If you’re a mom, or a big planner, then you know that spur of the moment trips are sometimes a tad stressful. After nearly 16 years of marriage, and my husband owning his own business, I’ve come to accept that this is simply how most of our vacations tend to happen. My hubby will come home on a Thursday or Friday evening, completely worn out and in dire need of some R&R, and will say to me, “I have a couple of slow days coming up; let’s go to ________ tomorrow.” And while the prospect is always enticing, I usually get that “deer in the headlights” look because I immediately start making an enormous mental list of ALLLLL the things I need to do in order to make that happen. As a solopreneur, mom, and person in charge of the entire household (and everything that role entails), it’s practically nothing short of a freak’n miracle to pull it off. But I do…
I recently performed such a miracle a few weekends ago. It was the typical scenario, as described above, though this time the fill in the blank location was Gatlinburg, TN. I must admit, I wasn’t overly excited about it since we’ve been there several times now, but it was someplace close to “escape” for the weekend. My hubby enjoys the distance between him and his work; my daughter gets most excited about the arcade; and my favorite is the National Park, but this time I settled for putt putt, haha.
To say there’s a lot to see and do in the Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge area is a drastic understatement. I’m pretty sure you could spend an entire month there and still not be able to take it all in. The nice thing about the place is that it is a good fit for whichever speed of vacation you’re in the mood for. If you want a quiet retreat into the woods, they have cabins for lowkey stays and a beautiful National Park to trek around in. If you’re in the mood for a fast paced, activity packed trip, you have more options than you can possibly dream of, and accommodations right in the middle of the action. Or maybe you might want a little bit of both. Either way, if you’re looking for a quick getaway, Tennessee won’t disappoint.
If you’re a resident of West Virginia, I imagine you’ve likely been to this area even more than I have. It’s an extremely popular destination for nearly everyone I know. In fact, for this post, I asked my family and friends to tell me their favorite places to visit, so I could include them on the Google map in order to have additional itinerary suggestions, as my travels to Tennessee pale in comparison with theirs. They happily obliged, and I second their recommendations. If you’re not familiar with all the hoopla of Tennessee, or if you simply want some new points of interest, check out the map for some travel inspo for your next trip.
Happy exploring!
PS: We really like the Holiday Inn Express in Gatlinburg. It has a fun indoor mini water park and pool for the kiddos, and is within easy walking distance of all the restaurants and shops.
PPS: The aquarium is overpriced, but awesome! And pretty much everything in the area is expensive, so there’s that… Haha.
🙂
