BabyLand General\u00ae Hospital Cabbage Patch Kids<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nWe left the Cabbage Patch Hospital & headed to our Airbnb. The condo was nestled in the mountains & within walking distance of downtown Helen. We checked in, put our bags in the condo, and headed downtown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We ended up walking around looking at the lights. We found a restaurant to have dinner, but the wait was hours. Again low staff. Apparently, no one wants to work. We walked around a couple of the shops near the restaurant while waiting to be seated. I found the coolest candle. It changes colors!!! I took a couple pictures of the different colors when I got home. I love it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dinner was nice, and we really enjoyed the band playing outside. It was extremely loud but fun nonetheless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After dinner, we had a nice rest in our condo. The following day we woke up bright and early to explore Helen. It was a very cute town. Lots of fun things to do there. We went on a very small hike to a little fall before heading to Gatlinburg. We think it would be fun to come in the spring\/summertime. Unfortunately, that will probably never happen because we like the Keys better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We left Helen and drove through the beautiful mountains to head to Gatlinburg. We stopped in Cherokee to look at some of the shops. Cool stuff there but a lot of the stuff is not made in the USA or by the Cherokee’s. We stopped alongside the road between Cherokee and Gatlinburg and took some pictures with the mountains in view. The pictures do not do the breathtaking views justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we approached Gatlinburg, the traffic was ridiculous. It took us an hour to get through the downtown area and our Airbnb. We decided to go for dinner closer to our condo and get up early to hit the downtown area before the crowds. Gatlinburg was very commercialized. We went in a few stores and picked up some souvenirs, but it got crowded quickly. We also took the ski lift to walk across the swing bridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We left Gatlinburg and headed to Pigeon Forge. We stopped to have an early dinner at a place called Puckets. It was pretty good by again short-staffed, so it took an hour to get our food. Well, since I had to wait, I went ahead and ordered myself a fight of beer. Why not? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After dinner, we went to my favorite store on the trip. It was a giant Christmas store with every ornament known to man. And you could even have the ornament personalized! We got a flock of flamingos with our names on each bird. I loved that place, and I could’ve stayed all day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We left the Christmas store and headed to the island, where we rode the Ferris wheel. It was enclosed, so I felt a bit uneasy. After one go-around, I was ready to get off. I wished that the cars would have been open so you could feel the nice air. After the Ferris wheel, we went to the Alcatraz museum. There were many exhibits on highly profiled cases from many moons ago to current investigations like the US Gymnasts and Larry Nassar. Bonnie & Clyde’s car. The OJ Simpson getaway truck. Ted Bundy’s VW Bug. Many other relics are in the museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before we left Gatlinburg, we stopped and did a small hike to a waterfall. It was beautiful! The rain caused my hair to frizz out, but it was worth it! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our next destination is Charleston. By this point, we have all been together for a week. Lol, the drive was about 6 hours, and we wanted to stop in Asheville, however Tom Scanlon cruises on past Asheville. Haha. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We got to our Airbnb around 5:30 in the evening. The homeowners welcomed us into their home. We stayed in the 2 rooms upstairs, and it was comfy. We asked the owner where we should go for dinner & she recommended a restaurant called Bowens Island Restaurant. Apparently, it’s a local family-owned laid-back seafood restaurant. Although we waited two hours (between standing in line to place our order and waiting for our food), it was the best meal of the trip! They had steamed oysters by the tray – 15 clusters with 5 or 6 oysters in each cluster. What a steal! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following day we headed to the Charleston market and did more local shopping. Then we went for a tour on the Yorktown Navy Ship. Tom really enjoyed the museum and being our tour guide. It brought back memories of when he was in the military.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later we went to Shem Creek. The kids like the show, Outer Banks. Some of the filmings are done in this area. It began to rain, so we couldn’t walk out on the dock. But it was pretty views from what we could tell through the storm that came through the area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I reached out to some of our North Carolina neighbors, Ross and Darlene. We lived in NC in 1999-2000, and we were in our early 30’s. I thought maybe they lived close to where we were in SC. And I was right! They lived VERY close to Shem Creek. We met up and had dinner at Vickery’s. It was such an added bonus to get to see our old neighbors. We reminisced OUR CRAZY stories. We used to do some pretty crazy stuff. We were so young & Full of life. And how lucky we are to continue the friendship 20 years later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We left SC by 10:00 am to get home for New Year’s Eve. We got home around 3:00 and all separated. Dylan and Bethany packed up their things and headed home to hug their Buckley Boy. Tom mowed the lawn and washed his truck. Shelby & I got a Pedi, took the rental car back, and picked up a few things at Fresh Market for dinner. Can I tell you as soon as I walked in the door, I was ready to get in my own bed! I was exhausted and wanted to sleep. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was worried because I did not have medication that I needed to take in the morning. I also needed a refill on a script. This is NYE, and no one was working. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On New Year’s Day, I went to CVS and picked up my medication needed for that morning. The pharmacist tried to contact the Dr. for the refill script but was unsuccessful. Luckily I have the phone number of my primary doctor. I used that resource and had him refill the script. All is well, and now I have some family (Mamma Pat, Kerry, Tom Gorr, and Chuck) coming over for Christmas. I needed to rest, so I laid on the bed for an hour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
About 1:00ish, my in-laws are here along with my immediate family, my mom, and Sister Teri (only to drop off my mom). We had a nice dinner and a fun secret Santa gift exchange. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later in the afternoon, I began to get hot. I took my temperature, and it was 101. I called MD Anderson to see what I needed to do. The Dr. on call wanted me to get a COVID test because we had been traveling. Oh no! I got really scared really fast. Needless to say, the house became vacant from our guests. Can’t say I blame them. There were no test appointments until the following day and no at-home tests to be found. This will have to wait\u00a0till tomorrow. I will keep taking Tylenol and Advil to keep the fever down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n