Over the Bump in the Road

Wednesday we watched the CMA awards and were surprised at a few winners, but generally enjoyed the show.  Didn't line dance after all.  Gary was doing well and enjoyed humming along.  I asked him if he could play some country on his guitar and he said he would try. 

Thursday we did a little work around the coach and then followed Donna over to Dollywood for a day of shows.  It promised to be chilly with a high of only 54, but the sun was out and in our first line up for Christmas on Ice, a little butterfly landed on Ron's hat and Donna for got her hat so made one out of the program.  Smart girl!

The show was very good, the cast from NY and there was real ice on the stage.  We saw the Appalacian Christmas, also great using a few of the singers from the award winning show "Dreamland Drive-in" that we saw this summer.  Very entertaining.  Then we had lunch/dinner at Aunt Granny's all you can eat buffet.  It was Thanksgiving Dinner early!  Turkey, and all the sides that were delicious.  We saw Santa there (who is actually one of our CG residents) handing out candycanes and entertaining young and old alike. 

On to  the train!  It was a 20 minute ride around Dolly property with little shacks and outhouses all in lights.  I didn't have my Canon with me, so because we were moving, they photos didn't come out well.  But these did:

The sun was setting, and soon we would be able to see all the lights, so we headed to one more show, Christmas in the Smokies, also very nice.  When we came out, it was dark and the first thing we saw was this tree that literally sparkled.  We took a video, too.

Truly beautiful.  And this one that had long ice cicles that 'dripped'.  A light traveled the length of the 'icecicle' then started over.  Really unique and we loved them.  They are OK for a large tree, but not our teeny one.

It was time for the parade, which is very short and mostly floats and we enjoyed it while purchasing tickets to Dixie Stampede for Tuesday night.  Gary did really well, except he did not dress warm enough.  (I told him so, nag that I am).  We cozied up in bed with hot chocolate and thought about Friday. 

Set the alarm, and get out by 8:15 heading for the Cancer Center to see the Docs.  First, they were impressed with Gary's face progress - yay.  They were not so impressed with his blood clot, but we had seen improvement.  The blood test revealed that his blood was not thin enough yet, so they increased the Warfarin, and tried to say no treatment.  But Gary said he felt great except for the pain in his elbow, so after checking the white count, said OK, let's rock.  He got hooked up and we had breakfast from Chic-Fil-A. chicken minis, and I had oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts.  Yummy.

He felt a little tired, so we came home and he rested so that we could go see the Smith Family show again.  Donna and I were planning to hit the mall to return some things, but the traffic was horendous.  Of course, we forgot it was Veteran's Day and everyone was off.  So we stopped at Sonic for a late lunch then headed home to get ready to go out.  We expected more of a Christmas show, but there were only a few trees, and only a few carols sung.  Not so impressed. 

Saturday I had to work, and it was a slow day.  Brenda was leaving for business on the west coast Sunday morning, and was not planning to return until after we left, so we had to see Larry and her one more time.  Calhoun's was jammed, so we waited at the bar for 45 minutes, and then had a great delicious meal enjoying each other's comany.  Hugs goodbye, promises of staying in touch, and we headed home and hung out at Ron's for a little while.  I felt like I was getting a cold, so dosed up on Nyquil and Vicks.

Sunday was cloudy, windy but a warm 64 degrees.  Time to start getting ready to leave in a couple weeks.  Start at the top, so that meant I climbed up to wash the roof.  It was filthy because we are parked under two trees for 7 months.  But now it sparkles (well, nearly).  While I was up there, I was noting places that needed a little more caulking and anything broken or missing.  Since our coach is a 2003, fiberglass covers are getting a little brittle, and I actually cracked a piece on a vent cover.  So tomorrow, Gary is going to get up there and caulk before we wash and wax her.  Ooooh, I'm just a little sore...but a job well done.  When we get to Florida, we will need to wash the roof of the house - oh, joy!

A woman's work is never done, right?