My mini vacation to Gatlinburg

My husband has a weird work schedule but we worked it so that he had Sunday afternoon through Tuesday off. The second he got home on Sunday, we had the car packed and were out the door. Due to an untimely mechanical issue with my van, we had to take my hubby's car, a Honda Accord. It's a great car for trips but we had three little girls crammed in the back seat. If the trip had been any longer, I truly believe they would have killed each other. Nevertheless, we were off...but not for long.

We had to make a stop at the closest gas station to fill up the tank. While waiting in line to pay, my hubby, Roger, reminded me to grab a pack of batteries for the camera...crap! It was the one thing I for got to pack. After another stop at the house to get it, we were on the road...again.

We had decided to take this trip a few weeks beforehand so we got online to check out hotels. This is made a little bit more difficult for us because we have a family of five and most hotel rooms only allow for a four person capacity. Luckily, we came across the Comfort Inn in Pigeon Forge, about 10 miles away from Gatlinburg. It was close to everything and had family suites which accommodated up to six people. The room also had a mini-fridge and a microwave. Perfect! So we booked it for two nights.

With the hotel room out of the way, we were able to browse around and find other 'affordable' activities for our family to do. We had our activities roughly planned out but left it flexible...you have to when you have three young children. Naps and temper tantrums can make a trip go from bad to worse in a hurry. With the details out of the way, we were able to pack stress free and enjoy our trip without knowing that we had planned it in advance.

We arrived around 5pm and check-in was quick, due to our reservation. Our room was on ground level, down the hall from the indoor pool, and we had outdoor access to the parking lot. That was nice because we could take our stuff to and from the car quickly while also having a view of out car at night...very reassuring. Needless to say, I was very happy with our stay there and will definitely stay at the hotel again in the future.

On Monday morning, we woke up early and took the kids to go eat the free breakfast at the hotel It was very good, by the way. They had the usual cereal, muffins, and fruit. The awesome thing was that they also had fresh biscuits, gravy, and scrambled eggs. They also had a station to make your own Belgian waffles...my hubby loved that. Another check goes on the positive side of this hotel. Sorry...food makes me ramble.

Anyways, right as we were finishing breakfast, Roger's father called and informed us that they were in the parking lot. We met them outside and after a few moments of chit chat, all eight of us were on our way to the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. It was a very short drive but the views were so beautiful. You get to drive through the stretch of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that connects Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg. It's hard to believe that there is so much beautiful forest between two very busy tourist towns.

Gatlinburg is a gorgeous city. The main part of it, though, is like a tourist strip. It is full of local wedding chapels, shops, and eateries. You could walk around it all day. That had to wait for us though...on to see the fish!

After the Aquarium, we walked down the strip to the new Ripley's Marvelous Maze of Mirrors. It was so much fun and the kids loved it. We had to keep them close though. It took us a few tries to get through it.

After that, we went back to the hotel for a little nap and we were out and about again. We found a local stable called Big Rock Dude Ranch about 3 miles from our hotel. My oldest daughter didn't want to ride so Roger took our 4 year old, Lynlee, out on the trail. It was her first horse ride and she loved it. Our youngest, Brooklyn, and oldest, Kaitlyn, stayed behind and fed the animals...some goats and chickens. We also watched a few peacocks and bunnies run around the grounds. It really was a treat for all of us.

You would think that after the stables we would be done but we weren't. My oldest child has an obsession with shiny things, gems and plastic whatnots. We thought that she would enjoy mining for gems. There was a place called Pigeon Forge Gem Mine about half a mile from our hotel where you can buy a bucket fills with sand and dirt and unknown stones. We bought a huge $50 bucket for the girls to share. They each got their own screen and went to town. Anything bigger than a pencil eraser we put in a plastic bag and took inside to the 'assayers' and they told us what we had found. My girls had found small garnets, emeralds, rose quartz, pyrite(fool's gold), and smoky topaz among other various things. We also had a piece of rose quartz cut and polished into a one carat oval stone. It was fun and I would recommend mining to anyone going through town.

After the mining, we were hungry so we stopped at IHOP to have some pancakes for dinner...yum! We drove back to the hotel but then walked next door to get Baskin Robbins (again). The kids then wanted to go swimming but our day had been so long and I was exhausted. I compromised by letting them put on their bathing suits and 'swimming' in the giant jacuzzi tub in the room. That was enough to totally wipe them out. They were asleep in 10 minutes and my hubby and I finally got to relax on the loveseat for a while.

We were heading home the next day but we stopped at the Tanger Five Oaks Outlet Mall first. It is like a huge outdoor mall...every girl's dream. There was a small carousel on the sidewalk next to where we parked and the girls begged me to ride it. I bribed them by saying that if they were good and didn't whine (their worst habit) while I was shopping, that I would let them ride it before we left. We went to the Old Navy Outlet and The Disney Store Outlet and even stopped at The Fudgery (the best fudge around). The girls were overall very well behaved so they got their carousel ride.

They slept the whole way back to Knoxville. We stopped and rented "Enchanted" and had a movie night at home. It was a great mini vacation and we are planning to do it again at the end of Summer. I have great memories and I am so glad that I could share them with you.