We spent the last week in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for Casen's baseball. We left on Saturday, but not before Camden and I headed to the bank on Friday for him to open up his very own checking account. He has been saving money in hopes of buying the parts needed to build his own gaming computer. He has a side job of picking up our neighbor's dogs' poop and has also power washed her driveway and patio to earn money. I have been very proud of him researching what it takes to build a computer and working towards his goal.
On our way to Pigeon Forge, we stopped in Birmingham for the night. Despite it being such a quick visit, we enjoyed seeing and spending a little time with Shane's aunt and uncle, Manya and Ronald.
We left Birmingham at the literal crack of dawn since we had an almost 5 hour drive (along with losing an hour) to Pigeon Forge and were scheduled to be there at 11:00am for the opening ceremonies. Pigeon Forge is one of my favorite places to visit. When we arrived at the Ripken Experience fields, I was taken away by the views and was thrilled that we would spend the next week playing baseball surrounded by blue skies and beautiful mountains.
After we wrapped up with the opening ceremonies, we headed into the mountains to our cabin. Apparently when I booked our cabin, I did not study the roads that would take us there. I wish the pictures I took of the narrow roads up the mountain did the trip justice. The road was really only wide enough for one vehicle at a time and fortunately as many trips as we made up and down the mountain, we only passed another vehicle a hand full of times and it always seemed to be at a place where the road was a bit wider and we could move over enough for them to pass.
The cabin was absolutely beautiful and made for a very enjoyable stay for the week.
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| and bathroom |
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| Camden's bedroom |
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| The master bedroom |
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| and bathroom |
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| Downstairs had a game room along with a murphy bed and full bathroom, which Casen claimed as his room. |
The views from the cabin were beautiful and we were able to see beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
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| Casen and I on a morning walk before his first game, which was not until later in the day. |
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| A little pool before the game. |
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| Camden and I enjoying the games |
The boys finished the first day winning one and losing one. Casen pitched well and made some great plays. He also got hit in the back by a pitch, which ended up leaving a nice bruise.
On Tuesday we got up a lounged just a little before we had to be at the fields at 11:00 for a 12:00 game. The boys played one game which they ended up run ruling the team and winning.
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| Morning view from the cabin |
Afterwards we jumped in the car and headed to Hartford, TN, about an hour away, to go white water rafting with the team. We had such a fun time. The water was not cold, but "cool and refreshing" according to our guide. The boys had a great time, and at the end even jumped in the water and swam some.
Afterwards, we went and got some dinner and headed back to the cabin in time to catch the beautiful sunset.
The boys spent some time hanging out in the hottub.
On Wednesday, our games were not scheduled until later in the evening, so the team headed out to the Outdoor Gravity Park to go Zorbing. There were only 3 adults (including myself) that took part in this fun activity along with all the kiddos and their siblings. The other adults were concerned they were going to get sick from rolling down the hill. The first roll down the hill, Camden went on his own, while Casen and I went together in the 11 foot giant inflatable ball. They put cold water inside which made for a cold roll down the hill. It was definitely fun, although getting out at the end reminded me of how a calf may feel when being delivered - LOL!
We headed back to our cabin, ate some lunch, changed our clothes and then headed to the ball fields for two evening games.
A group of the adults rented a suite out in center field which had food and drinks that the boys were able to go and partake of during the games.
Afterward, we were all able to visit the suite area and take pics.
Afterwards, the team decided to head to one of the local mountain coasters for some additional fun!
Thursday started bracket play and our game was not scheduled until the evening again, so we headed to Cade's Cove that morning. I was soooooo hoping we would see some black bear or other great wildlife, however we only saw some turkey and a few dear.
On our way back, we stopped on the side of the road so the boys and I could enjoy the river. Had we had the time, the boys and I would have stayed there all day. We enjoyed skipping rocks and just enjoying the beautiful scenery.
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| Casen being a boy . . . |
Camden forgot that the rocks could be slippery and face planted in the water. LOL. Cool and refreshing!
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| Skipping rocks |
Once we got back to the cabin,we played some video games and pool before heading out to our game.
We played on Camden Field, which of course Camden had to stop and pose for a picture. The boys won their first bracket play game!
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| Team prayer before the game |
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| Casen pitched well |
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| A beautiful sunset to end the day. |
Friday morning the boys played against a team from Mountain Brook, Alabama. Coincidentally, the team's catcher was the grandson of one of Shane's professors at the University of Alabama who he has stayed in contact with. So we stopped her daughter and introduced ourselves to her. Such a small world!
The boys won their first game, which sent them into the semi-final, where they unfortunately lost. Tears were shed, however they had no reason to hang their heads. They had a great season and finished it off by playing 8 games over the and finishing in the top four out of 42 teams.
After we left the ball field, we grabbed some lunch and headed to Dollywood to get our roller coaster fix.
If you have not ever been to Dollywood, I would highly recommend it. It was a beautiful park with LOTS of fun roller coasters. We picked a great time to go as we never really had to stand in line too long. Again, we made it back to the cabin in time for another beautiful sunset.
Yesterday, it seemed like everyone was slow moving and in no rush to leave. But, we slowly but surely got all of our things gathered up by the door ready to be transported to the car to head back to Texas.
Over the years we have driven through Tuscaloosa as we headed east to visit Shane's family and take trips to the beautiful beaches of Alabama and Florida. While we have driven to the University of Alabama campus a few times, we have not ever taken the time to drive by our old house in Tuscaloosa. I had Shane take a detour so we could show the boys our old house and show Camden the home he first lived in. The area has definitely grown and seeing the house definitely brought back some memories.
While we were gone, Nina got to hang out with Melissa and Shawn kept Nina. We missed her but know she had fun hanging out with them and Bella.
It is hard to believe the 12U baseball season has come to an end. Since Casen plans on playing school football and basketball, he plans on taking off playing baseball in the fall. While I will miss him playing in the fall, I will be looking forward to watching him enjoy other things he loves.
