Dollywood

Joe and I went to Dollywood last week. We went for his birthday, plus they were having the Festival of Nations, which I wanted to see.

We left work early Thursday and got there around 3:00. When you buy your ticket after 3:00, you get the next date included. There were tons of old people there, so we were able to hit up all the rollercoasters. There were no lines! As soon as you could get off and back on, you could ride. Which brings us to the fact that we're no longer 12 yrs old. That junk will make you sick! We had a great time until we both got car sick and headaches. We also watched a few shows Thursday. We saw the one about the birds of prey, one from Ecuador, and Jennifer Rowland band. She's from Nova Scotia. She plays the violin, sings, and step dances. The park closed at 7:00, so we left then and went and grabbed something to eat then crashed at the hotel. We got up the next morning and had breakfast at the hotel, then made our way to the park. Oh! We rode the trolley to/from Dollywood. We parked at Patriot Park and caught the shuttle. Drops you right off at the door. We thought it worked out really well. It's 50 cents per person, per ride. So, it's a dollar every time we got on. We took it back and forth twice, so it cost us $4. It costs $8 per day to park at Dollywood. Friday, we decided to see shows, I mapped out our schedule Thursday night. We saw 4 shows Friday morning/afternoon, then we rode rides for the rest of the day. Then we ate dinner and drove home. We got home around 10:30. It was a fun trip.

Saturday we put out our garden. We planted corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and zucchini. We're going to put out okra and some more corn a little later on. I'm excited about it. I hope that works out.

Cruisin' Together

Vacation plans for this year have been finalized...finally.

We are going on a cruise with our group of friends that I call "The Gang" (Richie and Gina Hardinger and Joe and Wendy Matteson). We're going to drive to Miami then get on Carnival Liberty and go to Half Moon Cay (cruiseline's island), St. Thomas, San Juan, and Grand Turk. I'm getting excited about it.

Today is my husband's birthday. He's 29. We're going to Dollywood this Friday to celebrate. I haven't been to Dollywood since it was Silver Dollar City, in the 80's. I'm guessing it's probably changed some. I'm excited about that. We're also going out to eat tonight, with the gang, to the new Japanese restaurant in Fort Oglethorpe. Then Mom's fixing a birthday dinner for him Saturday.

Spring Fever

I love Spring! It's one of my most favorite times of year. I love the flowers. I love the warmer weather. I love the promise of warm weather to come. I love how the trees bloom. I love the different shades of new leaves on trees.

Last weekend I went to Reflection Riding - to their native plant sale. I got a few plants. I'm making a little wildflower walk in the wooded area behind my house. I had trillium growing there naturally, but then I planted some more. Last weekend I added foamflower, celandine poppy, and fire pinks. In years past I added bluebells, columbine, wild geranium, and dwarf irises. I've now decided that I want stones to make a little trail through the flowers. That way I can walk out there when it's muddy, and I can be sure not to step on any flowers.

I was in such a flower mood after that, I cleaned out a couple of flowerbeds around the house. I have my cutting bed cleared and ready for seeds. I already have a couple of types of peonies that are coming up int at bed. I have a hydrangea there too, but I don't think it made it. I cut it off at the ground, hoping it might recover, but my hopes aren't high.

Beside the house, I already have lots of irises, day lilies, and cannas. None of which are blooming yet, but they're up.

Now I have to do something with the beds in front of my house. First I have to at least pull the weeds. I don't think I'll do annuals this year. I think I'll just plant some bulbs.