GHOST TOWN IN THE SKY

Friday evening Doug, Amy, their son Jacob and I headed out to Maggie Valley, NC for our camping trip. Doug hauled his pop-up Apache camper that he refurbished this past summer. Michael, Lisa and their baby Chloe and Michael's other two children Brittany and David followed us hauling Michael's pop-up camper. We met up with Charles and Darlene and their daughter's Elizabeth and Hannah. They came up the night before and were staying in a cabin at campground destination- Stone Bridge.


Doug's cousins Eric and Robert came up from GA. Eric, Kristi and their daughters Kayla and Erica were there when we arrived; as were Robert and Marya and their 3 sons Tyler, Collin and Evan. The GA cousins were in two huge tents.


We got settled and built a campfire. Roasted marshmellows and made smores. Sleeping in the camper was COLD!! My sleeping bag kept my body warm but my face was so cold all night long.

Saturday morning we built a campfire. Doug and Michael cooked breakfast (bacon, eggs and sausage) for everyone. This was done with electric gridddles (a bit more high tech than a skillet & campfire).

Later in the morning we went into town -Waynesville, to a Kmart looking for whatever whoever needed. That's where we ran into a pathetic family of INBREDS. The Queen of the bunch was a 15 year old (?) pregnant girl hobbling along with a cast on her leg, sporting a Prince Valiant haircut gone bad, wearing a belly exposing t-shirt sloganed "DADDY'S GIRL". The grandma, and sister and brother followed her throughout the store. I assume she was the one with the welfare money. "Shut up! Shut up! I'm gonna buy me a telephone! Shut Up!" she was yelling at the check out line. And they all shut up and followed her.

We drove up the blueridge parkway and walked up a trail. Beautiful country! Everyone seems too impatient to just stop and take in the beauty along the way.
Lisa was freaked out by what she thought was a snake on the way down.


Had lunch at Ammons. Back at the campsite in the afternoon- Wesley and Sara had arrived,... horse shoes and other games were played and we walked the kids over to a branch to hop along rocks in the stream. Grilled burgers for supper. Campfire ghost tails and toasting marshmellows. Not as cold that night. It was the sound of snoring that kept me awake!

Sunday we started to break camp. Went to breakfast at Joey's Pancake House. The place was packed but the service was quick. Food was good. We went back to the campsite to finish packing.

The GA cousins headed back to GA and the rest of us headed to GHOST TOWN In the Sky. (A trip to GHOST TOWN was the only family vacation we ever took when I was a wee wee lad. Oddly enough most of my family that went on that trip are all... ghost now.) Anyway we took the chairlift up - David rode with me up and Jacob rode with me down. That rides a little scarey if you consider how easily a kid could just slip out of the seat. So I tried not to think about it.

We went immediately to the few amusement park rides. Some rides aren't available yet. "Awaiting State Approval". I rode a few things that spin ya around (The Dreamcatcher and the Undertaker) and felt sick. I skipped the GunSlinger Swings because I knew one more spin and I'd be blowin' chunks. I liked the Geronimo Drop Tower that shoots you up - like the BIG SHOT @ the Stratosphere in Las Vegas.

We went to the Ghost Town and watched part of the "Can Can Girls" show and then a GUN FIGHT in the street. Bought a t-shirt and a couple "cowboy" cds from a gift shop. Overall a nice trip. Got a complimentry pass to come back. I guess it was 4 or later before we headed home. Playing Roadside Bingo.