Dollywood

A great amusement park! As an adult, I thought that was a contradiction in terms. But I loved Dollywood. It had a theme--country--carried out very creatively in its shows, its decor, its food. It was clean and efficient. It had great rides and lots of activities for people who didn't like rides.

Michael drove to Dollywood with the children of Jeannine Moench Hansen, including Ryan, a math whiz whom Michael especially liked.

After Lisa and I arrived with the rest of the Flindt gang, the big kids (Spencer, Grant, and Kirsten), promptly disappeared and found their way to Michael, the Hansens, and the rest of the 12 teenagers Jill and Brent Clark ended up chaperoning. They used the cameras on their cell phones to show their day through their unique point of view.

Lisa took Alyssa and Bryce on little-kid rides and I hit the shows.

Alyssa and Bryce loved Gazillion Bubbles, in which a bubble master blew huge, strange-shaped bubbles and huge numbers of bubbles.

I watched a program of 50's dance and music, a program of country hits, and a program by bluegrass musicians who both looked and sounded authentic.

I also enjoyed looking at the country crafts, some of which had questionable utility!

The kids gathered for Southern cooking at lunchtime at Aunt Granny's, a buffet which included Southern favorites like fried chicken, cornbread, macaroni and cheese, turnip greens, and coconut cake.

Bryce and Alyssa loved the butterfly and horse sculptures.

We finished a perfect day with the ferris wheel and merry-go-round.