Ticket to Ride at Dollywood - Girls' Weekend 2013

As we have alluded to, it was that time again.  Yes, time for our annual Harris Sisters Girls' Weekend, and this year, we were joined by an honorary member to our group - Misty's daughter, Charlotte.   She's the short one (I use that term loosely) on the end that looks like a mini-Misty.  As you can see, we decided this year to change it up and head to the hills of Tennessee for a trip to Dollywood and a long weekend of fun!  And good old Dolly sure didn't disappoint.  Take a look at this collection of photos, and see if you don't agree that a day at the amusement park can make anyone into a kid again. 

(L to R- Charlotte, Misty, Donna, and Deanna)

The first pic of the day!  Dang, we were off to a pretty good start!

As for the first ride of the day, Charlotte was gracious enough to go along with my plan of easing into the rides slowly!

These horses are about my speed, not too fast and they are pretty firmly rooted to the ground.  Aahh, just right!

The swings were definitely NOT my speed at all.  I rode them once, but never again. These things move FAST and they are really high.  Donna and Charlotte loved them.

Speaking of Donna and Charlotte, they buddied up for all the swings from then on after. They were soaring high up there in this pic.

Here's another wild ride- this time it was Donna, Misty, and Charlotte for a spin on the dizzy disk.

Dolly's teacup ride was called the Lemon Twist.  We were twisting this little cup so fast, none of us could stand up and walk straight after the ride was over!

Of course, we took a ride on the Dollywood Express!

This ride is called the Scrambler, but it is pure nostalgia for us.  When we were little we used to love this ride.  We would take turns riding it with Daddy.  He lovingly coined the name "The Cigarette Crusher" for this ride because anyone who rides this one will tell you that you are thrown to the outside of the ride pretty violently and will certainly crush anything in your pockets - in his case, cigarettes.  Daddy doesn't smoke anymore, but we will never call this one anything else. 

Charlotte's pic of the day. She was riding the "Cigarette Crusher" and looking adorable.  We must have rode this ride at least 10 times.  It was one that everyone could agree on!

Though we didn't get pictures of it, Misty and Charlotte rode EVERY roller coaster in the park. In fact, there wasn't any ride that Charlotte didn't ride. Oh, to be so young again!

I hope your summer is off to this kind of a fun start. Girls' weekend may be a wrap, but now it's time to gear up for Take 2 as the whole family heads to Nashville for the 4th of July! So it looks like this story is to be continued. More to come, friends, MUCH more to come!