December 1-3, 2006 – GATLINBURG

Our KATS and KITTENS invaded Gatlinburg and had a blast.  Kats and Kittens that came to party were:  Queen Cleopurrrtra (Faye), Miss Kitty (Miss Kitty), Kountess Katnip (Samantha), Sassy Kat Woman (Shawn), Princess Pink Panther (Brenda), Lady Felina (Vivian), Dutchess Aristikat (Amy), Lady Siamese Kat (Debbie), Baroness Von Meow (Linda) and Princess ApriKat (Barbara).  (We really missed Lady Glitter and Lady SophistaKat, we were all thinking about you both).  We celebrated a belated kitten birthday this month - Lady Siamese Kat (Debbie) - so we each gave her a big MEOW birthday wish!  We also celebrated a birthday for Baroness Von Meow while we were in Gatlinburg.  We had the whole restaurant join in the fun in wishing her a big MEOW birthday!!

When we first arrived to our three deluxe cabins at Norris Dam State Park everyone was surprised how nice they were.  They are each nestled in the woods with three bedrooms, one bath, kitchen, and living room with a gas fireplace.  Each cabin had a welcome box with all kinds of snacks, water and cokes in the fridge.  The first night we met in Queen Cleopurrrrtra, Lady Felina and Princess Pink Panther’s cabin where everyone was greeted with a beverage. Lady Siamese Kat was our official bartender.  She had sinus problems and had quite a face when she delivered a drink to Kountess Katnip!!  They had prepared a delicious Mexican themed meal.  We played a game which took most of the night.  Queen Cleo had given each of us a princess crown which we were all to wear.  If the Queen removed her crown we were to quickly remove ours.  If we were the last to remove our crown then we got a big round sticker which was placed on our face.  If we received 5 stickers we would lose and must go into the bedroom and put on a Red Teddy.  All attention was on the Queen (which we all know she enjoys so much) as no one wanted to wear that Red Teddy!!  Keeping up with that Queen is not so easy when Kats and Kittens are distracted by the Queen’s singing and dancing (or by telephone calls from lost daughters)!  Although it was beginning to look like Princess Pink Panther would end up with the most stickers, by the end of the night Princess ApriKat was the first to get five stickers.  She was given the box with the Red Teddy in it.  But it was a joke on the other Kats and Kittens, it was just a big red teddy bear that she had to come out holding.  Kats and Kittens started getting tired and ready to bed down after a lot of eating, laughing, dancing and singing.

The next day we got up early and had a big breakfast.  Several Kats and Kittens took a long walk to a cemetery located in the Park, and then we headed off to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge in two cars.  The trip from the cabins into Pigeon Forge was quite interesting with the little competition between the Queen and Kountess Katnip.  There’s no doubt that the Kountess won that competition!  The traffic was so bad trying to get to Gatlinburg that we got separated.  The Kats and Kittens that went to Gatlinburg had a chance to go to the Arts and Crafts Fair.  The other Kittens decided they would shop in Pigeon Forge where I think they had a chance to visit some very “unique” shops.  We met up for dinner at the Great American Buffet then headed back to our cabins.  That night we played Dirty Santa and a couple of other games.  In Dirty Santa no one swaped gifts very much since all the gifts were soooo nice.  Although it was a $10 limit, our Lady Felina went all out and not only had the most unique gift (a Gatlinburg ornament hand crafted with each of our names on it) but she accidentally added an expensive bracelet!!  We also had a coronation for our last Kitten to join our group.  Lady Felina lit our “Flame of Friendship” candle. Princess ApriKat pawed forward to pledge her vows and became an official Red Hat member.  She took the pink hat sister’s vows/pledge and Queen Cleo sprinkled her with “Happy Dust” so she would not forget to be silly and have fun.  Princess ApriKat then lit a pink candle from the “Flame of Friendship”.  We then went around the room using the first letter of our name and made a toast to our new sister.  The individual candle and the “Flame of Friendship” were then extinguished.  We had so much fun just chatting and spending time together.  Baroness Von Meow, Sassy Kat Woman and Kountess Katnip had us each a sweet gift.  We even had a visit from a new Kat tonight wanting to join our group (hope she is ok, we really should have adopted her). Then off to bed.

The next morning we all had breakfast together.  Queen Cleopurrrtra had each of us a stocking filled with a picture and a 2006 Kats and Kittens Ornament.  It was time to pack up and head back home. 

We stopped to have lunch in Cookeville and the Kats and Kittens presented Queen Cleopurrrtra with the sweetest thank you card and gift card from Cracker Barrell (her favorite place).  Queen Cleo was very surprised and really appreciated it.  Lady Felina planned a special surprise for us on the way home.  We stopped in Cookeville at the Burgess Falls Nursery (this is owned by Viv’s niece).  They had a room full of the most beautiful poinsettias.  Lady Felina surprised us by purchasing each of us a red one.  That was sooooo sweet!!  We had our picture taken in the middle of all the flowers.

(Check out the Burgess Falls website http://www.burgessfallsnursery.com/page9.html).

We all had a great time traveling home listening to the TITANS game and calling each other every time they had a good play (which for a welcoming change was a lot) – GO TITANS!!! 

A GIANT MEOW, MEOW to everyone for making this outing such fun.  We all got along so well and had a great time.