The next day we left for Emma's dance nationals at Gatlinburg, TN. It was a long 7 hour drive but we made it and had so much fun! She did not have to dance until Friday but we wanted to have a day of sight seeing. Weds night we got it and drove along the main street (Parkway) with lots of shops and restaurants. We found a pizza place and ate. Unfortunately it was very slow but we were hungry and waited. Kids also did some indoor swimming as well. Also we found out parking lots ranged about $6-$8 to park since there are no street parking or free parking. Come to find out later, we could get free voucher parking since Emma was dancing in the Convention Center!
Thursday we ventured out and took a drive in the Smoky Mountains. It was beautiful! We were hoping to spot some bears but did not see any. We did not hike but just drove and stopped along to view. Erik is still recovering from his torn foot ligaments. Then we did some shopping and ate at Dick's Last Resort which was a hoot! Erik and I had a LARGE margarita and had some great food!
Friday Emma had to dance in the late afternoon so we slept in, had a late breakfast. Emma danced her heart out. She only had 1 dance that day and her Select Lg Group Tap won 9th Place Overall and Platinum award! Emma had a 3 hour break before awards so we went to Blaine's Bar & Grill for dinner. It was VERY GOOD! Highly recommend it and Erik wished we had one in OH!
Saturday, Emma and I had to be at the Convention Center bright and early at 7 am. We rode over with the Stapleton's so Erik and Ethan could sleep in a little. She had dances the entire day. Emma's dances all did very well: Select Hip Hop Line-High Gold & 9th place overall, Select Tap Line-Platinum & 6th place overall, Select Ballet Line-Double Platinum & 5th Place overall, Select Jazz Line-Platinum & 6th place overall & Production-platinum & 1st place overall! So proud of her and all of the Gen-PAC dancers!
Saturday evening, the studio had a dinner on Ober! We rode the tram to the top where the restaurant was located. We had such a great time and Emma and her friends rode some rides and played in the arcade!
We left Sunday morning since Emma did not have anymore dances. Our Elite dancers danced on Sunday along with our Premier Tap Line who won 1st place overall and was in the shootout! 2 of our Elite dances got into the shootout and one placed 2nd runner up! So proud of all of them! Plus 2 of our dancers one National titles whom they picked out of all the group dances!
It was a great time and we made a ton of memories!
