Nora goes to Dollywood!

Dollywood (September 9, 2007)

Dollywood theme park is a one-of-a-kind Smoky Mountain Family Adventure! Spanning 125 acres and nestled in the lush foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near Gatlinburg, Dollywood is one of the most popular family vacation destinations. Read more about that at their web site Dollywood.com

I just had to stop at this road sign on our way to Dollywood on Saturday. I was confused as to which direction the road we are traveling on was heading.  Can you tell?

We are finally here. Well, actually it's only about a 40 minute drive, but when you're my size, it seems like it takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to get anywhere.

I tried this ride (The Timber Tower) but the worker said that I was a bit small and would probably fall out into the water when the tower tilted. Oh, well. I look pretty cute trying out the seat. 

 Now, some of these rides are just too frightening. This is the Mystery Mine. My host family rides everything. They're pretty much fearless. I just watched.

I tried the seats at the Thunderhead (a wooden roller-coaster) too. Again, I didn't pass the height requirement.

So I'll just settle for watching the craftsmen at work.This is Mr. Cal. He's working with leather.

I watched, with fascination, the glass blower making a vase out of really, really REALLY hot sand! How that works, I can never understand.

I got to try to pick out a duck for a prize in the games area. I didn't win anything, but it was fun to play.

Ah, the Carousel!! Now this was something that I wasn't too small to get on. I did have trouble hanging on to this slick pole when the ride started and the horse began moving up and down.

They have a real steam locomotive at Dollywood that you can take for a 5 mile ride. We didn't go on it because my host was afraid I would get too sooty. She said she usually gets soot in her eyes and on her clothes when she rides. I didn't want to get Nicki's pretty tie-top outfit dirty, so I just posed with the engine.

There are many beautiful trees and flowers in Dollywood. It's very shaded and we had lots of fun there. It certainly was a long, hot day, but I enjoyed it.

I was so exhausted when we left, though, that I fell asleep in the car on the way home. What a day!