Our Grand Adventure started on the Winter Solstice 2024 (aka 21st of December). We left Chesapeake Beach, MD and headed to our first “big stop” in Pigeon Forge, TN to spend the holiday and Jackson & Twila’s birthday at Dollywood. On the way there we stopped twice to sleep and ate at several Waffle Houses.

The first stop was at Walnut Hills Campground in Staunton, VA. It is a very nice and tidy campground. Pretty nondescript, but a place to get a good night sleep with clean shower facilities and pull-through full-hookup sites. The kids said they enjoyed the bit of exploring they did there.

The second stop was at Fort Chiswell Campground in Max Meadows, VA. This campground was also nice and tidy. We got another pull-thru site with full-hookup. The campgrounds are surrounded by farms with cows (beef & dairy), sheep, horses, goats, donkeys, and chickens. Callie loved exploring all the smells in this campground. The kids spent a good hour futzing with two old tube tvs that had no remotes and a lot of cables without connection to anything. That was amusing to watch.

Then the third and long stop! We arrived at the Pigeon Forge KOA late afternoon on the 23rd of December. It is a nice and tidy campground. (I know I keep saying that, but not all are nice and tidy, some are messy and gross.) The campground is next to a large open field/park area, that has sweet holiday lights up, and the Pigeon River, that looks more like a creek to me, which is awesome for walking the dog and the kids running/riding around with the other kids they met here.

We had a relaxing xmas day. The kids were pleased with the four gifts they received from us and the stocking stuffed by Santa, and they also exchanged gifts with one and other and got Chris & I gifts! This was the first time they spent their own money on gifts. They really got into the joy of shopping for others and were so excited to see each gift opened and loved.

We went to Dollywood on the 26th. It is a lot like Hershey Park. The kids didn’t want to go on many of the roller coasters, we did more walking around and checking everything out, a lot of walking and window shopping (stores, roller coasters, craft demonstrations). There were a ton of people there, the lines were an hour or so for the roller coasters. We did get on a few of the less thrilling rides and one roller coaster (Big Bear).

Today we chilled on the campgrounds. We had a plumber come fix the toilet, the hose would not stop leaking no matter what we did (we used plumbers tape and then plumbers putty, not to mention different fittings). He ended up breaking it (he cross threaded the input line) and then went and got us a new one (ours was only a few months old). Chris was so very glad that it was not he who broke the toilet!! Chris installed a rail to the front steps for ease of up/down when we are tired and weary after a long day hiking or walking around a park. I cleaned up and figured out this blog thing. The kids rode bikes/scooters all day with several kids who are also here. It was a fantastic chill day.

Tomorrow we go back to Dollywood. If we aren’t going to ride the roller coasters, we are at least going to go to some of the shows. I hope the rain does not show up until late in the day, or if it does that it doesn’t dampen the mood of exhilaration we currently enjoy.

Then we pull up stakes on Monday and head toward Montgomery, AL. It has been forever since I’ve been there. We will be diving into US history, exploring Montgomery and Selma to see where MLK lead the march to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the museums of and monuments to the Civil Rights Movement and leaders. It dovetails so well with our last home field trip to The Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture.