We had never taken a Spring Break trip...until this year.
We figured since it's Evan's senior year and my dad had really been wanting to do a "whole family" trip...we'd go for it. Taking an "extended family" trip can be challenging...and may have a few "moments"...but for the most part we had a really positive experience and loads of fun. The picture above is of my whole family (mom and dad, sister/b-i-l/niece/nephew, and our family). We took this outside of The Comedy Barn (more on that later).
We stayed right in the midst of the Great Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, TN at Gatlinburg Falls Resort in a large cabin big enough to accomodate 16 people (we only had 10).
The above photo is my niece, sister, me, and mom at the cabin.
On the first day of the trip, we drove just a little over half way and stopped in Kentucky overnight. It made the long drive much easier.
Here's the boys in our hotel room the next day, ready to head to Tennessee!
Driving through Tennessee is awesome. I love the south. I was born in Memphis, TN. I'd love to move back to the south some day.
Nate and me in the car...headed to Gatlinburg!
Woohoo! We're in Tennessee!
The resort we stayed at...
Our cabin.
Above is the dining/living room area...
My mom and dad in the kitchen area...
The main floor bedroom where mom and dad stayed.
The bunk beds upstairs in the loft area where my niece and nephew slept.
Game area in the loft upstairs.
Our boys bedroom upstairs.
Our bedroom upstairs...
Looking downstairs from the upper loft...
My sister and b-i-l's bedroom downstairs...
Game room downstairs in the family room...
There was so much entertainment for the kids downstairs...
My niecey...
Us girls...
My niece, sister, me, and mom...
The day after we arrived, we went to Ripley's Aquarium.
Evan with some saltwater fish...
The aquarium was awesome.
Our family...
Outside the aquarium...
We had awesome weather the whole trip, with the exception of a few sprinkles on this day.
Other than that, each day was amazing.
There were a few showers at night when we slept, which was nice to listen to.
The cousins downtown Gatlinburg...
On Tuesday we hiked the Chimney Tops.
The scenery was beautiful...however it was difficult to enjoy because we were more focused on not getting ourselves killed. It was QUITE a difficult trail for us non-experienced hikers! Not to mention it had rained the night before and was VERY...VERY...VERY muddy!
I did manage to get a few shots of the beauty around us though.
Stunning.
Up we go!
Selfie with my hunny!
When we got to the top...we could see ice on the mountains!
We were quite proud that we made it to the top, as the rest of our group headed back to the car. But we persevered with my b-i-l and nephew.
We did it!
My b-i-l and nephew scaling the rocks!
My hubby was hoping we'd see a bear.
All we managed to see was a wild turkey, haha!
My pics are a little out of chronological order, but that's ok.
One night we went to The Comedy Barn. It's a family friendly comedy, music, and variety show.
I absolutely loved it. I laughed so hard!
On another day, just our family rode the sky lift to the top of the mountain.
They are open cars...so I was a little nervous. But my nerves gave way to the fun and beauty around me.
The views were stunning up top!
One night the whole crew went mini golfing. We had a blast. We split up guys and girls. Of course the men kept score. We gals had a blast just playing for fun...and taking selfies along the way!
Another day our family and my nephew went into Ripley's Mirror Museum.
It was a hoot! Nate lost his sunglasses and I was sure we'd never find them in that crazy place, but he did! It was so much fun!
We found a great Mexican place for dinner one night called No Way Jose's. It was excellent!
Our family went to Mamma's Farmhouse for dinner one night. Amazing family style food. There are a chain of restaurants in Gatlinburg owned by the Johnson Family (Mamma's Farmhouse, Alamo Steakhouse, Big Daddy's Pizza, and Bennett's BBQ). We tried all four while we were there and I highly recommend them all! Great service, fair prices, friendly staff, and wonderful food!
We had a wonderful trip. Busy, but fun. It's like they say, you almost need a vacation (to rest) after your vacation! But I am so happy we went. It was a lovely family trip!
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