New Years Eve

Another New Years Eve in the Smokies is in the books!

It all started in 2010.  That year had been particularly hard.  For one thing, Dad died in the wee hours of the morning of Dec. 31, 2009.  New Years Eve, New Years Day, the holiday season, the move to the new Ivy Tech building - all of it was a blur because of his difficulty during his last days and his final breaths that morning. 

For Karen there had been many health issues also.  I remember standing in her hospital room, talking with her and Clay, and declaring between the two of us that the year had been a difficult one and that I, for one, wanted to do something different to welcome 2010, something that would be fun and take my mind off of remembering the anniversary of Dad's death.

I remember Gary asking what that would be and out of my mouth popped, "I want to go to Gatlinburg for New Years Eve."  Where that came from, I don't really know, but Karen and Clay said that sounded good to them too----and the tradition began.

Over the year we have stayed at various venues, most of the time through our Hilton points.  Laurel Inn for three years. Oakmont on the corner of Veterans Parkway and Teaster.   Treetops for two until it burned in the big Smoky Mountain fire.  Then we started branching out to other places - the place behind the Local Goat where I acquired bites all over my body, the two bedroom cabin in the hills behind the outlet mall, the large cabin with four bedrooms this year behind Dollywood.

Our usual routine includes places we ALWAYS like to visit to shop and favorite restaurants as well.  The Christmas Store.  Apple Valley.  Premium Outlets.  All Sauced Up.  The Clock Store (Clay's favorite).  The Donut Friar.  Alewine Pottery.  The boot place.  Bass Pro Shop on the way into town.  The Knife Store.  A meal at Smoky Mountain Brewery and our annual 'night out' meal at The Alamo.

This year was a little different and I don't think the four of us were sure how it would play out.

Instead of just the four of us we added in other family.

Megan, Matt, and the kids had some extra time off of school for Christmas vacation so they went along.

Amanda, Shelby, and Caleb had time off work, so they joined us also.

What would this do to our routine, to visiting our favorite spots, to being sure that everyone had a good time and were able to do what THEY wanted to do as well?

What we did was designate each day with The Plan, then we worked from that.  If someone wanted to do something different, they could.  Since we didn't have a vehicle, we were at the mercy of riding with someone else, so that had to be adjusted too.  Plus it was easier to take two cars than three into Gatlinburg since the traffic was so heavy and parking spots limited.

All in all I think the five days went well.  On the plus side were several things. 

Everyone seemed to have a good time, which is a key to a trip anyway!  Who would go on a trip if not to enjoy the time spent away from home and work?

Since we did spend so much time together, it was interesting to get to know those we usually DON'T spend that much time with.

Cooper became more comfortable with Amanda, Shelby, and especially Caleb.  They sat on the futon downstairs and watched football together one evening.  Plus Shelby played games with Cooper on New Years Eve.

We spent more time with Megan and Matt and the kids, which we try to do, but sometimes their schedules get in the way of that happening. 

We were able to share some of the places WE like to go with everyone else. 

New Years Eve was fun with a game of Shanghai Rummy and one of Tripoley.

It was fun just to laugh together and not have schedules or plans or anything else getting in the way.

Of course Gary, Cooper,  and I had the main floor bedroom and bath while everyone else was in the rooms downstairs, sharing two small bathrooms (and we did offer our shower to anyone who wanted to use it!).

Most of all I love family time together.  Family is extremely important to me and time spent having a good time or celebrating holidays is very special.

On the way home we talked about the trip, like we always do, and I know that Karen blogged on her new iPad like she always does.  Even though there were some changes in the dynamics, they were good changes.  I am not sure whether the same people will be able to get together again to ring in the new year in a cabin in Pigeon Forge, but the experience for welcoming 2019 was a good one.

What a tradition we began with just an off-hand remark about needing to do something fun for NYEve in 2010!