During that same “Day Trip To Gatlinburg“, we stopped by Ripley’s Aquarium of The Smokies.  We all had alot of fun there, there was so much to see!  I’ll just begin by posting the many videos I took, below:

Over the weekend, I decided to organize some of the many photos I’ve taken over the years.  While doing so, I ran across some pics that I had taken on one of my trips into Gatlinburg, TN.  Gatlinburg is only about a 30 minute car ride from us, so we go there on a regular basis.  There’s so much to do there, that we never get bored.   These pics were taken in the fall of 2007.  On this trip we went to The Village Shops and then, finished the day off with a tram car ride up to the Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park.

Whenever I visit The Village Shops in Gatlinburg, I always feel as if I’ve been transported to another time and place.  The architecture of  the buildings combined with the cobblestone walkways and the smells of the various eateries there, is a soothing and welcoming experience.

If you look closely at the above photograph, you can see the leaves on the tree are just turning into the splendid colors of fall that we all know and love.

In the above picture, notice the waterfall on the left above the bench there.  We sat on that bemch for awhile and enjoyed the breeze, while watching the shoppers on the upper level balcony on the right side of the image.  The weather was great, even though it was cloudy and overcast.  After some dawlding about there, we decided to take a ride on the ariel tramway up to Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort & Amusement Park.

This is a view of the town of Gatlinburg, TN as taken from the inside of the ariel tram car.  These pics were taken in October 2007 and the leaves on the trees were just beginning to turn into their fall splendor.

The above image shows exactly why our mountains are called The Great Smoky Mountains. They just seem to go on and on.  This picture simply does not do them justice.

In the above photo, you can see another tram car on the opposite lines, on it’s way up to the top, as we are on our descent to the docking station.

During the tram car ride, you’ll encounter many interesting looking buildings and vacation homes in the mountain, having worked at this company for 16 yrs,  this building was the most interesting one to me.  It’s the Dunkin’ Donuts corporate vacation home.  It’s used by the execs at Dunkin’.  I wonder if when they wake up, they say “It’s time to make the donuts?”  lol

Last but not least, is a pic of the city of Gatlinburg TN,  as seen from the tram car.  This was taken as we were descending into the dock to un-board from the ride.

I hope you enjoyed these!

The following is an excerpt from an actual “help wanted” ad posted by the United States Transportation Security Administration on Monster.com http://jobview.monster.com/getjob.aspx?JobID=88896446&fwr=true posted on July 5, 2010.

“Part-time split shift is defined as any two shifts, lasting at least two (2) hours each, in one 24-hour period with a break of at least two (2) hours between shifts. Exceptions – shifts to support morning, midday, and afternoon / evening operations.”

So, let me get this right; it only counts as work if you don’t work during the morning, midday, afternoon or evening? I guess that’s one way to control payroll. I guess you would need one of those kewl non-Euclidean clocks that tells theoretical time in another dimension. “Damn, it apple o’clock, time go work. Have bad day, Bizzaro Wife.”

Achmed with a PhD from Oxford will never get past these geniuses. You know, unless he uses a watch with actual numbers on it. Yeah. Yeah, I feel safer already.

This old tool has been reintroduced in Washington D.C. by the Obama Administration. It will be part of the New Health Care Program.

Are you starting to feel it yet?

In our old townhouse, I had a tree in front of my patio and I’d often take pictures of the birds that would show up. I tempted them by having two different bird feeders out there, with different types of bird seed. It seems the larger birds like the Blue Jays and Cardinals, preferred the fruit and nut seed mixture. This was fine by me, because I loved taking pics of them with their bright, vibrant colors.

One morning while sitting out on the patio drinking my morning coffee, I noticed an odd sound coming from the tree branches above me. To my pleasure, I saw a bird’s nest with a Mama Blue Jay on duty!

I kept a close watch on the nest and made sure to tell the landscapers to NOT disturb it. I even went so far as to call up the Management office to explain to them what was going on and they were nice enough to make sure to take our tree off of their landscaping list – temporarily.

Over the next few weeks, I had the distinct pleasure of watching the parent Blue Jays flying to and from the nest with food for their babies, and taking turns watching the nest. I made sure to keep plenty of food and fresh water out there for the parents, so they would have the nutrients they needed to care for their young.

Then, finally the day came when the babies left their nest! There were three in all, but here is a pic of two of them hanging out on my front steps:

Here, I was able to snag a pic of the three babies together. This was no easy feat, let me tell you!

I hope you’ve enjoyed these pics!