"No man needs a vacation so much as a man who has just had one."
ELBERT HUBBARD
Summer vacation is about to end for 2012. Chad will be starting back to work and I will be starting classes at Gulf Coast. It's been a great summer, though, full of many Gainey family adventures and road trips. One tip I'll give to any teacher friends that may read this is to take full advantage of teacher discounts. Being a teacher in Florida, Chad receives a variety of discounts to hotels and attractions. For a full list of discounts, check the Florida DOE website.
Some of the many discounts we decided to use was the free admission to both the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa and the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. With the girls being both 2 and under they were free, so we only had to pay admission for me, which averaged $20. You can't beat $20 for a family of 4!
We woke up extra early on Wednesday morning and drove the girls the 5 hours down to Tampa. We drove straight to the Aquarium as it closes at 5:30 and we were already losing an hour due to time change and we wanted as much time there as possible. Chad was able to pull up his Florida educator verification on his phone and show the ticket attendant, then pay the $20 for me and we were on our way! Once inside you know this isn't any ordinary museum-like aquarium. There are 3 stories of exhibits all setup for children viewing. There are several interactive stations where kids can touch marine life and even little Emma got in on the fun. One of the highlights for me was in the Everglades section where they had "Peanut" the owl perched in a tree. He couldn't have been over 8 inches tall and was hard to see if not for the friendly worker who pointed him out to us. The "reef" viewing room was fantastic with floor to ceiling glass which makes you feel like part of the exhibit. If you go, be sure to bring the little ones a swimsuit as there is a pirate ship themed splash pad outside.We forgot the swimsuit and just let Lily have at it in her regular clothes since it was the end of the day anyway. If your little one is old enough to play on their own with you watching from the sidelines, there is a tiki bar serving adult drinks and shaded tables next to the kids area. We REALLY enjoyed the aquarium and are now excited to check out other aquariums in our area.
Thursday we took the girls to Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. Voted one of the best zoos in the country for kids by Parents Magazine, our expectations were high. Once again, Chad was free and the only admission was mine (again around $20). The zoo branches off in several directions from the main courtyard manatee sculpture so be sure to grab a map so you don't miss anything. The front part of the zoo to me seemed rather cramped and the animals had small habitats with fencing rather than natural enclosures like at newer zoos. You can tell where the zoo has expanded because the newer sections are well spaced out and the animals have much better habitats. The manatee viewing area is nice but the windows need cleaning for a better view. There is a manatee hospital onsite which was neat to see but the best part of this zoo for children is definitely the kids area in the center. There is a splash pad area surrounded by several kids activities such as the petting zoo, wallaby walkabout, small roller coaster, train rides, and carousel. All motorized rides in the park are free; Even the log flume, which I refused to do (scared of heights!) but Chad and his mother enjoyed. The African section of the park is laid out nicely and they have a good assortment of animals including elephants, giraffes, zebras and rhinos. As members of the Nashville Zoo we knew it was going to be hard for a zoo to impress us and we were right. Overall, we like the Nashville Zoo better for layout and animal habitats but Tampa has the kids area and free rides going for them.
Next, we jaunted up I-65 to Nashville to visit my family. While there, Chad set up at the Monteagle Mountain Market in Monteagle, TN. This was his 2nd year doing the show and as always, it was a pleasure. The market consists of mainly folk art with other arts mixed in as well. Chad was one of several demonstrators which also included iron workers, jewelry makers and basket weavers. He had a great weekend and enjoyed his time meeting fellow artists.
The day after the Montaegle Mountain Market, Chad and I drove over to Ocoee, TN (just past Chattanooga) and joined some of our close friends and family to go whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River. The Ocoee was the river used for the rafting events in the 2006 summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. The scenery was beautiful and I haven't had that much fun in a long time. Chad rode on the front of the raft twice and fell off once (even after the guide told him that he would absolutely fall off at that point of the river...) If you decide to raft, I would highly recommend Adventures Unlimited as the outfitter. Their facilities included an outfitter store, cafe, restrooms with hot showers and camping sites if you would like to camp afterwards. The prices were reasonable and everyone I encountered was friendly and helpful.
After rafting Chad and I headed north to Gatlinburg,TN to meet my family whom had driven the girls over from Nashville. We checked into our cabin and headed out to find dinner. We ended up at J.T. Hannah's Kitchen on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge. It reminded me of a Logan's Roadhouse; Good menu, reasonable prices and good food. Lily ate almost the entire order of cheese dip before our food even arrived. Drinks are served in mason jars which I always love. I'd definitely eat there again if I wanted somewhere with a good variety of menu choices.
The next morning we awoke and went to the Pancake Pantry in downtown Gatlinburg. One thing we forgot about- no strollers! We brought in our stroller and you would have thought we brought in a dead body by the looks we received. After folding up the stroller and putting it out of the way we had a much better experience (minus Lily's meltdown after she thought she had sausage stuck in her throat.) Try telling a 2.5 year old that if she's able to scream at you that sausage is stuck in her throat then it is highly likely that there is no sausage in her throat. That didn't go over well. I can say the bacon waffle was a hit. Waffle batter with crumbled bacon mixed in and served with warm maple syrup... okay, now I want another...
The highlight of the trip was definitely going to Dollywood. Even after living in Middle TN for 24 years, I had never been to Dollywood. I had always heard mixed reviews and several people compared it to Opryland (which I miss.) I'd say that comparison is pretty spot on. If you remember Opryland then you would probably agree that Dollywood is very similar. The setup has a small town village feel with country music playing in the background. Instead of getting too detailed about Dollywood here and making this post longer than necessary, I plan on doing an entire post soon dedicated to Dollywood and all that is has offer for the younger crowd.
Well, my 20 minutes to post has ended as Emma has woken up from her nap. Lily is with her daddy today at the Farmers Market so I have a relatively easy day. Nevermind, I just remembered that at some point I must finish laundry, unpack our suitcases, wash bottles..... can I go back on vacation now, please??
Thursday we took the girls to Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. Voted one of the best zoos in the country for kids by Parents Magazine, our expectations were high. Once again, Chad was free and the only admission was mine (again around $20). The zoo branches off in several directions from the main courtyard manatee sculpture so be sure to grab a map so you don't miss anything. The front part of the zoo to me seemed rather cramped and the animals had small habitats with fencing rather than natural enclosures like at newer zoos. You can tell where the zoo has expanded because the newer sections are well spaced out and the animals have much better habitats. The manatee viewing area is nice but the windows need cleaning for a better view. There is a manatee hospital onsite which was neat to see but the best part of this zoo for children is definitely the kids area in the center. There is a splash pad area surrounded by several kids activities such as the petting zoo, wallaby walkabout, small roller coaster, train rides, and carousel. All motorized rides in the park are free; Even the log flume, which I refused to do (scared of heights!) but Chad and his mother enjoyed. The African section of the park is laid out nicely and they have a good assortment of animals including elephants, giraffes, zebras and rhinos. As members of the Nashville Zoo we knew it was going to be hard for a zoo to impress us and we were right. Overall, we like the Nashville Zoo better for layout and animal habitats but Tampa has the kids area and free rides going for them.
Next, we jaunted up I-65 to Nashville to visit my family. While there, Chad set up at the Monteagle Mountain Market in Monteagle, TN. This was his 2nd year doing the show and as always, it was a pleasure. The market consists of mainly folk art with other arts mixed in as well. Chad was one of several demonstrators which also included iron workers, jewelry makers and basket weavers. He had a great weekend and enjoyed his time meeting fellow artists.
The day after the Montaegle Mountain Market, Chad and I drove over to Ocoee, TN (just past Chattanooga) and joined some of our close friends and family to go whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River. The Ocoee was the river used for the rafting events in the 2006 summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. The scenery was beautiful and I haven't had that much fun in a long time. Chad rode on the front of the raft twice and fell off once (even after the guide told him that he would absolutely fall off at that point of the river...) If you decide to raft, I would highly recommend Adventures Unlimited as the outfitter. Their facilities included an outfitter store, cafe, restrooms with hot showers and camping sites if you would like to camp afterwards. The prices were reasonable and everyone I encountered was friendly and helpful.
After rafting Chad and I headed north to Gatlinburg,TN to meet my family whom had driven the girls over from Nashville. We checked into our cabin and headed out to find dinner. We ended up at J.T. Hannah's Kitchen on the Parkway in Pigeon Forge. It reminded me of a Logan's Roadhouse; Good menu, reasonable prices and good food. Lily ate almost the entire order of cheese dip before our food even arrived. Drinks are served in mason jars which I always love. I'd definitely eat there again if I wanted somewhere with a good variety of menu choices.
The next morning we awoke and went to the Pancake Pantry in downtown Gatlinburg. One thing we forgot about- no strollers! We brought in our stroller and you would have thought we brought in a dead body by the looks we received. After folding up the stroller and putting it out of the way we had a much better experience (minus Lily's meltdown after she thought she had sausage stuck in her throat.) Try telling a 2.5 year old that if she's able to scream at you that sausage is stuck in her throat then it is highly likely that there is no sausage in her throat. That didn't go over well. I can say the bacon waffle was a hit. Waffle batter with crumbled bacon mixed in and served with warm maple syrup... okay, now I want another...
The highlight of the trip was definitely going to Dollywood. Even after living in Middle TN for 24 years, I had never been to Dollywood. I had always heard mixed reviews and several people compared it to Opryland (which I miss.) I'd say that comparison is pretty spot on. If you remember Opryland then you would probably agree that Dollywood is very similar. The setup has a small town village feel with country music playing in the background. Instead of getting too detailed about Dollywood here and making this post longer than necessary, I plan on doing an entire post soon dedicated to Dollywood and all that is has offer for the younger crowd.
Well, my 20 minutes to post has ended as Emma has woken up from her nap. Lily is with her daddy today at the Farmers Market so I have a relatively easy day. Nevermind, I just remembered that at some point I must finish laundry, unpack our suitcases, wash bottles..... can I go back on vacation now, please??
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