TheRapidsNerd

* Shirts and Pants * Lego Batman PC * Lego Indiana Jones PC * Wall-E PC and DVD * The Dark Knight DVD * Nightmare Before Christmas DVD (with Haunted Mansion ride through) * Polar Express ornament as a touching reminder of our terrific family trip to Dollywood over Thanksgiving. * Patagonia Outdoor Belt * Black Diamond Gizmo head lamp * Christmas Cookies candle from Yankee Candle Company * Chocolate Cupcakes candles from Yankee Candle Company * Wine Bottle Rack (Wine forthcoming. Hoping for Gabbiano Chianti, and Beringer White Zinfendel.) The best gift was from my good friends Paris and Raymond who got married this spring. They gave me a dual-sided picture of Ray and I, proudly wearing our kilts (I was his best man), along with other various wedding photos. That picture, along with the kilt pin they gave me at the time, are both on display in the living room. What a wonderful reminder of one of the biggest honors of my life. I couldn't ask for better.

Poor choice in names and Tatum, you is on fiyah!

Wow...just wow....(picks jaw up off floor from the awesomeness of it all) Well done, good lady. Well done indeed.

Things that make this update awesome: Stilt Walkers Indy Jones ref Doc Ock ref (think carefully) and.... BUUUFFFEEEEETTT!! Crazy zip lines too. Wow!

I vote for Congo Rapids. The side with Prince on it.

Ahh the 80's and the heyday of rapids rides. Cool photos. You might submit these to the Park Index and Master Larry. (Digs around in his closet for his red jeans, "Screamin' for Vengence" t-shirt, and mullet.)

^ Spits out drink Outstanding TR! What else can you really say? Now I have to clean the mess off the screen from Guy's comment....

She passed away Thursday, December 11, 2008, after being taken off life support. She had had pneumonia for three weeks and was about to be released last week from the hospital, when she had a heart attack. Though unconfirmed, she was said to be in a coma up until thursday the 11th. Bettie Page was one of the celebrities I just liked for whatever reason. Her personality, expressions, spirit, and of course, her figure, were all very charming. Some pictures of her below for those unfamiliar. CNN http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/12/bettie.page.obit/index.html?iref=24hours Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE4BB0XP20081213 . untitledw.bmp . .

Enjoyed the BGE update and always glad to see that park. Thank you much for all the rapids shots and agree with you on the face water cannons. Got the wettest with those verses any of the others. As far as Pompeii goes, if the fire doesn't work, there's always air drying on Apollo. One of the people I rode RR with a couple summers ago made that joke. Good call. Man, Dominator is just impressive. Period. That one is definitely on the "would ride" list. Just very likeable. Nice reference to Grizzly and agreed once again. Good up date and front page well earned.

With respect, I just didn't care for 2 and 3. 4 won't be missed. Now, 28 might just have something there.

Nice! I bet the tours and the period clothing are very impressive, not to mention the apple cider and cocoa that might be around. Makes me want to tour that place in summer and winter.

1. Kat Von D 2. Dolly Parton 3. Down Town Julie Brown Thanks for the Macy's coverage. I missed that and wondered which balloons were in it this year.

I suspect you had a VERY busy schedule upon return and other things took necessary priority. Regardless, this is your second attempt at losing weight this way, and on both attempts you've made solid progress. Even this time, you added Wii Fit. These are all good signs of learning and growth as a person. In the broader picture, you've made great strides, and that is something to be proud of. Remember, all these little victories now, add up to bigger victories later.

Nice! Didn't even know they had this event other than the standard tours. Another good reason for winter visit. Glad you posted this. Agreed with Erik, and hail the return of the inspiring Christmas Village. It got me interested in the both the ornaments with trains/similar, as well as the Halloween and Christmas pieces with trains, carousels, etc. BTW, your "Chuck Decorates His Home...and cooks his lunch" thread was pretty entertaining. The newer among us might enjoy a link to it from this thread. Just a thought. Cheers and well done.

^^ You're exactly right friend. ^ It was for me, but it was still enjoyable and a beautiful hotel. Always did love the atriums. Say hello to DiVine for me. Actually Shane, depending on schedules, would you all want to meet up? Been thinking of going up there for the Christmas decor anyway. PM me, if you don't mind, if this sounds good.

You guys did a great job, especially with all the TPR jokes. I'm also on the Dragon Wagon for the sequel. Enjoyed it!

I so missed that. The regular cocoa (right at the skillets) was tasty, so this had to be good too. Thank you for the kind words and, you have the right idea. I didn't want the trip to end either! LOL! Gary that's a great story. I think we hit Babes in Toyland after the train ride and that's about the time the rains really hit. I got out about 30 minutes before you and was down at Smoky Mountian Rampage and it kept raining harder and harder. Then my phone goes off, so I have my camera in one hand (which is already pretty wet) and my Blackberry in the other, and I dashed under some roof that had picnic tables near the rapids. The rain is blowing in, so the BB is getting wet, and I'm trying to text one handed. Meanwhile this table of 2 or 3 people, the only other ones under the roof, are looking at me like I'm crazy. That's when I said "See you there. @ rapids now. On my way". I trekked back to the main entrance and around to Thunderhead, only to find Mystery Mine closed. The rain let up some, so I texted you back with Thunderhead and hit the Mystery Mine gift shop next door to get out of the rain. While I was killing time filming the train, I hear some guy beside me say "So are you going to post that?". I look over at this grinning guy and his friends and see something Gary described to me he was wearing and chuckled. Good times, good times. Thank heaven for North Face outdoor pants, Keen shoes, and Real Tree shell jackets, otherwise I'd have been so soaked! Camera and phone ended up being just fine, which is amazing. Yes, a comical and fun day and WELL worth the trip.

^ Here's an overhead of the area from Google Earth. Hope this helps. EDIT: Mods, my appologies. I totally hosed this post and messed up on the posting size in trying to be "helpful" to this lady. Will try to edit and fix best I can. EDIT EDIT: It's a bit out of sequence now, but this will give anyone interested a rough idea of where things were in relation to what is standing on the site today. This is the Opry Plaza near the mall. The Grand Ole Opry is top center, and the old Roy Acuff Theatre is up and to the right. Down and to the left is the Gaslight Theatre. Overview of Grizzly River Rampage. The signature corner rock in is the lower right of the picture. This will help you get your bearing in the other pics above. Opry Plaza. Top center is The Grand Ole Opry. Top rightis the old Roy Acuff Theatre, and bottom left is the Gaslight Theatre. Overview of Grizzly River Rampage. The signature big corner rock is in the lower right for to get your bearing for the other pics above. Closer look at the area. Where the parking lot is now is where the majority of park was. Gaylord Oprylnad Hotel is to the extreme left. Mall to extreme right. Left facing end of the mall is about where Rock'n'Roller Coaster was..

I'm seeing this and I yes things are most peppy. So THAT's what the offline time was about. All hail new serverage! Just....wow....

I've always thought indoor water parks and indoor themeparks were cool for some reason. Amazing just how tightly fitted everything is at this mall. Glad you put this up. Enjoyed it!

Home stretch folks... Now that's a great picture! Hope you all enjoyed this TR and my best to you this holiday season. Thank you. For some reason the artsy-ness of the copper kettles spoke to me. This is another shot I really like. Do I even have to say it? Robb, if you please... I'm really glad we did this trip. The folks and I had a wonderful time. Jokes aside, the friendly staff, the decor, the food, it all put me in the Christmas spirit. It was even better to share it with my family. How DID they train those fireflies? That's just bloody amazing! The lighted ceiling fan was pretty. The white, red, and green butts, didn't do half bad either. That's not a tree. Those are really well trained fireflies...with blue butts. See what I mean about the Opryland vibe? The carousel made me think of Beemer and some of his friends. I liked this Lionel or O Gauge train layout at the store near the train depot. Sadly, this is the only picture that came out. Conversly, there were some neat copper mugs that I hadn't seen before. I'd been looking forward to this all day long and wondered how it would stack up to Hershey's Candy Lane Christmas. The sun was going down, and the lights were coming on.

And now, the rest of the story... Oh sure, EVERYBODY has it from the outside. But how many have this pic from the INSIDE? And at that blazing speed? Just a little more on the way... Best part of the day! Humorously, I took more vids than pics in this area. On the plus side, I have video proof that the Huss ride was working. Success! Finally met up with Gary (Carolinacaniac) and his friends. Had a great time talking shop, and even filmed them during their run on Thunderhead. Gary, so glad we could hang out for a bit and will definately look you guys up if I'm out your way. Always great to meet another TPR member! The TNT Vulture (sounds like a wrestler doesn't it?) was on auto-speil and said something about "fire in the hole" and burritos. That's when the amused grey hoodie man looked over. Mystery Mine broke mysteriously. I was mystified. It's an unwritten country law to have this shot, or you get taken out behind the woodshed. The southern among us know this is NOT a good thing. Peter Gabriel anyone? Anyone? I like this shot. So yeah, it rained harder after the train ride. Humoursly, Gary (Carolinacaniac) and I had be playing txt tag all day trying to meet up between shows. I think he was behind me on the train at one point. This is what you would see if you sat in my lap and faced the other way. Now if you're facing this way, you'd better be cute and single. This is what you would see if you sat in my lap. If you add up those numbers, they do 11!!1!!, whatever that thing is. Or, if you do it the normal way, they come out to 13. My fave shot of the day. Hopefully the train enthusiast will enjoy the next few shots. Time to ride the Dollywood Express. Yes, I was drug off this train years ago for some little show they did during the ride. I had to wear a dress and wig at some point...with my mullet. Wish I could find the pictures of that. Then again... Reason # 634,765 to come back to Pigeon Forge in the summer. For the fake rock enthusiasts. How's it goin' Shane? It will be mine. Oh yes. That credit will be mine. Ahh yes, a nerd in his natural habitat...near the rapids ride. Ok, so there MIGHT be a couple leaves to clean out. That's what, 5, 10 minutes tops? Booo! C'mon guys! It's only 40 degrees, raining, and november. For this. Here's your love BamaRob! No, I was on a mission... After that wicked awesome lunch, it didn't matter one bit that the clouds rolled in, the temps dropped, and it started to rain. Yes, now the folks would understand the true and undeniable power of the legendary "Skillets of Dollywood". And there was much rejoicing! I'll give you a moment... All hail The Weenie Man! To think, these were derived from the front part of the steam train! Brilliant! OMFG! It's better than I could've possibly imagined! (If you have a copy of the Hallelujah Chorus, play it now. Go ahead...I'll wait...)

Day 4 Dollywood Country Christmas Great day all around! Q2Q was an epic win for the shows. The food was terrific, and excellent lights during the night time. Really loved the friendliness of staff all around. Made the day VERY enjoyable. This final round of pics... I'll go out on a limb and say this a well decorated tree. More pics in a few... Back outside after great seats courtesy of Q2Q, we headed towards the middle of the park. The folks wanted to just grab a sandwhich and thought I was crazy for insisting on hunting down the legendary "Skillets of Dollywood". They would soon see the light. No, it's not raining white cheddar cheese fries (though that is a pleasent thought). That's real snow that falls during the Smokie Mountain Christmas show. Show was excellent. Vocal harmonies, particularly the men, were great, and the petite gal who played the little girl almost stole the show. Job well done folks! I chuckled when they sang Gloria. We sang that same song for a choir competition during the already mentioned trip in high school. Oddly, and especially at night, this place had a look and feel very close to Opryland USA's. Wow! A plastic green butterfly! No worries. It looks better at night when it's all lit up. The rapids is closed. The Reindeer out front should have told you. (BTW, does that right leg look painful to anyone else?) Some of the decorations. Mr. Goodwrench doesn't look impressed. He just hasn't seen the food yet. The bus runs on rainbows and butterfly power and no driver has ever gotten a traffic ticket...ever. With all the other stuff to do and shows to see, I missed this one. Yet another excuse for a summer trip. Yeah, like you really NEED an excuse to visit this park! Though I failed to get that exclusive Dolly Tram PoV, we did check out her old tour bus after getting my new best friend, the Q2Q.

Sorry Guy, no juicy details here. The serenity and charm of The Village (and the fun of Gatlinburg) just helped the two of us reconnect during a rocky time in our relationship. It was just romantic and we had "a moment". Couldn't help but think of the good times during that visit 15 years ago. Just how my mind works sometimes. That, and I kept thinking "Ripley's Erotic Adventure" per Tyler's joke on Ripley's Haunted Adventure. Thank you very hard and you taught me something new today! Didn't realize Space Needle was Intamin, let alone similar to Magic Mountain's. Very cool indeed. Thank you very hard. Did not have enough time (or maahbles) to do the Tram or Chairlift this trip. Maybe in the summer or whenever I get back to the area. If so, will get a PoV, with proper blessings/approvals of course. As always, the kind words and views are most appreciated. Last round of pics will be up later tonight or tomorrow at worst. Whether the jokes will get any better is anyone's guess...

Oops! Dupe post. Itchy mouse finger.