Travel

As promised, I will be breaking down our southern road trip. We began our trip on Monday, May 25th with family. To see the whole trip overview click here.

Monday, May 25th: Cumberland Falls

While driving down to Pigeon Forge, we stopped at Cumberland Falls. Located in the Daniel Boone National Forest near Corbin, Kentucky, this falls is a popular destination for those wanting to see the moonbow (a rainbow seen under a full moon). We visited during the afternoon and hiked about two-three miles. It was really hot and humid, but it was a good hike and the falls were worth the trek. You can also just drive straight up to the falls.

Do you see the small raft in the corner of the picture? It helps you get an idea of how big the falls are. The rocks at the bottom are really large. I learned there was once a hotel overlooking the water but it burned down 1949.

Historic Moonbow Inn Photo Credit: Brenda Sampsel on Pinterest

After hiking, we drove to Knoxville, TN. We stayed the night at the Hampton Inn. I love Hampton Inns. This one had a salt water pool! The next morning, we woke up and drove into the Smoky Mountain National Park.

Tuesday, May 26th: Smoky Mountain National Park, Cherokee Village, the Cabin

On Tuesday we woke up and drove into the Smoky Mountain National Park. Together, it was me, my dad, Dustin’s mum and dad, his brother, his little sister, and Dustin. We stopped at an overlook and took the picture below of Gatlinburg. I’ve stayed at the hotel that’s higher up. It’s also where my little sister stayed on her honeymoon. It’s currently owned by Hilton and is called The Park Vista by Doubletree. It’s really cool and has a 15-story atrium.

Along with stopping a the park’s visitors center, we hiked to Laurel Falls. After that, we drove over the mountain to Cherokee in North Carolina. I remember visiting this little village when I was a small girl. It’s on an Indian reservation and has many different shops. It seemed a little run down and there weren’t many people there. Just going over the mountain was worth the trip, but I probably wouldn’t suggest going to Cherokee unfortunately. It just isn’t how it used to be.

After Cherokee, we drove back over the mountain and found our cabin! The cabin was rented through Cabins of the Smoky Mountains. Since we were staying in May, we received a great discount. I believe it was less than $300 per night and we stayed three nights. Dad and Dustin’s dad and mum shared the cost of the cabin. Dustin and I later contributed by paying for everyone’s aerial tram ride, which was about $85. The actual cabin name was Love View More.

The cabin was massive. It’s probably one of the nicest places I’ve ever stayed. Five balconies, four massive bedrooms, five bathrooms, a theater room, a game room, and more.

We spent a lot of time on the front porch, which was attached to the living room and dining room. The view was spectacular. I can’t even describe it.

Above is a picture of the view from the front porch. We all got a private bedroom except Dustin’s siblings who shared. Each bedroom had it’s own bathroom, some with double sinks. The master suite was Dustin’s parents room. It had it’s own private balcony, a garden tub, vaulted ceilings, and a master bathroom.

Dustin and I picked the bedroom in the basement. There were glass doors that led to the hot tub on the bottom level. There was also a private bathroom attached. I loved the king sized bed and the decorations were really fun. We had plenty of room!

Below is a picture of one of the other bedrooms. When we arrived the towels were folded. I loved the exposed beams and wood. Each bedroom also had a flat screen tv.

Two of the four bedrooms had their own private decks. Our bedroom had a door that opened to a communal deck. Below is a picture of the dual sinks in one of the bathrooms.

We didn’t spend that much time in the family room. Instead, we found ourselves at the dining room table, out on the porches, or playing in the game room. Although this room was wonderful. The TV (not pictured) was massive and the couches were comfy. The kitchen was well equipped and even had an ice maker appliance built under one of the cabinets. I loved the granite countertops and the space. One morning our dads combined forces and made us a yummy breakfast. Other than that, we just snacked. We dined out more.

The game room and movie room were decorated with fun art, including a Gone with the Wind movie poster.

A lot of time was spent playing pool and arcade games. The arcade machine had lots of different vintage games and use was unlimited. The boys (and everyone else) couldn’t stay away from it! We turned on the fireplace a few times. It was really cozy.

Believe it or not, we didn’t really use the theater room. It had it’s own bathroom and was such a cool thing to have in the cabin. We all love movies, but we were pretty busy seeing the sights. One night we just watched TV down there before bed. The sound system was good and the picture clear. (Love that Grease poster).

Wednesday, May 27th: Poison Ivy Scare & Dixie Stampede

Every morning Dustin and I would wake up and try to get some work in. On Wednesday, Dustin was breaking out in poison ivy. We were unsure of how bad it was until his eyes began to swell. After a trip to Urgent Care and $200+ in medical bills, we were glad we paid attention. I guess Dustin is extremely allergic to poison ivy and it had gotten into his bloodstream. The doctor at Urgent Care gave him a shot and watched him until his swelling went down. His tongue was tingling and his lips were swollen. The doctor told us if it got any worse he needed to get to the ER. She gave us directions, but with steroids he got a little better.

That evening we got to go to The Dixie Stampede. Was it corny? A little. Was it fun? YES! I’ve been three times now and I love it. Headed up by Dolly Parton, this attraction is fun for all ages and includes a full meal. You eat with your hands “country style” and watch a show. There are live animals like horses, pigs, mini ponies, bison, and more. The tricks are cool and they’ve added a woman who flies around attached to invisible cords, representing a Native American bird. The service was great and our waiter took good care of us, making sure we had lots of sweet tea.

I was so full at the end. The amount of food is so big. You get a cheesy roll, a bowl of creamy vegetable soup, half a baked potato, a whole chicken, BBQ pork loin, corn-on-the-cob, and an apple turnover. The chicken is really strange (because it’s an entire chicken) when they lay it on your plate, but it’s delicious. There are wet wipes for your hands too.

For $60, it’s a bit of a splurge, but it was fun for the whole family and the horse tricks were worth seeing. Look around for coupons!

Dustin working in the morning with his coffee.

I already miss this porch swing 🙂

I think that’s enough of our trip for this post. (And that’s only three days!) Next, we had a few more days with the family and then headed off on our own.

love & laughter,

Tiffany

A few months ago Dustin and I were both feeling jittery and wanted to travel. Unfortunately our car wasn’t really reliable and Dustin couldn’t take any time off work. As I sat at my desk looking longingly at Groupon Getaways, I realized we would have to wait quite awhile until we could go on a trip just the two of us. Then, both sets of parents offered us opportunities we couldn’t decline!

First, my mum and stepdad were headed to Myrtle Beach at the beginning of May. They invited us to come with them. Since our car couldn’t make the trip (probably)** we rode with them and spent five nights right on the beach. It was relaxing, even though we both worked during the trip.

That’s the beauty of working from home…you can work from anywhere!

We ate a lot of delicious food and I’m pretty sure I inhaled 30+ hushpuppies all by myself. I hadn’t launched the blog yet and wasn’t taking a lot of photos BUT I’m thinking I might go back and write about a few of the places we got to visit.

Right before the trip to Myrtle Beach, Dustin’s parents invited us to go to Gatlinburg, Tennessee with them. I adore the mountains and have grown up going to North Carolina multiple times a year to visit family.

They hadn’t ever been there (gasp!)

Without hesitation we told them we would love to go. Later, my dad hopped on board and we all planned three nights in the mountains together. Now, I love spending time with family. BUT Dustin and I also wanted to take advantage of already being down South. I worked extra hard and saved enough money for us to stay at bed and breakfasts three extra nights to extend our vacation. Again, we had to work the whole time, but it was worth every second to be able to get away from home.

**Right before the trip I was out with some girlfriends. My mum dropped me off at Starbucks after we’d been carpooling. I put my keys in the ignition and the car wouldn’t go. After reaching out for help and trying to jump the car, we had to leave it there. Our car, which Dustin has had since he was in high school, had officially died. It was stressful because we were leaving for Tennessee within a few days and didn’t have a working car. We had also already paid for the bed and breakfasts ahead of time. After a lot of prayer and decisions we ended up purchasing a brand new car. This was a crazy situation for us. We’ve never thought we’d purchase a new car. So, I plan on writing about the situation later. The point is, we in fact, had a vehicle for our trip. This made it extremely more enjoyable and a special time.

Here’s an overview of our entire trip. In the next few posts I’ll be elaborating on each leg of our road trip down South!

Monday, May 25th:

We left in the morning and drove to Knoxville, Tennessee. While on the way, we stopped at Cumberland Falls. The falls is located in Kentucky and is known around the world for it’s moonbow, a rainbow which can be seem under a full moon.

Tuesday, May 26th:

We drove into the Smokey Mountains. Visited the Welcome Center, hiked to Laurel Falls, and checked out Cherokee, North Carolina. This was also our first night at our cabin. The cabin was massive. It had a game room with a pool table and arcade, four rooms, six bathrooms, four decks, a theatre room, and a hot tub. I’ll be writing more about it in an individual post.

Wednesday, May 27th:

Dustin got poison ivy. We ended up at Urgent Care. No matter, we still went to the Dixie Stampede in the evening.

For a more detailed story of Monday-Wednesday, click here!

Thursday, May 28th:

This was a busy day. We visited the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Aquarium, walked downtown Gatlinburg, rode the Ober Gatlinburg Aerial Tramway, and ate at The Old Mill.

The post, The Old Mill Restaurant, an Aerial Tramway, Ripley’s Aquarium & Goats on a Roof will fill you in on all the details.

Friday, May 29th:

After saying farewell to the family, we rode an alpine roller coaster (crazy) and worked for the afternoon at Starbucks.

We drove about an hour and a half to Waynesville, North Carolina. Here we checked into our room at The Yellow House Bed and Breakfast.

This stay deserves its on individual post and more pictures! (Click here for the post: Two Nights at The Yellow House On Plott Creek) The home was so beautiful and the grounds were kept pristine. I found this deal on Groupon.

Saturday, May 30th:

We woke up and found a fun coffee shop to work at in Asheville, North Carolina. After working we headed over to The Biltmore, the largest privately owned home in the United States. It took us the entire day to explore the home and grounds. It was one of the coolest things I’ve done. See: Acting Like Millionaires & Exploring The Biltmore in Asheville

Sunday, May 31st:

After enjoying another delicious breakfast at The Yellow House, we left and headed back to Pigeon Forge. We purchased tickets for a ~~terrifying~~ bi-plane ride. We rode with a pilot that had explored the world. In the short amount of time we talked with him, we learned he had lived on a boat, owned a post card store, lived currently in Key West, and that he had restored this vintage plane himself!

Don’t let this smiling picture fool you…I was kinda about to pee my dress.

Riding on the bi-plane was amazing. Hold tight for more pictures and a more detailed account of the ride!

Later in the evening we headed to another bed and breakfast. Unfortunately this one wasn’t really that great. For many reasons, which I’ll hit on later, it was kinda a bummer.

BUT, there were puppies there! Here’s a picture!

Monday, June 1st:

We ended up stopping to work at another coffee shop on our way back, we also decided to stay another night in a hotel to break up the driving and swim in the pool.

So, there’s the overview. Keep tuned into Poeticlaughter for more pictures and details of the journey. Have you been to Gatlinburg? What’s you’re go-to thing to do there?

Also, since we were driving a lot, we ate a lot of road trip snacks. I munched on goldfish, luna protein bars (cookie dough), and bananas. What are you’re go-to snacks for on the road?

Love & Laughter,