Gatlinburg

We just returned from is quickly becoming my least favorite place on earth, Gatlinburg, TN.  Don't get me wrong...I love the Smoky Mountains.  But Gatlinburg is the trashiest, nastiest place.  I hate it.  The food is bad, there are confedarate flags everywhere, the traffic is worse than Atlanta, its just
AWFUL.  But I fear as long as my kid plays Volleyball we will have to go to G-Burg for tournamanets.

But we were able to find fun moments and make some new friends- like these guys.

I doubt pizza crust is the best meal for them...but if its good enough for us...

We hung out with the creek-crew for a long time until it got too dark to see.  It was also a nice way to avoid returning to a hotel room that looked a lot nicer on-line.

I would spend the next day like this.  Perched high above the gym floor recording the games.

We were lucky to have a morning wave so the girls could hang-out in the afternoon.  While we were waiting to meet up with the others I forced my child to take a photo.

And threatened bodily harm if she didnt smile.

It was a fun afternoon.  The girls did an escape room and D and I managed to convince a few other moms and dads to join us for a moonshine tasting.  It wasn't as fun as last years tasting but it was still a good time.  I especially enjoyed seeing the other moms and dads throwing back shots.

Look how darling these girls are.  They have definitely made a challenging season into a good one.

This fellow was a hoot.  The girls all tried to debate him...But I kept telling them it was pointless to argue with an insane person.  He wasn't just villianizing "White Christian Pastors" but this looney was a full on flat earther.

Now back to why I hate Gatlinburg.  This Liquor and Cigarette shop was open before 7:00 am.  AND it had customers.  Also...I thought all the Radio Shacks closed years ago.  This day would require a very early start.  We had to be at the gym by 7:00

You know you are playing in TN when....(yes those are camo uniforms)

After a fun afternoon of togetherness our girls came together the next day and placed second in our division.  They played beautifully.

Oh we came so close ...but the other team came back and won it.  I would always rather see a good game than a winning game.  And this was a great game.
 

We came home to full blown spring.  It is so lovely here in the spring.

 It looked like pink snow in the school parking lot.

These heirloom daffodils came from my grandmas yard and are finally establishing themselves on my front porch.