Spring Break 2022 - Gatlinburg, Tennessee

This year while I was planning a beach trip for Spring break, Jonathan and Lily both told me they would rather go to the mountains...so, I did a complete 180 and off to Gatlinburg we went! 

Day 1 - we got a later start than we wanted, ran into traffic that added 1.5 hours to our already 3 hour drive, but we made it to the hotel around 4:45pm. We checked in, freshened up and Lily chose Texas Roadhouse for dinner. A low-key first day, so we decided to turn in early for the day ahead.

Day 2 - Pouring rain so I had some "indoor" venues planned. We got up early and headed to the Forbidden Caverns in Sevierville, TN, the birthplace of Dolly Parton. (Sevierville, not the caverns, although they could have really marketed that concept! LOL). It had been years since mom and dad took my sister Jen and I to the Luray Caverns in Virginia, but I remembered it was fun. I hoped this would be for my family too! 

It turned out to be very fun! At one point we were 250 feet below the surface under the mountain. I have to admit, it crossed my mind several times that at any moment we could all be crushed if that mountain gave way...but I was able to enjoy the hour long tour despite all of the perilous thoughts that would come my way! It was a fairly strenuous tour with rather steep inclines and declines, a good amount of stairs and some tight quarters at times. Personally, I was proud of myself that I made it the whole way, but I was out of breath towards the end for sure!

After the tour, the rain slowed down a bit and we headed for downtown Gatlinburg. It is a beautiful city in the heart of the Smokey Mountains. We first visited Gatlinburg when the kids had a soccer tournament a few years ago. Soccer tournament weekends are fun, but they don't leave much time for exploring, and are usually during the school year so taking extra days means missing school. It was so nice that we had no soccer to rush to and we just were able to set our own timetable. 

Gatlinburg is a beautiful place to visit. The mountains and creeks are beautiful and there is so much to do. I especially like the downtown area. There are lots of shops and activities all year round. 

We stopped for lunch and then headed to the Ripley's Aquarium, which was one thing Lily really wanted to do. It was a very cool place!

These two cuties had a staring contest. We called it a tie after about five minutes. That little penguin just kept staring a Lily. It made the sweetest picture too!

It was a great, very full day, and we were all worn out at the end! We picked up some Chinese food (Jonathan's choice) and headed back to the hotel to rest. It was good that everything was fairly close, so not a whole lot of driving once we were there. 

Day 3 - Overcast but clearing and mild temperatures. It was time to have some outdoor fun! After breakfast at Flapjacks Pancakes house (my Dad would have loved it there!) We began the ascent to the tippy top of the mountain to a place called Ober Gatlinburg. It was a little German-themed amusement park. It is more of a winter venue as they have skiing, tubing, ice skating and many other activities when there is snow. It was still a lot of fun and there were a good amount of activities for everyone.

A chair lift ride up to the top of the mountain and back down again. Jonathan decided he prefers his feet on the ground. Lily loved it and gave her older brother a hard time for being less than thrilled. I am right there with you, Jonathan. I prefer two feet on the ground too!

These were bumper cars on ice! They were very cool!

For those who know me, you know I am not very adventurous when it comes to amusement rides. Luis is pretty much the same way. Josh and Jonathan too. But somewhere in Lily's genetic code, she picked up some Uncle Gregg and Aunt Jenny genes and she loves rides. Up until now she hasn't experienced much because she was too little to go alone, and we were, well, a bunch of chickens. Now that she is almost 13 (going on 25!), she is tall enough to ride alone and she loves it. Luis took this video of Lily on the mountain roller coaster. It's kind of shakey because he was zoomed in trying to see her, but you get the idea.  She is really looking forward to her upcoming music ideals (honors choir) trip to Carowinds next month!

After spending a few hours at Ober Gatlingburg, we headed back to the hotel for a "siesta". I think we were still worn out from the day before too. That evening, the kids stayed at the hotel while Luis and I headed out for a dinner date. I promised Luis I would find him an all-you-can-eat seafood place for vacation...but I made that promise when I thought we were headed to the beach!! Thankfully Captain Jim's Seafood Buffet came through and even threw in all-you-can-eat crab legs too! Although the "fresh seafood" sign was a stretch for this land locked mountain retreat, Luis enjoyed every bite and I think this was one of his favorite parts of the whole vacation!

 

In roughly 2 hours, that man filled the bucket with empty crab legs. No doubt he dreamt of the ocean that night!

Day 4 - More rain so we decided to get up early and head home. It was a great little getaway, and the only thing that would have made it perfect would have been if Josh could have been there. But, his college semester is ramping up with finals just around the corner. We will definitely have to plan another visit when he is on break!

Gatlinburg is so beautiful. Can't wait to go back!