Our last week in the Smokies

I was feeling much better on Sunday so I went back to work.  I’m hoping that I’ve worked at Dollywood long enough now that I won’t have to work on Sundays if we come back next year. 

 

While Ron was outside, I made beef stew and pecan pie to have for when Peggy and Gary came over for dinner that evening. 

Gary was in the hospital during their daughter’s wedding, so Peggy wanted to return the clothes she had bought for the occasion.  We did that Tuesday morning and then had lunch at McAlester’s.  The next stop was ‘Stages West’, where Ron and I found the perfect Christmas gift for our oldest grandson.  Peggy and Gary love that store, so they were happy to have the opportunity to look at boots again. 

Dixie Stampede was our destination for dinner that night.  It was a special Christmas show and had a Nativity segment with sheep, donkeys, and the three Wise Men on camels.  The usual Dixie Stampede audience participation games were included.  Kids chased chickens across the finish line and dads threw toilet seat horseshoes to determine whether the North or South Pole team was the winner of the night’s competitions.  The food there is always good (and plentiful) and the show is always lively and fun, so we had a good time.

We stopped in at another western store after the show for Peggy and Gary to look at boots.  They like to look, but are holding out until they get away from the high sales tax in Pigeon Forge before they buy.

Wednesday was a fun day with old friends.  Judy and her husband lived across the street from us in Texas when Ron and I were first married.  They moved back to California and she and Bruce eventually divorced, but Judy and I kept in touch over the years.  When she and Norm married, they continued to live in California until they retired and moved to Tennessee four or five years ago.  We finally met Norm when we started working at Dollywood and we quickly became friends with him as well.  It’s nice that our job at Dollywood gives us an opportunity to see them each year when we come back. Ron, Norm, and Gary picked up sub sandwiches and we all spent the afternoon talking and enjoying each other’s company.  Later, we all had dinner and margaritas at ‘No Way Jose’s’ and had such a good time that we continued our visit until late that night. 

Ron and I ended up at opposite ends of the table when we divided into conversation groups

 Ron’s work day was switched to Thursday this week, so I spent the day doing laundry and getting things ready to leave.  When Ron got home from work we went to Peggy and Gary’s for dinner.  We spent the evening talking about our gate guarding experience in Texas.  Peggy and Gary are filling out applications so they can gate guard next spring.  We will all be going to South Padre island after Christmas and each hope to get an oil well assignment when we leave there in March.

This was my last weekend to work, and it was a busy one.  Our new team lead, Sheila, was a big help in getting things restocked so we could get off work on time.  My last day was bittersweet.  I was looking forward to leaving and seeing our family again, but it’s always sad to leave my friends at the Sweet Shoppe.

Peggy called early the next day to ask if we’d like to go to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.  Ron never turns down breakfast, especially breakfast at Cracker Barrel, so we were soon dressed and on our way.  Peggy and I were planning to order the apple streusel French toast that we had on our last visit.  We were disappointed to hear that it had been a ‘one time’ special and was not available.  We’re hoping they will add it to the menu soon!

After breakfast we took the trolley to Gatlinburg for a walk on the Parkway (and a little shopping).  Hidden among the tourist attractions are pathways that lead to old-style villages with rustic shops.  There are stores with homemade arts and crafts, specialty stores, and shops that can’t be found anywhere else. It’s a great place to find that one-of-a-kind gift!  Ron and Gary went in some of the stores with us, but usually opted to sit on a bench while Peggy and I shopped.  We all got together for a late lunch at McDonald’s (more money for shopping, don’t ya’ know) and went in a few more stores on our way back to the trolley.  It was a fun day, but we needed to get home to get ready for the ‘Country Tonite’ Christmas show.

Soon after we got home, Gary came over to tell us that Kelly was at their place and was ready to do our fingerprints.  Kelly was one of our campground neighbors and is a retired police detective from California.  He graciously agreed to help us with our fingerprints so we can send them in with our gate guard applications. 

My turn to be fingerprinted

It was a little messy  ;-)

When we finished, we had a quick dinner before going to the ‘Country Tonite’ show.  After the intermission, the curtain opened up to a decorated stage and the Christmas portion of the show began.  It was very entertaining and the music put us all in the Christmas spirit…..a great ending to our time in the Smokies!

Monday morning was our departure day, but first we had to go to wardrobe to turn in my costumes and then to the HR office to check out. We were hitched up and ready to leave by 11:00 a.m.  Peggy and Gary were at the campground office, so we stopped there to say 'farewell' as we left the campground.  This time it will only be a short time before we see them again in Texas. 

♫ It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! ♫

In my last post, I forgot to mention that Dollywood hosts were invited to preview the new Christmas shows at the dress rehearsals on Friday.  Ron worked in the office all day, and I went to the hospital with Peggy to see Gary, but we went to Dollywood that evening.  We got there just in time to see the last show, an Ice Show, and it was terrific!  It’s no surprise that Dollywood’s shows win awards year after year!  Rodney and JoAnn (neighbors across from us) were there, too, and told us we had missed out on a lot of yummy treats that Dollywood gave to all the hosts.  Rodney and Ron had also worked together several days in the campground office.  Since this was our last chance to spend time with them before they left in a few days, we all went to Cracker Barrel afterward.

 

Ron worked in the office all weekend, and I worked at Dollywood.  The Smoky Mountain Christmas Celebration brought in a lot of people, so the Sweet Shoppe stayed pretty busy.

Ron worked for Peggy again on Monday, so I took his lunch to the office and ate with him.  We had expected Gary to be in the hospital longer, but he got to come home Monday evening!  Ron picked up pizzas for all of us and we went to their place for a little while, but didn’t stay long.

Tuesday morning, we followed Laura and Peter to Maryville to meet at Shirley and Richard’s house (all but Peter work at the Sweet Shoppe).  They had invited all of us to go with them to the Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville to see ‘Fiddler on the Roof’.  We left our truck at the house and rode with Richard and Shirley to Crossville.  Peter and Laura drove their car so they could pick up her sister and her fiancé on the way.  It was an excellent production and we will definitely want to go back again sometime!  After the play, we were all supposed to go back to Shirley and Richard’s house to eat, but Laura and Peter’s plans changed when her sister wanted to go to the play with them.  They all went out to eat and Ron and I went back to Shirley and Richard’s house for margaritas and burgers. We were all disappointed that Laura and Peter couldn’t join us, but we still had a really nice time without them.

Peggy and I went to find yarn for the scarf she is making for me.  Later we went for hamburger night (40% off) at the brewery.  LOVE their burgers!  We finished the evening watching the CMA Awards at our place, while Peggy and I had fun critiquing the gowns.  We thought a couple of them were really awful!

I had a meeting from 12:00 – 1:00 to meet my new team lead on Thursday, so Ron, Peggy and Gary met me there afterward and we spend the rest of the day on park.  We went to see the Ice Show again and saw a couple other shows, too.  All were really good.  We had BOGO coupons for Aunt Granny’s restaurant, so we had a yummy buffet dinner there.  We finished just in time to pick up tickets for next week’s Dixie Stampede Christmas Show and to watch Dollywood’s Christmas parade before we left the park.

Snowman and Reindeer apples in the Sweet Shoppe

Gary and Peggy on the train

  Ron  and I on the train ride

 Dollywood train

Brrrr!  Where did the warm weather go?

The Sweet Shoppe

Laura in the Christmas parade

 Friday night found us at the Smith Family’s Christmas dinner show.  It’s a good show, but we were disappointed that it hadn’t changed much for Christmas.  It was pretty much the same show as always with a few Christmas songs thrown in.

I’ve been battling bronchitis for the last week or two, so I broke down and went to see a doctor at an Urgent Care clinic this morning.  I don’t know who was more surprised when the doctor came into the room….us or the doctor!  It was the same doctor/surgeon that Ron had when he was in the hospital!  He is also the same doctor that did our granddaughter’s appendectomy last summer!   The nurse later told us that Dr. Rothwell owns the clinic, but seldom works there himself, because he is usually seeing patients at his office in the medical building or else he is in surgery.  Two shots and 4 meds later and I’m starting to see some improvement!  I didn’t go to work this afternoon, because Dr. Rothwell didn’t like the idea of me working in a heated store with the doors open all day and evening.  It’s warm one minute and cold the next.  He said I should be much better tomorrow and can use my own judgment as to whether I should go back to work then.  I really don’t feel that bad…just coughing and tired.

Later, we went with Peg and Gary to meet Brenda and Larry for dinner.  We hadn’t seen them in awhile because Brenda has been out of town quite a bit with her job.  She’s going out of town again tomorrow and won’t be back until after we leave, so we were happy to have an opportunity to get together one more time! 

I’ll probably go in to work tomorrow because I don’t feel good about staying home.  I’ll just have to wear the ugly ‘granny sweater’ that came with my costume and do my best to stay away from the doors as much as possible.  

New Friends, Moonshine, and Beans!

Dollywood was closed this week to prepare for the Smoky Mountain Christmas Celebration.  It has been nice to have the extra days off, especially after being so busy in the Sweet Shoppe the last few weeks.  When I go back to work, Jamie will no longer be our team leader.  She is moving up in the Herschend company and will soon be the new manager of Guest Relations at Stone Mountain in Georgia.  We will sure miss her!

Peggy and Gary were surprised when friends they had made at a rally checked into our RV park on Sunday.   After they got unhitched and set up, we all went to eat at Blue Moose.  We lingered there, talking and laughing, until we realized they were cleaning the floors and getting ready to close. 

Peg worked on Monday, but we all got together again at Peggy and Gary’s that night for dessert.  After awhile, we all began talking about changes we had made to utilize space in our RVs.  We ended up going in and out of each other’s rigs so we could pick up some hints that we could use in our own fifth wheel or motor home.  How to maximize space is always a hot topic among RVers.

Don, Gary, Lois, and Peggy

Tuesday morning, after saying goodbye to Lois and Don, we took the trolley into Gatlinburg to spend the afternoon walking on the parkway.  One of the many shops is the Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine Distillery , where genuine moonshine is made and bottled, preserving an art that is part of Tennessee's culture and history.   The distillery produces two kinds of moonshine, white lightnin’ and unaged corn whiskey, both of which are sold in Mason jars and are 100 proof.  The corn whiskey is recommended for ‘sippin’ and the white lightnin’ is recommended for ‘mixin’.  In addition, they have a variety of  flavored white lightnin’.  Sample were free so, of course, Ron and Gary HAD to try it.

Gary and Ron

Gary, you do know that jug is empty, don't you?

The guys were content sitting on a bench while Peggy and I looked in some of the other shops.  Soon it was approaching 5:30 and it was time to catch the last trolley back to the visitor center.  Peggy realized that she didn’t have bag containing the gift she had purchased earlier in the day!  She remembered where she had left it so we rushed back to the shop, hoping that it would still be there.  Luckily, the girl working there saw it before anyone else did and put it behind the counter.  We made it back to the trolley stop just as the trolley was pulling in!

We slept late Wednesday morning and didn’t have anything planned for the day.  We ended up going to Arby’s for lunch and then Gary wanted to stop at the western store on the way home.  He and Peggy want to have boots before we all go to Texas this winter!   We went back to their place for brats and sauerkraut and ‘funny night’.  That’s what Peggy calls Wednesday night, because it’s when all of the good comedy shows are on TV. 

On Thursday we all went to Chestnut Hill, TN  to tour Bush Brothers & Company, best known for its baked beans.  I'm sure you have all seen Jay Bush in the commercials with his dog named Duke, who frequently offers to sell the secret family recipe.  Jay and his brothers are great grandsons of the company’s founder, A.J. Bush.  Jay’s brothers are Kristian Bush of the country music group Sugarland and Brandon Bush, the touring keyboardist for Sugarland.

The Visitor Center is housed in the original A.J. Bush and Company General Store that was founded in 1897.  The Center’s theater shows a fun film, featuring Jay and Duke,  called “The History of Grilling”.  Our ‘tour’ was also a film, but was very interesting.  The museum,  has a giant replica can of Bush's Baked Beans, where you can walk through and follow the bean's journey from beginning to end.  A timeline shows how the company changed with the times, beginning first as a tomato cannery and ending up with more than 40 varieties of beans!  We especially liked the scale where you could find out your weight in beans!

Peggy, Gary, and Ron

Ron, Duke, and Jay

Ron weighs 182,076 in beans!

Gary's arm was bothering him all day.  We were watching a movie Thursday night when the pain became worse and he needed to go home.  Friday morning Peggy came over to tell us that she took him to the emergency room at midnight because he was running a 103 degree fever!  He was admitted to the hospital and was given antibiotics and meds for the pain.  I went to the hospital with Peggy, and Gary was feeling much better, though his arm was still hurting.  Peggy later confirmed that he had cellulitis again and his doctor wanted to keep him in the hospital this time to ensure that the infection is gone.  He is also suspending his chemo treatments until he is certain that there is no infection remaining.

Ron worked in the office again today (Peggy’s work day) so she could stay at the hospital with Gary.  I had to work until 10:30 tonight, but when I talked to Peggy on my break she said that today’s ultrasound revealed a blood clot, so the doctor prescribed warfarin to dissolve it and prevent further clotting.  We’re praying that all can be resolved soon and he has no more setbacks. The poor guy has had more than his share!