We ended 2025 in the quietest, sweetest way — just Cilla and me.
I made her a cup of hot chocolate, and we settled in on the couch to “stay up” for the New Year. Michael, in his unwavering dedication to bedtime, had already gone to sleep, leaving the two of us to ring in 2026 together.
Now typically, I would have been sound asleep long before midnight. But there was no way I wasn’t at least pretending I was fully committed to this whole staying-up-for-the-New-Year thing. Every few minutes, as she lay stretched out on the couch, I’d ask, “Are you awake?”
She figured it out pretty quickly that this was not my normal routine. She even reminded me of how old I was.... 70 something!🤣
About eight minutes before midnight, I pulled up Fox, which was showing the New Year’s countdowns in both Washington, DC and New York City. We watched together, counted down, hugged each other, and said Happy New Year as 2026 arrived.
And then — about five minutes later — she looked at me and said,“Can I go to bed now?” Like it was my fault we stayed up past midnight. 🤣
I didn’t want to race her to the bedroom, so I let her believe she was definitely more tired than I was. She headed off to bed first, fully convinced she’d outlasted me, while I stayed put, still very committed to the idea that I was all in on staying up.
By 6:38 a.m., I was wide awake — and everyone else was sound asleep. That felt about right.
After a slow start to the morning, we left the condo around 10:00 a.m. and headed to the Frizzle Chicken Café for breakfast.
And before I go any further, an important clarification: the chickens are not real. They are animatronic — singing, dancing chickens mounted on the walls. Honestly, that probably makes the whole thing even more entertaining.
Oh my… what an experience. Michael was having way too much fun joining in with the chicken dance song — except instead of clucking like the chickens, he was quacking. I’m still not sure how that happened, but once it started, there was no stopping it.
Cilla, meanwhile, was very hungry. She ordered an omelet and pancakes and absolutely did them justice:
half the omelet, one whole biscuit, and half an order of chocolate chip pancakes.
After breakfast, we headed over to Beyond the Lens, hoping to finally ride The FlyRide.
And once again we weren't able to ride the FlyRide, sign on the door said all the FlyRide times were supposedly booked for the rest of the day. I’m sorry — I’m not buying that. There were hardly any cars there, and I really think they just didn’t have anyone available to operate it again today. So, we moved on.
Next stop was The Island in Pigeon Forge. As soon as we walked up, we were greeted by the fountains and Michael and Cilla found seats to enjoy — water choreographed to music, dancing right in front of us.
We wandered around a bit, did some shopping, and Cilla thought she wanted to ride the Ferris wheel… until two other rides caught her attention instead.
First was The Happy Swing, which had only a short wait.
Then came the Thunder Dome, a bungee-style trampoline ride. That one had about an hour wait, but once she was on it, she was absolutely living her best life. Totally worth it.
After meandering around a bit more, it was time for souvenir shopping. Oddly enough, Cilla didn’t want to come in — so I did the shopping alone while she and Michael waited in the car. Go figure. The girl who usually loves to shop… didn’t want to shop.
By then, Cilla and Michael were hungry again, and I thought the Wood Grill Buffet might be a good choice. It was not. Fortunately, they found enough to fill their bellies. As for me, I’m pretty sure I could go a month without eating and be just fine — but I did find a few things that worked. Cilla found the ice cream afters she finished eating.....
After dinner, we headed back to the condo to pack up and clean up for our departure the next day.
As we are zipping up suitcases and gathering things one last time, our hearts are full. This trip wasn’t about seeing everything or sticking to a schedule — it was about slowing down, sharing time, and experiencing places through young eyes once again.
Watching Cilla take it all in — the fun, the questions, the moments of hesitation that turned into excitement — reminded us why these trips have always mattered. Each season of travel looks a little different, and this one was special in its own way. I wish we could go back and travel with our girls when they were younger we have learned so much through the years I think we would have even more fun.
Our hope — and our prayer — is that we’ll be able to make memories like these with our other great-grands in the years ahead. If we’re given the chance, we look forward to more trips, more laughter, and more moments that become stories they’ll one day tell.
Because the travel bug hasn’t gone anywhere…it’s just waiting for the next little suitcase or even a bigger suitcase if the daughters or grands want to travel too. — 💙✈️
1 comment:
I would like to sign up for the next adventure, please!!
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