Family Vacation 2013 -- Day 6 (Parrot Mountain and Dixie Stampede)

We had another somewhat late start to the day. After millipede discoveries and lunch at Cheddar's, we headed to Parrot Mountain. This visit was added to our itinerary at the beginning of our vacation when Adam found a brochure. We talked about how cool it would be and the kids seemed extra intrigued, so it became a must. It was indeed a huge payoff. Zane has been really into birds. But here, as we planned for a picture with the kids holding parrots, and we anticipated Vanessa to be the one to freak, Zane got the second parrot on him and repeated very anxiously, but in a soft tone, "All done."  I jumped in for him. 

Vanessa became more confident with the birds. After our formal pictures, we went to a number of parrots on their perches and offered to hold them and feed them, or just feed them. Some strongly expressed they were satisfied and ready for a nap, and Vanessa figured that out quickly. She'd offer and step away if they seemed disinterested. Others, she held closely and calmly. It was quite interesting to see how natural she seemed. She called the white parrots "angel birds".  I think she could have stayed there all day.

Zane followed for a bit, but about 75% through the visit, he announced he was finished several times. 

The birds imitated our chuckles and talked to us and chimed like cellphones. 

You'll see pictures when we have multiple smaller birds on us. They loved the nectar juice we purchased to feed them. They flocked to it. It was a little overwhelming. We had to encourage one to get off of Vanessa's head. It held a strand of Vanessa's hair in its beak, as if it had plans for it. Vanessa told us when it stopped being cool. :)

This was another great visit. We ended up with a little time to kill before an evening show, so we went to the outlets in nearby Pigeon Forge.  

Around 4:30 we headed to the Dixie Stampede preshow. It was entertaining. They sprinkled in songs like Justin Bieber's Baby. The four-course meal is eaten with hands. We were offered doggie bags. Thank God! There was a ton of food left, including whole chickens and apple pastries. I would've hated wasting. The only Dolly part of the show was at the end, with her singing the concluding song. We could take pictures before the main performances. The kids liked the tricks in horseback riding the most, but the racing ostriches were rather cool too!

We returned to the top of the mountain to blowing bubbles and beautiful views.

Family Vacation 2013 -- Day 5 Pt 2 (WonderWorks and Another Bear)

The second half of Day 5 we visited WonderWorks. It's a great deal -- the variety of activities make it a great bang for your buck. Below are pictures for just a taste of what we did.

The building and foyer are presented upside down. The best description we can come up with is that this place makes us think COSI on steroids with a twist. :) Vanessa overcame some hypersensitivities through this adventure. Zane played a lot while Vanessa climbed the wall and journeyed the elevated rope course. Zane will sometimes mirror Vanessa's reactions to things -- both freaked by Daddy having his hand struck by lightning. Daddy went for a try on the 360 thing.

After a big day, we ate dinner at the Alamo and headed back to the condo, near dark. After avoiding a driver headed in the wrong direction, we returned to the condo parking lot with a bear in the dumpster.  Looked like Papa Bear.

 

And another bear sighting!

Family Vacation 2013 -- Day 5 Pt 1 (Housekeeping and Grotto Falls)

This was indeed a day of great pictures. So there will be two postings. We started the day with swimming, laundry and cleaning. The kids were intrigued by the ancient vacuum and they asked about the bag on the back. 

Eventually we headed out and grabbed lunch at Rick Allen's BP. This may seem strange, but the little convenient store grill had its good reputation shared with us by a Hilliardite.

After lunch we trekked 1.3 miles to and from Grotto Falls. Nearing the falls, horses approached and passed us. When we got to the falls we learned from other tourists, who were familiar with the horseback riding guides, that the horses were heading further up on a rescue trip.

The panoramic photo shows one curve on the trail. We were probably halfway up/down.

The last two pictures were taken along Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, during our return from the falls.