Gatlinburg and Nashville, Tennessee

Harry and I went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee on our honeymoon in 2008.  It was winter and we had an awesome time, but I always wanted to go back during the summer to experience everything we couldn't because of the cold and snow.  We got the chance last summer on a Hitt family vacation!

Since Harry was home with us for six weeks before heading back to Saudi we took advantage of having some extra time by leaving a day earlier than everyone and splitting the drive up into two days.  As usual, my girl Karaline came along for the fun.  All smiles (minus Jameson, but that's nothing new) as we set out on the first leg of our road trip!

After about 6 hours we stopped in Birmingham, Alabama for the night.  We got there early enough for a swim and some down time.  The kids were happy to be out of the car and we were really glad we decided to break the trip up.

My three amigos :)

After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast we drove another five hours and made it to our beautiful cabin in the woods.

This silly boy was ready to get our Smoky Mountain vacation started!

The next day we set out for our first big adventure of the trip...zip lining!  I was super nervous, but really excited because it's something I've always wanted to do.  It was so much fun!  The course wasn't as extreme as a few others in the area, but it was the only one that Connor could go on and it was plenty of enough adventure for us first timers.

The hardest part was climbing the tall tower and jumping off for the first time.  Most of us were really comfortable after the first couple of runs.  The videos are a little misleading because it looks like we aren't very high off the ground, but that's only at the end of each line.  We were really high up for most of the lines and even went over a lake once!  Connor went with a guide the first run, but insisted on going alone after that.  He loved it!

My turn...

Here comes Maria!

And Carly!

Connor's first solo attempt!

Mason's turn!

We all had a great time!

This line was really long and Connor wasn't heavy enough to get through the whole thing so he had to go with a guide.  He wasn't happy about it, but still enjoyed every second!

And now Harry's turn!

Our next stop was gem mining.  It is very touristy, but we knew the kids would love it so off we went!

We got a big bucket and they had a blast!

Carly girl had just as much fun :)

Vacation mode and loving it!

After mining the whole bucket, we went inside to have the stones identified.  Carly got a ring made out of one of the gems!

Paula Deen's restaurant was at the top of my list of places to eat.  I planned to go there for breakfast and dinner at some point!  After a full day we decided it was a good night to check it out for dinner and it did not disappoint!

Our course there was a bit of a wait, but it is at The Island so there are lots of little shops and places to sit all around so it's not too bad.

There's even a fountain show!  It sure isn't the Bellagio in Vegas or the Dubai Fountains, but it was nice!

Southern comfort food at its finest!  Yum!

They had a great day :)

The next day we planned to go white water rafting so Harry's mom and dad took the kids to Parrot Mountain and Dollywood.  They were excited and ready for their day with Mimi and Pop!

Ready to hit the rapids!

It was a beautiful day and we had sooooo much fun!

Yeah, I'm not about that swim in the river life so I stayed in the raft and took pictures!

Of course the kids came back with all kind of goodies...including this crazy obnoxious minion!  It was a perfect day!

Pancake Pantry was another breakfast stop that I wanted to make.  We went there early the next morning as they usually get busy really soon after opening.  It was a good place to start the day.

With our zip lining tickets we got credit to use at one of the many arcade places so after breakfast we had some putt-putt, laser tag, and go cart fun!

 

I think Connor liked it :)

I cracked up laughing every time Carly came around because she had the only cart with a flag on it and it just looked so funny coming over the hill!

 Next up was a nice lunch at The Apple Barn.

This is what it's like trying to get a good picture of these four! 

Of course you can't go to The Apple Barn without checking out the winery!

Knocked out!

Back at the cabin for dinner, hot tub shenanigans, and some down time.

The crazy minion even got his own bed!

The next morning we made our way to Cade's Cove for some outdoor fun and fresh mountain air.  It is just gorgeous!

It was really neat to stop and check out all the structures along the loop.

The kids had a great time just being outside and getting to run around.

He really thought he would be able to pick it up!  Haha!

It was really interesting to check out the headstones on the graves.

The views are absolutely stunning!

Time for a little hike!

We didn't spot any bears, but we did manage to stumble on a couple turkeys and a deer!

We made our way to the picnic area for lunch and couldn't pass up a little creek fun!

A little picnic lunch before heading back to the cabin :)

The next day Jameson stayed behind with Mimi and Pop so we were able to take the big kids to Ober Gatlinburg.  We skied here for the first time on our honeymoon so it was cool to see it totally transformed during the summer.

We had to ride the chair lift up to get to the alpine slide.  Karaline was super nervous and didn't really want to get on it, but she was a good sport and was happy she did it!  The slide was fun and worth getting on the lift for.  She even had the courage to take the lift up a second time to ride the slide again!

Lunch time!

Getting ready for the alpine coaster!

Here we go!

Harry took the kids through a maze and it was way harder than it looked.

Connor was beyond excited to go on the waterslides.  I couldn't believe Karaline actually went on one, but I was so proud of her for doing it.  Of course she only went on it one time lol!

Connor enjoyed it just a little bit!  Haha!

Time for ice skating!

Karaline wouldn't stray too far from Harry or the bar, but she was doing pretty good after a little while.

Connor on the other hand.....LOL!  Ober Gatlinburg was a great way to spend our last day in the mountains!

My poor boy.  I don't think figure skating or hockey is in his future!

Instead of driving back to Louisiana we decided to go see my family on the other side of Tennessee.  I have always wanted to go to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville so we planned to stop there for the night on our way!

But first...breakfast at Paula Deen's!

Breakfast was great!  That bacon was AWESOME!

We got to Nashville and headed straight to the Opry for a backstage tour.

She was on the lookout for Rayna Jaymes!  Ha!

This is where the performers come into the building.  Most of them either live or have a house in Nashville so they usually just drive themselves to the show.  Everything is very casual.

The water line from the Nashville floods that happened a few years ago.

Our course we saw lots of memorabilia from the show Nashville.

Here is where the artists would check in on show night!

All members of the Opry have a mailbox there.

We got to see most of the dressing rooms and all of the backstage area which was really neat!

The stage!

I highly recommend the backstage tour if you are a fan of country music!

Lunch at the Rainforest Café!

Calories don't count on vacation, right?

It's time for the show!

If our schedule had been a bit more flexible we would have preferred to go to the Opry on a different night to see a different set of performers, but it's the only show we could make so we enjoyed what we could get!

That night was this guy's first time performing at the Opry.  He told a story about how Josh Turner is one of his idols and he decided to move to Nashville when he went to one of his shows.  Of course after that story he played one of his idol's songs and out walks Josh Turner.  That was cool to see.

He was really into it and clapping for a while, but it had been a long day and he just couldn't hang anymore.

The big name of the night - Easton Corbin!

The next morning we packed up again and continued west to see family.  We had an awesome week and I'm sure it won't be the last time we visit the Smokys!