Tennessee Trip 5: Ober Gatlinburg (Alpine Slide)
We recently took an AmAzInG family trip to Tennessee. We visited the Gatlinburg area of Tennessee, which is 5 hours from our Georgia home. None of us had ever been there, so it was a great adventure for us. We discovered that it is a mecca for family vacations…there is sooo much to do there!
Visiting Ober Gatlinburg (ski resort) was another highlight on our trip. In the Springtime you can get a relatively inexpensive wristband that will allow you to take unlimited trips down the Alpine Slide! With the same wristband you can: ice skate, do a maze, ride a carousel, ride a mountain chairlift, etc. It was soooo much fun…especially the Alpine Slide. I have great memories as a child of riding the Alpine Slide at Purgatory Ski Resort in Colorado (now called Durango Mountain Resort). I went several years ago and wanted my kids to enjoy the same thing I did. It started to rain during our first trip down, however, and they shut it down the rest of the day. I have harbored that regret for years. So, this was so wonderful to have the ability to go over and over and over again.
The only problem we ran into was that I like to go REALLY FAST!!! I push that bar forward and never look back. There were guys in the middle telling me to “SLOW DOWN!” I don’t remember them having guys like that at Purgatory! One time Frank and I were racing and the kids were at the top of the hill waiting for their turn to go down after us. They heard the “slow down” guys radio up to the top telling them that “the guy in the hat and the lady in the red shirt wouldn’t slow down!” Lucky for us the guys at the top and at the bottom didn’t care…they both told us that. They said that if it was them they would be doing the same thing. It was sooo exhilirating!!!
Mikayla skated for about 2 hours while we were all doing the Alpine Slide…she couldn’t get enough of it!
This was actually at the end of the day when we had had our fun...
Ice Skating
Mikayla has natural athletic abilities...she was loving the ice skating and caught on very quickly.
Liz and PJ riding the chair lift to the top of the Alpine Slide
Ashley & Megan riding the chair lift to the top of the Alpine Slide
Mikayla & PJ riding the chair lift to the top of the Alpine Slide
Donovan...trying to not look like he was having fun...
This is at the bottom of the lift for the Alpine Slide...
...starting up the lift...
This is in the middle of the ride up to the top of the Alpine Slide.
...looking back on Liz and PJ...
Yeah...ready for another run!
This is the swing ride that we did one time at the end...it couldn't compete with the Alpine Slide.
Above: Ice Skating 1
Above: Ice Skating 2
Above: Liz finishing the Alpine Slide
Above: Don, PJ, Liz, Frank and Megan – all finishing the Alpine Slide
Above: Mikayla ice skating alone
Above: Frank and Shayne riding the chair lift to the top of the Alpine Slide