Transportation and more transportation

Waiting for the trolley

Most people visit amusement parks for the rides, and I guess that's the same for our son. Except for the fact that, while he loves the other rides, the rides that give him the greatest pleasure are the transportation rides. Kind of like planes, trains, and automobiles.

David has loved anything with wheels ever since he was a tiny baby. He used to lean out of his carriage in order to watch the wheels revolving. He would get off of the small rides outside the Wal-mart, lift up the rubber boot, and look at the inner workings to see what the wheels and gears were doing.

None of that has changed with age. In fact, he loves transportation even more now than he ever has before. He has branched out from trains to airplanes and even to the space shuttle. But his mind is filled with adventuresome fantasies whenever he comes in contact with transportation devices of any kind.

So it was no surprise that when we entered Dollywood yesterday, David's first choice in rides was the little cars that run around a track. These are pretty cool cars—'57 Chevies, early Corvette Stingrays, Packards, and other really cool antique cars.

But when we left that ride, we headed straight for the ride that I knew David would love the most—the steam engine train that rides up the mountains surrounding Dollywood. In the photo of the train, you can see that the tables near the train station are made of train wheels. There are train parts strewn in some areas along the track. All the things that David loves.

David was excited as we boarded. His exitement increased as the engine's steam pressure increased. And he began grinning ear-to-ear when the engine began pulling the train up the mountainside. Riding the train was fun, but not nearly as much fun as watching David enjoy the ride.

We had just a few hours at Dollywood after we arrived here yesterday afternoon. Today we begin our full week here. I'm already tired. But we had a good night and enjoyed the short time we were able to spend at Dollywood. The trolleys that shuttle folks around Pigeon Forge are fun, once you figure out their route (we made a mistake in that regard and ended up on one of the trolleys for way longer than we had intended).

Today some of Kim's relatives will be coming from nearby Greeneville, TN, to enjoy Dollywood with us. David has not seen these relatives since he was about 1 year old. So it will be nice to see them again.

I'll try to keep you posted as the days progress. My camera is getting a workout, as you might have guessed.