July 4 Weekend

Another holiday weekend with the family and what a blast we had, literally. (Can you say fireworks?)

Of course our Pre-Holiday days featured multiple bear sitings. You can see the photos in the "Bears" post. 

Even though there was a lot of rain, we managed to have "windows" of dryness. We started the Fourth off with a big mountain breakfast. The kids hiked Gatlinburg trail while we got the grill ready to smoke some pork. I'm loving that smoker on my new grill!  

After dinner we went to Pigeon Forge for the Patriot Festival at Patriot's Park. (The park is located behind the Old Mill Restaurant, for those of you familiar with Pigeon Forge.). We heard a great concert by Larry Gatlin and his brothers. He still has that great voice and they still sing those smooth tight harmonies. I really enjoyed it and I can't believe the rain held off while we were there. 

Afterwards, we saw Fireworks Display #1. It included every patriotic song ever written and even had the Pledge of Allegiance recited by John Wayne!  It started raining again after we got back to the car. Talk about perfect timing. We lucked out all around. We found a parking spot close to the park, we found a seating area close to the stage, and just about all the traffic going home was headed in the opposite direction from us!  Who could ask for more?

Friday was a lazy day for me. Jenny & Bobby had to go back to work. Keith and Jeff went to the Chalet Village Members Club to play tennis and, believe it or not, they saw Mama Bear and the cubs going up the driveway of a house nearby. I swear, we may have to name those bears!  

After dinner at Holston's Kitchen we went to the Smokies game and saw Fireworks Display #2. We had great seats right behind the dugout. And once again, the rain held off until our evening was over. Back home we settled in for some late night USA Soccer. 

Since Saturday was a mostly sunny day, we hiked the Gatlinburg trail again and had a tailgate picnic by the river. 

On Saturday evening we took in some shows and Fireworks Display #3 at Dollywood. Leave it to Dolly to come up with a special twist. Her fireworks were 3-D!  We all got a pair of those crazy glasses for viewing the fireworks. It was quite a psychedelic experience!  And as usual the shows were fantastic!  We really enjoyed the Great American Country Music Show and were amazed by the Gazillion Bubbles Show. 

Back home we finished off the evening with a good soak in the hot tub - in the rain!

We spent a dreary Sunday afternoon watching sports and eating leftovers before Jeff packed up to go home. Thus ends our Fabulous Fourth. Just when I think our gatherings can't get any better, they do. We're thinking about creating a new mid-July/early-August holiday because it's going to be hard to wait until Labor Day!