, I can say that 'cos Michael was driving! I took some video of the kids as we went down the mountain for the first time this morning. Leave a msg or send me a note if you're interested in viewing.
Without further ado ... here are the pics! 
Michael and I almost choked when we saw the gas price in Gatlinburg. Thank goodness I love my Odyssey... 
The kids at the back of the Historic Ogle Cabin. This cabin was built for Martha Jane Huskey Ogle and her family who were among the first settlers of Gatlinburg. 
At the trolley stop by the Historic Ogle Cabin... Unfortunately, we didn't have the opportunity to ride on their trolley stop. :O(
The kids at the Guinness Record Museum at Gatlinburg with Mr. Robert Wadlow. His shoe is at the Plymouth Historical Museum! 
World's Smallest Book at the Guinness World Museum. Wow. 
After the Guinness World Museum, we decided to go on the Skylift. It is a bit pricey, but we decided that it was worth the rate for the awesome views. 
One of the views from the skylift. 
There are a lot of beautiful flower displays, and they attract so many cool-looking butterflies. I love this pic. 
An amazing place to visit and "be one with nature."
We traversed on this one mile nature trail in our first foray through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There is a cool museum within the center that has all of the different types of birds, reptiles, mammals, plants and flowers that have been found at the park. 
Crossing a bridge... 
Resting on a log on the trail.
Another cabin that was transplanted here.
A huge wasp's nest that Yummer promptly reported to the Park Rangers when we came back. We hope the park rangers do something about that soon!
We went back to the cabin and relaxed in the outdoor Jacuzzi. It was a great way to spend a Sunday!
It's been a while since we've been on a week-long family holiday that does not tie around a major US holiday. I think this is the first time in a while where I have NOT opened my laptop and worked part of an evening on work-related things. It was roughly a 10 hour drive, and we left early in the morning. Traffic driving on the main strip was LONG ... We discovered on our last day that we were part of the lot who were coming into the Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg area with the folks who came the prior week leaving (and moving at a much quicker speed!)
We met Michael's parents in Gatlinburg, TN for fun in the Great Smokies! :O) Enjoy the pictures which is if not the best way to tell the story - it is the most entertaining. Want more pics or see video? Just drop a line or leave a comment. :O)
One of the first things we saw heading through Pigeon Forge, TN on the way to Gatlinburg, TN. The pickup truck is obstructing the best part: "Drive thru weddings: $ 79.99." Wow - what a bargain! Interested? Check out their website.
