Opryland

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we headed to Opryland for a family getaway. We left on Saturday morning and arrived shortly after lunch. Although we’ve been here at least three times before with her, HG couldn’t place it in her memories. I was so relieved when we walked in, and she said, “Oh! The inside jungle place!” So she did finally pull it out of the memory vault- whew!

We wandered around Opryland for coffee, ice cream, and wine, and then headed outside late afternoon to check out the snow tubing. The Eldreds had been out there earlier that afternoon and told us horrible stories of crowds and lines, so we were apprehensive. The crowds must have gotten fed up and headed home by the time we made it out there because we found a short line, and John and HG had a BIG time tubing. She squealed the whole time and kept saying, “Again, again!”

After that fun, we got spiffed up for dinner at the Old Hickory Steakhouse. We had the perfect table next to a beautiful fountain and staircase, so HG had a lot to keep her entertained in her delirium. Then, we finally collapsed into bed (HG’s into Grandma’s) to get ready for a fun Sunday.

We started Sunday morning at the Nutcracker character breakfast, which was both delicious and great for HG. We had a table right next to the big water fountain, and she loved the Nutcracker and ballerina that came around for pics. (Actually, she saw *both* couples and just smiled as the second one did the whole thing all over again. They all played along so well when she told them that she had just been the soldier in her Nutcracker.) The Nutcracker celebrities might have been overshadowed by the “tower of chocolate” that she found later though!

Afterward, we loaded up the layers and headed over to ICE which was Nutcracker themed. Again, no lines- whoop whoop! She loved the slide this year. In fact, she marched up the steps before we could even figure out where she had gone. But her need for warmth quickly overcame her interest, and she was shooting for the exit. A cup of hot chocolate and a stuffed penguin, Pinky, got her up and going again, and she asked to ice skate. By this time, it had warmed up to 60 degrees, so it was an odd but pleasant experience watching her and Daddy skate.

By this time, it was noon/ check out time, so we loaded up our suitcases and stopped by Green Hills Mall to knock out our shopping cravings that we can’t fix in Memphis.

It was a great break from reality and a fabulous start to December and the holidays!

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