Reagan had some very special visitors these past few days in Knoxville! Her great-aunts, Cindy and Marsha, and her great-grandmother, Patsy, came to meet our 10-week old Reagan. They came with her grandma, Susan, who is now staying with us and extending her visit in Knoxville for a few weeks because Grandma Susan is going to babysit Reagan while I return to work full-time on Monday...!!!
We took a scenic drive to Cade's Cove, Gatlinburg, Sevierville and Pigeon Forge. While October is the most popular month for tourists to visit the Gatlinburg area, we drove there on a rainy Tuesday morning, and we figured it would be a perfect time to visit, in regards to avoiding any traffic on our way there. However, it was a windy day, and we ended up stuck on a road, just 5 miles away from Gatlinburg on our 45-mile trip, and a tree had fallen in front of us down the road and another tree had fallen behind us on the same road, so we were stuck until the park rangers could cut the tree trunk up and clear the road. We eventually made it to the Gatlinburg area and saw the craziness of the tourist-infested Pigeon Forge amusement parks, restaurants, chapels, gun shops, Dollywood, etc. We people-watched from our cars as we drove through and headed right back toward Knoxville after stopping at the Mexican-American restaurant, "No Way José's," where Patsy called the margaritas "weak."
We went to our favorite "Taste of Thai" restaurant on our side of town for dinner Wednesday night where we chatted with the owner and challenged each other to order the spiciest meals on the menu.
We had a nice lunch downtown with Pam, who is my Aunt Cindy's cousin-in-law, and her husband, Charlie, in Market Square in downtown Knoxville. We ate lunch at a popular new restaurant called "Stock & Barrel," where most of us had burgers and David enjoyed the southern classic fried chicken and waffles. We walked around Market Square and through downtown toward our favorite Mast General store where we bought a range of goodies from candy to a cute new sea-foam colored Columbia 3-month fleece for Reagan. Reagan's mommy favorite piece of clothing is the fleece, so it was only a matter of time before Reagan was going to get one.
We tried to take a walk in the Sequoyah Hills Park on the Tennessee River, but unfortunately it rained much of the two days that the Quale ladies were in Knoxville, so we opted to stay inside and have cheese and crackers and watch Reagan entertain herself with her piano playpen.
Great-grandma Patsy and 10-week old Reagan meet for the first time!
Patsy sips on her margarita at "No Way José's."
David helps Reagan to practice sitting up on her own.
David orders his fried chicken and waffles meal at the Stock & Barrel restaurant in downtown Knoxville.
Cindy and Charlie catch up in conversation.
Thank you to Charlie and Pam for meeting and treating us to a wonderful lunch!!! The burgers and fries were delicious... I couldn't stop eating the delectably salty fries!
David gets ready to dig into his chicken and waffles and macaroni and cheese.
Susan, Marsha and I listen to Charlie tell us about the delicious pork butts that he's been cooking with his smoker in his backyard.
The waiter took a group photo of this lovely bunch.
We walked through Market Square. It was a little chilly for a fall day in Tennessee.
Reagan takes a nap while cruising in her stroller through the open-air market.
David admires the graffiti (is that a drawing of La Sagrada Família??) between buildings in downtown Knoxville.
Entertainers fill Market Square.
Marsha, Cindy and Charlie are impressed with the vast selection of candy in the Mast General Store downtown.
We found a winter hat in the drawer for Reagan to go along with her new fleece jacket.
Reagan's great-aunt Marsha takes care of baby girl.
And, finally, David took a group picture of Great-Grandma Patsy and her ever-growing female clan and domination over the other gender with her third great-granddaughter in the family!
Daddy takes care of Reagan on the last night before we saw "goodbye" to the Quale ladies when they return to the Midwest.
Reagan is exhausted after a fun few days with her lovely female relatives from my mom's side!
Thanks so much to Great-Grandma Patsy, Great-Aunts Marsha and Cindy and Grandma Susan, who is here to take care of Baby Peaches for a few weeks, for making the 10-hour trip from Wisconsin and Illinois to visit Reagan, David and me! We loved seeing you all in Knoxville and introducing you to our little Peach Pit!
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