A Birthday Adventure

We started out on our birthday adventure to Anakeesta in Gatlinburg, TN bright and early and I was very tired and grateful for my travel mug of coffee I had brought with. The winding mountain roads heading South out of Pikeville always make me nervous, but it is worse when someone else is driving and I don't have any control. Despite my tired eyes, they stayed wide open watching every wind in the road approaching, but perhaps I only comment on it once. Eventually the windy mountain roads gave way to interstate travel and I relaxed into the journey a bit more.

We arrived at Anakeesta around 11am, easily found a parking spot, but had a harder time navigating the waiting lines. Nothing was marked very well, but we managed to get into the ticket line and secure a couple tickets before hitting up the restroom (yes there was just one), and then found the appropriate line to get to the top of Old Smokey. 

I chatted with a lady in front of us from California. Her family was whitewater rafting so she was exploring Anakeesta all on her own. Although she was a little hesitant about the heights, she was brave enough to take the chair lift , so we parted ways at the split in the line and watched her take off from our place in the gondola line. 

After a year of pleading by my aunt, I only agreed to this adventure partly because I've been facing fears, and mostly because I saw an advertisement that they had enclosed gondolas. This adventure boiled down to that one condition. If I'm going to face my fears, I need to start with baby steps. So with only four gondolas available, the line moved much more slowly than the chair lift line. I tried to make the most of it and make connections with a few of the folks around me. 

When our turn came to board the gondolas, they paired us up with a couple from Michigan. The lady's t-shirt was black with an inspirational saying on the front, which for the life of me, I cannot remember. She too was a little hesitant about the heights, so I asked her if she wore the shirt to help inspire herself that morning, because it was really working for me. The two of them sat across from us and they had a very calming presence. They chatted with us the whole ride up. I found if I focused on the people in the cabin, I felt less anxious, although when they stopped the line and the gondola started swinging, I would reach for the seat to steady myself as I felt a wave of panic rise through my body. I was deep breathing and remembering to relax and let go of the ropes when I felt tension rise up in my body, and I just closed my eyes when I needed to center myself. Heck, you'd think I'd learned something along this soul journey.

My legs were wobbly after the twenty-minute journey when we finally reached the apex. Our first order of business was lunch, but I was not riding as high as I am accustomed to and I feel like we were met with that vibration throughout our visit. The waitress was definitely not high vibe. After inquiring about gluten-free options, she brought us our bloody marys without cocktail napkins. There were cloth napkins on the table, so as we began unassembling our cocktail garnishes, they ended up in a big pile on the table. Another lady dropped off our food and because my gluten-free bun looked just like my aunt's I wanted to wait to confirm with our waitress that I got the right item. It turns out our waitress had taken it upon herself to order both our selections as gluten-free. By the time I bit into the bun, it was so dry, I ended up adding it to the cocktail garnish pile on the table. As we finished up, we tried to finish the bloody mary, but it was just too spicy. It definitely needed more vodka to thin it out. This was not the special birthday lunch experience we had hoped for.

So we walked out of the restaurant perhaps at an even lower vibe than when we walked in. We made our way up the mountain but didn't do any of the activities except stop in a few shops and my aunt picked up an ice cream while I melted on a bench outside. The heat was so intense, considering we were so close to the sun. I did get a few photos because it is damn beautiful up there! Then we were back in line to catch a gondola back down. 

This time we rode alone and I picked the seat facing the mountain so I didn't have to look out. I tried to focus exclusively on my aunt as we chatted and the ride down felt much better with only a few starts and stops. The highlight of this day came waiting in line for the bathroom when my aunt suggested we let a little girl to the front of the line who was looking like she really needed to use the facility. I felt uplifted that we probably made this mamma's day with just a little kindness. What a special birthday present.