Thanksgiving in the Smokies

WARNING: This post is for the sole purpose of me being self-indulgent. I will not be offended if you choose not to read, or rather look, because it does contain A LOT of pictures!

Because I am so far behind, I want to start at the beginning. Here are a few pictures from our fabulous trip to Tennessee.


We rented a cabin between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. It was on the side of the mountain. The only complaint was the ride up and down (it could easily make someone car sick).


This was the inside of the cabin. When you first walk in the door, on the first level is the living room, kitchen, dining room, master bedroom and master bedroom.

Downstairs was the basement. There was a deck off of the back of this part. Here was the game room (Foosball, Pool, Air hockey) an entertainment area with couch and mini bar, laundry room and bathroom.

Upstairs was a loft with another bed, TV and bathroom. This is where the kids slept.

We shard our cabin with many woodland creatures. Yes, those are real animals (dead and stuffed) on the rafters of the cabin.

This was the view from the deck off the main level of the house.

There was a hot tub off of the main level on the deck. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Just a bit chilly, enough to really enjoy the hot tub! This picture was taken on Thanksgiving day. It was a wonderful day. We didn't leave the cabin all day. We enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with all of the fixings. We even had ice cream (Blue Bell) for dessert!

On Friday we went to Gatlinburg. We went to the aquarium. It was one of the best I have been to. The kids loved it. There was even a walk through shark tank!

We also went throught the streets and did a few other fun things.

Here is the mirror maze.


On Saturday morning we got up and went to the National Park to do some hiking. I think it was a little more cold and rainy that day than I would have preferred, but it was still a lot of fun.


K and I had a hard time keeping up with the boys. They were so fast on those steep climbs and she has such short legs.


After hiking, since we were already cold and wet, we decided to play mini golf in the rain. Some people gave up some strange looks but we had a great time.

We ended that night with dinner at IHOP and a movie back at the cabin. C really wanted to see Kung Fu Panda, and it lived up to all of their expectations.

We had a wonderful time in Tennessee and can't wait to go back. Next time, we might remember not to try to drive home on the busiest travel day of the year, and we might make it home in less than twice the time it takes us to get there.