The Great Smoky Mountains 2008 Day 2

If you've missed Day One of our Gatlinburg vacation, click here. Day 2 started of with a bit of excitement as we left our cozy cabin in Pigeon Forge and made our first drive into Gatlinburg. Nephew Bubby claimed our second back seat as his own and rode with us the remainder of our stay. I failed to mention that when we arrived our first day, our car started to overheat in the stop-and-start traffic into Pigeon Forge and escalated in temperature when we trekked up the windy mountain road of our cabin. We spent most of the trip with the windows down (thankfully the temperature was only in the 80s) and the heater on full blast to calm our engine. We didn't break down, thank the Lord. Therefore, we chose to park our car and take the Tram from downtown Gatlinburg to Ober Gatlinburg, a carnival/ice skating rink of sorts on top of one of the mountains.
Bubby was all smiles here, but he was a bit nervous. He braved through the at times jerky swaying and the overly packed corridor of the Tram car. I didn't get any pictures out of the Tram this time due to all the sight-seers blocking the windows. You can see more pictures of Gatlinburg from our trip last year here.
Our first visit at Ober Gatlinburg was the bear exhibit. It was a bit shabby because they were making lots of renovations, but we still managed to see some chubby ole' black bears sunbathing.
Nana packed us a picnic, and we ate in a small grassy area off to the side of the parking lot.
Several of my family members got all-day passes to ride the carnival rides, water slides, and the chair lift. Here's my dad following up my mom and niece to the top. Scamp and I took a turn also with Bubby and his mom (my sis Julie) leading the way. Scamp kept yelling, "I'm gonna catch you Bubby and JuJu."
You have the option to ride to the top of the mountain or get off halfway and ride the Alpine Slide down. We came here when I was twelve, but I was much too scared to attempt the slide that time. But, my free spirit (Beef's saying "Yeah right" about now.) got the better of me, and I rode down. Here's my BIL Bill and nephew Billy on the back left and Beef on the back right coming down.
The view from the top is breathtaking. It's so calm and serene except when you're with a two-year old and five-year old who chase each other screaming until the smaller of the two falls down! Poor baby!!

We stayed longer at Ober Gatlinburg than intended, so we waited to the next day to attempt the Aquarium. Box and Rocks were tuckered out and needed a cool breeze to help deter the intensity of the heater. Anyone care for an Ogle Dog? We missed our chance. Catch us here again for Day 3.