Cow Appreciation Day - Chic-Fil-A Style

On our way up to the Ridge today, we realized it was cow appreciation day, so if you dressed in cow gear you received a free entree at Chic-fil-a.  We donned our cow shirts and stopped by four (4) stores on our way to the Ridge.

Once we go to the Ridge, we received a call from Greg in Evansville, IN.  Great news.  Renee and Greg are expecting their first child and our first grandchild.  Everyone is very excited.

The expecting couple

JoLynn expecting to get a free entree at our forth stop.

Stopping at the Gap expecting a great view.

Shoney's Big Boy

Jennifer and Jessica stumbled upon the mama bear with her three (3) cubs near the mailbox on Monday.  The girls were in the car and stated that the mama bear just set in the middle of the road and would not move as the three cubs played in the trees.

This week's Gatlinburg building is  Shoney's.   Not sure if Shoney's still advertises the big boy, but I do remember the statue outside of the front door of a boy smiling and holding a plate with a hamburger over his head.

Oh yea, I did find a picture on the internet.

Bear Sightings

Well, so far this week we have had four (4) bear sightings at Blackbearry Ridge.  On Friday morning, Cookie woke us up as a bear was in front of the house.  Brent woke up Conley and Stella (along with the rest of the Birmingham crew) to see the visitor.  It turned out to be General Kudzu.  The bear stayed outside for a while and even lounged around the downstairs bedroom window, such that Conley and Stella got a very up close view.

Then about thirty minutes later, a mother bear with three (3) cubs ventured by the ridge and put on a good show in the woods on the side of the house.  The cubs were climbing the trees and their coordination is not up to par which is really funny.

Just now on Saturday afternoon, we just had a visit from a different black bear.  This one made a circle of the house and then headed up the hill.  Most of the bears come down the path next to house an usually go down hill.  He later came back by the house and then headed down the hill.

Conley looking at the bear (General Kudzu) on Friday morning.

A new bear that showed up on the Ridge Saturday afternoon.

This is the bear that circled the house,

Surviving the Storm

Little did we know what awaited us Thursday evening.  Our day was spent eating at Fuddrucker's in Sevierville, hitting the streets of Gatlinburg, boarding the Titanic and riding out the storm.    After enjoying lunch in Sevierville, we tried to purchase tickets for the Titanic exhibit.  It appears that the Titanic crew does not let locals board until after 5:00 pm (locals get a deep discount on the price).

Part of our crew headed back to Blackbearry Ridge to nap while another part hit the parkway in Gatlinburg. During the afternoon Brent and Conley headed to the Parkway and went to Ripley's Haunted Adventure and Ripleys Believe It or Not, hit the arcade at Fannie Farkels' and grabbed some candy at Aunt Mahalias'.  Then the two (2) met Jessica at Ranger Bobs as she ended her shift and the trio headed to the Titanic to meet the rest of the gang.

Out of a premonition, Becky, Brent, JoLynn and Stella did not board the Titanic, but instead headed to the Old Time Pottery while the rest of the group ignored all the warnings and took sail on the Titanic.  About an hour into the voyage, a huge and violent storm descended on East Tennessee, as all those on board were unaware of the danger.  The group at Old Time Pottery watched as the storm rolled in, the winds became strong and the rain fell in buckets.

Shortly thereafter, Brent received a distress call from Rebecca inside the Titanic as she informed him that all power was out in the ship and they were floundering in total darkness.  We had power inside the shop and soon all met for dinner in Piegon Forge before heading back to Blackbearry Ridge.

This time Jessica and Conley headed back to Gatlinburg to go to Ripley s' Mirror Maze and Ripley's Moving Theater, while the rest of us headed back to blacked out Blackbearry Ridge.  Yep, we did not have power at Blackbearry Ridge because of the storm.  Luckily, the temperature had dropped so it was not unbearable but we were glad to have the power back around 1:00 am.

The area did sustain some high wind and violent lighting and two (2) people were killed by falling trees while camping in the park.

Boarding the funicular that takes you to the funeral parlor at the Haunted Adventures.

Conley playing skee ball at Fannie Farkels'

Conley is ready to throw again!

Conley eating candy outside of Aunt  Mahalia's.

That candy sure is good.

The moon rises over Mt. Le Conte.

Stella Gets Her Groove Back

Stella was unable to make it to the parade early this morning because it did not start until 12:01 am on July 4 th.  Armed with a good restful nights sleep, Stella was ready to tackle the town of Gatlinburg.

Shopping in Aunt Mahalia's Stella searches for the right piece of candy.

Success!  Like an Olympic champion, Stella holds up her perfect selection.

An employee assists Stella in the opening of the candy.

Stella decides to ride a bear while eating her candy.

After finishing her first piece of candy, Stella inspects the taffy at Ole Smoky Mountain Kitchen.

To work off the candy, Stella pushes the floating ball at Ripleys.

After eating dinner at Mellowmushroom, Stella enjoys ice cream at Berkshires.

From the expression the ice cream was delicious.