Our friend Lin (who owns Smokey seen frequently in this blog) has a cabin in the woods that we used.
Stanley and Cali played Tetris in the back of the sedan for the trip down.
Little doggie porn..
Where's MAH DADDY??
And of course, Kristen and I didn't just drive straight there..c'mon! We stopped at every winery on the way! We took our time. We liked the wineries that allowed dogs inside.We stopped at Davis Valley
And said a brief goodbye to the Blue Ridge Mountains
Then on to Abingdon Winery, which is about 2 miles from my Alma mater and was our favorite winery of the trip!
Then..we crossed in to Tennessee, a state that isn't known for its wines.But yes, Tennessee does have ONE good winery that we could fine (and we looked). The Corey Ippolito winery in Blountville. If it weren't for this one..we would have written the whole state off!
Ok..now on to Mountain Hounds! One day one, we played greyhound games, ran against the radar, ate great food, ran around a lot and laid in the sunshine!Cali waits in line for the radar run..the squeaky was taunting her!
Stanley runs and clocks 25 mph
Cali takes 2 turns..the first was 26mph and the second was 29mph.
Brakes!
The pavilion of other greyhounds owners and we got to meet Treasure What You Have as well.
Who can eat treats out of a water bowl fastest? Cali was 2nd
Notice the bubbles..hysterical. Then she claimed her bowl while waiting for everyone else to finish.
Cali wants to go running some more!
Ok..now it is time to run!
Anyone else notice that big mud puddle in the bottom of that photo? Cali did..
Group photo (this wasn't everyone but everyone who had lined up as I walked to the photo)
This was all just too much for one little girl who didn't pace herself
So Kristen and I went back to Lin's cabin for the afternoon to relax a little before the evening's activities. Lin's cabin has a great deck with a beautiful view of the mountains. It is STRAIGHT up to get there, but well worth the trip.
and as if you didn't already know..we enjoyed some wine and homemade chips and guacamole from a local Mexican place as well.
The cabin and location is great..but there were a lot of creepy bugs. The REALLY creepy ones did not make it to a photo...
We head back down the mountain to Gatlinburg for the night time walk. 100+ greyhounds walking. We wait at the bottom of the hill.
And join in as they walk by
It was quite the site.
Now, for those of you who have never been to this little part of the world..it is a little different. I can definitely say it isn't my kind of town, but it obviously is someone's! This T-shirt summed it up well
Lots of quirky shops with random..stuff. Like this one..you can get breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert..all at once!
But the town welcomed the greyhounds with open arms, hotels and restaurants. So we thank them for their hospitality!Oddly...as we were walking..I hear "Trina?". It was GreytBlackDog! So we got to meet Seka and Roxie.
Cali enjoys her ice cream too
Roxie was stinking cute (so was Seka!)
So after a long walk, Stanley and Cali were EXHAUSTED! The next morning, Stanley asked if he could stay in bed a while longer.
But..no. We had a nature hike to do! We walked along the river for over an hour. It was really pretty.
Cali dipped her toes in the cold water, and yes tried to lay down even though it was easily 65 degrees outside.
Then as if they weren't tired enough..to the vending area. Cali got a new collar but I didn't photograph it ..yet.Kristen, Cali and Stanley pose with GreytBlackDog (aka heather) and Seka!
Needless to say, after this..they pups were done. So we went to a local restaurant and sat outside with them and ate some lunch. Then called it a weekend. We hit a few more wineries on the way home but they only confirmed our first impressions further. ;-(So 7 hours later, we were home and Cali got what she had been asking for all weekend.
It was a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who put this great event on. Cali had a wonderful time. Next up..Beach Bound!!!But first..I must move in 2 1/2 weeks.
