fun at Cades Cove

Today Dennis explored log cabins, farms from a century and a half ago, saw many deer, played peek-a-boo in the Primitive Baptist Church, and learned to say "squirrel". We had a great trip to Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Dennis hiked a trail to a cabin, only tripping once while looking up to see if he could see more squirrels. We both happened to be looking at a tree when we saw one jump from one tree to the next and then run down a limb and jump to yet another tree. Dennis saw this and said "wheeeee".

It was a perfect day in the park. We saw some small snow patches and icicles on rock faces, enough so that Granny is happy that she can tell folks that she saw snow. If there was time, I suppose we should have taken her up to Newfound Gap to see all the snow covering Clingman's Dome Road.

Dennis wanted very much to chase a doe at the farm and mill area. She was just hanging out in the yard, posing for pictures and staying within 20 feet of us. I was unnerved by the thought of Dennis chasing and spooking her, but she seemed unconcerned by our presence. I kept a firm grip on his jacket collar and he did well, exploring inside the old cabin and looking out its windows. But then when we went outside, he noticed the deer playing peek-a-boo with him by popping her head up to look at us over a short fence in front of the cabin. Suddenly he broke away and chased her and she remained unconcerned until I began running after Dennis. The deer ran (jogged, really, for I've seen deer sprint MUCH faster than this) for just four or five paces and then stopped to watch us while she grazed near some trees. She also decided to stop at the stream for a drink just then. Dennis wanted to follow but we had him under control again by then.

Supper was at Calhoun's, a favorite restaurant of Gran and Pop (all of us, really), and we were surprised and delighted that Granny wanted to treat us. Our waiter/server was wonderful to Dennis, bringing him bread immediately and bringing out a cardboard '56 chevy for him to assemble and play with. By the middle of the meal, Dennis was engaging him in conversation every time he stopped by the table, and by the end of the meal, Dennis had thanked him over and over and said bye bye to him LOTS of times. I was so impressed. Dennis is pretty social but we've not seen him take to anyone in a restaurant like that. I loved that he brought out Dennis' food when it was not blazing hot but was the perfect temperature for a toddler to eat. He said his youngest was seven now but he clearly remembered the days of toting diaper bags and strollers and finding toddler amusements in restaurants. It's rare to find servers that make sure that the youngest diner has as wonderful a dining experience as everyone else, and we just considered our mealtime to be the perfect ending to a perfect day. When we returned to the cabin, Dennis happily went to bed.

Today we made some real serious potty attempts. We bought a little potty by Fisher Price that is a frog. It's green and has eyes and feet and the splash guard looks like a frog head. Dennis was so excited about this potty that he played with it in the car for half an hour on the drive up yesterday. Here's hoping that he likes it so much that he keeps wanted to try to use it.