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| Reading their maps.. |
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| Dolly's Old House |
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| This was her favorite ride. |
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| Real steam/coal train. |
How do I describe Dollywood? Well it is a beautiful theme park that reminds me of Frontierland at Disneyland and the old time part of Knott's Berry Farm. Dolly Parton bought an old Silver Dollar City Theme park that was not doing well but located in Pigeon Forge Tennesse where she grew up. Her dream was to create a place where the people of Pigeon Forge, mountain people, could make a living and stay in the mountains. This was in 1986 and it worked. Every employee that we encountered at the park, from the ticket counter, to the concession stand, to the people who help you on the ride was my age or older! My experience at amusement parks has been young people, high schoolers or twenty-somethings going to college are the ones that work in these types of parks. So I thought that was interesting.
Today was about the kids and the grandkids. Mom and Dad stayed at the cabin to recoup some energy. So JR, Angela, Jade, Cole, John and I ventured out to Dollywood to ride rides, see craftsman do their crafts, eat food and make great memories, and we did!
Dollywood has a Bald Eagle rehabilitation area at the park. It is a huge roped in area, so the eagles can live sort of normal, although they can't fly away. After being rehabilitated, they are rereleased into the wild.
Towards the end of the day we visited an old-time chapel at Dollywood where they had a overall wearin' iteneret preacher lead some old songs from church and VBS. Some of you might remember, "I've Got Peace Like a River" or "This Little Light of Mine." He also told stories about his Granny and how she influenced his life. What I thought was cool was when he spoke about whittlin' versus carving. Whittlin' is when you are passing time but not creating anything and carving is when you are creating something. He likened that to spending time at places like Dollywood with your kids and grandkids you might think you are whittlin' just wasting time, but you are really carving, investing in your kids and grandkids.
Last thing we did was see a Bubble Show. The bubble artist holds the worlds record for the biggest bubble. Jade and Cole loved the show. There were bubbles everywhere and the music, lights and tricks he could do with bubbles were amazing. What a great day we had! Keep on carving!
Day 8-Traveling back to Greenville through the Great Smokey Mountains!
Today was about the kids and the grandkids. Mom and Dad stayed at the cabin to recoup some energy. So JR, Angela, Jade, Cole, John and I ventured out to Dollywood to ride rides, see craftsman do their crafts, eat food and make great memories, and we did! 
Towards the end of the day we visited an old-time chapel at Dollywood where they had a overall wearin' iteneret preacher lead some old songs from church and VBS. Some of you might remember, "I've Got Peace Like a River" or "This Little Light of Mine." He also told stories about his Granny and how she influenced his life. What I thought was cool was when he spoke about whittlin' versus carving. Whittlin' is when you are passing time but not creating anything and carving is when you are creating something. He likened that to spending time at places like Dollywood with your kids and grandkids you might think you are whittlin' just wasting time, but you are really carving, investing in your kids and grandkids. 
Last thing we did was see a Bubble Show. The bubble artist holds the worlds record for the biggest bubble. Jade and Cole loved the show. There were bubbles everywhere and the music, lights and tricks he could do with bubbles were amazing. What a great day we had! Keep on carving!
What a nice time you had a Dollywood. It's hard to believe a week has passed by so quickly for you! That is such a pretty area! We're really enjoying you sharing your trip with you!
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