May 10, 2012

  • Parrots and Beans

    We did Dollywood a bit, meaning we didn't bother to do more than one actual grown up ride- the giant water wheel whatsit (we rode it twice) and the carousel. That was oodles of fun, Hoppy rode on a rooster, Lizzy on a cat with a fish in its mouth and Elena on a horse (big surprise there). We also did the steam train which was really cool. Loved the chugging noise and the whistle. The guy shoveling the coal was amazing, does it all day and was not a young man. That's a guy for ya!

    We listened to a show, the cousins on the back porch and checked out a few tchatchkie stores, bought a couple things. Nan got us a really nice wooden sign for our farm at a discount cause she used the back of a demo one. It's really nice. After we wore ourselves out at Dollywood, we returned to the hotel to get out of our damp clothes and head over to Dixie Stampede. It's always a fantastic show. Although, they serve you a ridiculous amount of food, Hoppy was like "Ahhh! They keep feeding me! How do I get them to stop!" she began to really dread the waitress, just for fear of more food. hah!  Mom took the girls to the hotel pool when we got back, heated indoor pool...nice!

    The next day we went to Parrot Mountain....and they weren't kidding. This man bought 20 acres or so on the side of a mountain, I was in low gear all the way up cringing at the thought of the way down. The parking lot was wicked steep and just getting Nan to the check in gate we thought we'd have to leave her there, until they called over a young man who took us around in a golf cart for an extra $15. It was worth it, Nan got to see most of the birds. They all have their own special perches or cages. We were told that they know which perch is theirs and if you try to put them on the wrong one, you are told in no uncertain terms just how wrong you are. Several of the birds can talk and one bird has the intelligence of a 3rd grader. Wow! Absolutely gorgeous birds and very well taken care of, the whole place was swarming with gardeners and the cages were pristine, no smell! and they had enough birds to generate a smell, believe you me! It's basically a haven for exotic birds that people buy and can't keep or have abandoned. It's a bit pricey, but the $ goes to the birds care and it's worth a look.

    After Parrot Mountain we took a short drive over to the Bush Bean Welcome Center. No, the dog did not sell us the secret family recipe. We saw two films on the family business and they were really cool. There was a scale that you could stand on and it would calculate your weight in beans! :) . Of course we all did that....but I ain't tellin' ;) . It was fun and we were sure glad TomTom took us by seldom trod roads to Dollywood or we'd have missed all the fun. After that we headed to IN to our cousins place. And if you think it's all relaxin' in the country, than you don't know our cousins! More on that later!

    Hope you're all having a great week. We've just seen so much more of God's beautiful earth and His remarkable creations...He is worthy to be praised.

    Blessings,

    Kate