This year we spent Christmas with Cyndi’s family. Her sister Debbie thought it would be a good idea to rent a cabin in the Smoky Mountains, which was within driving distance of her and us. Cyndi’s folks flew from Spokane to Atlanta, and they all drove up to the cabin; we drove down from Michigan.
   Here is a link to the cabin in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near Gatlinburg. It was beautiful, naturally finished and three stories tall, built into the side of a mountain. The road up the side of the mountain was very steep, but worth the drive. It has lots of rooms, a hot tub, pool table, air hockey, lots of TVs and radios, and a nice kitchen.
   Eddie and the boys soaked in the hot tub just about every night. Arianna tried it, but found it too hot, so she used one of the jacuzzis instead. Cyndi made it into the hot tub twice. Everyone enjoyed the pool table, and Aaron became somewhat of a shark, after his dad. Debbie’s husband, whom we call Taz, was able to beat 6-year old Arianna, after a long heated battle in air hockey. We played a lot of cards, from poker to a game called Tripoli, which is a combination of poker, rummy and hearts. I taught Arianna how to play Blackjack, which she calls ‘Flapjack’. Arianna loves to deal cards and be the bank, and find ‘special pennies’ which are either wheat pennies from the early 1950s or Canadian pennies. And Arianna made everyone play her favorite game, Mastermind.
   Aaron brought his bass guitar, and I borrowed a small synthesizer piano from our neighbors, and we played some Christmas music together. One of Arianna’s gifts was a gingerbread house kit, which Grandma Lou helped her build. Debbie brought a little tree and decorated it. We went to Christmas Eve service in a little church Cyndi found in town.
   There are lots of touristy things to do nearby. Cyndi took the the kids horseback riding. There were lots of go kart places, and we found one with at least six tracks! Arianna played putt-putt golf, and inside, there was rock climbing. We went to Gatlingburg and took a ride in the tramway to the top of a mountain, where we ice skated. We wanted to go skiing, but there just wasn’t enough snow. Later that afternoon, we went shopping and had dinner in Gatlinburg. We went to a museum called Wonder Works, which has lots of cool, weird things to do, sort of like a science museum. Outside, it looks like a mansion that is built upside down. Inside it’s decorated the same way: ceiling on the floor and the floor on the ceiling. Cyndi and Debbi got in this ride that flipped them upside down.
   We took a  very pretty drive over to Cades Cove, in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. It’s a short 11 mile loop in a valley or cove between mountains. There were lots of cars, and we drove very slowly. We saw plenty of deer and some wild turkeys. On the way, we stopped along the river and skipped rocks from the shoreline.
   The night before we left, we celebrated Grandpa Paul’s birthday, then some of us stayed up late to bring in the new year.

Arianna in the Jacuzzi

Christmas music

Christmas Eve

Airhockey

Mastermind

Gingerbread house

Arianna and Taz Putt putt golfing

Debbie, Adam, Aaron, Cyndi and Grandpa Paul go karting

Adam and Aaron Rock climbing

Playing near the river

Cades Cove
 
Wonder Works(notice the chandeliers hanging from the floor)

Cyndi and Debbie upside down in the ride

Grandpa Paul’s birthday