Part II – Where we will be for the Next Three Months

For the next three months ( through early February) Giles and I are going to be living in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. These months are the last of our crazy journey before we will be settled permanently in Arizona again. For the next three months Giles will be in what is called field training which means he will be training under other Law Enforcement Rangers in the park.  I will be….well being a wife, which I am happy to say is satisfying for me at the moment.

In our new home we are surrounded by rushing rivers, waterfalls,  many beautiful hiking trails and  we also have easy access to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge which are possibly some of the most touristy areas in the nation.  So I guess you could say we have the best of both worlds if your big into the tourist trap scene. We stopped in a few touristy places ourselves before getting settled.

First off, I dragged Giles into the Salt and Pepper Museum. My good and logical reasoning for the appropriateness of our visit was of course because we do collect Salt and Pepper Shakers!

But, my oh my I never knew so many could exist in one place!! Giles was a bit overwhelmed…

They had over 20,000 salt and pepper shakers! When we walked out of there I was a little bit nervous about our once fondly thought of collection..

The next day one of the rangers informed us that we could get into Dollywood for $5 each instead of the regular $50 fee because of a special they were running for local employees. Dollywood has been a fond childhood memory for me and Giles had never been so needless to say we were soon on our way!!

Folks, being pregnant does have it’s disadvantages and in this case I am referring to all of the warnings against roller coasters, so we opted to ride the coal powered train instead.

Even the Carousel said no pregnant women allowed, but I thought that was a bit over the top…it also made me wonder if riding a roller coaster really was that bad for baby b, but don’t worry I didn’t.

Giles had fun riding the bunny…

We did of course explore the park itself and I have continued to do this throughout the week, but this post is getting kind of long so I will save those memories for next time. We are obviously having a good time being together again in our new home, but as always it is an adjustment being in a new place. Your prayers are coveted for both of us as we yet again adjust to this new season in life.