Tennessee, Day 4

Our last day at Gatlinburg, we woke up to a dusting of snow! Here is a view of the back of the cabin....gorgeous! Did I mention there's a hot tub on the first deck???

We headed in to Pigeon Forge for some lunch and a show. We went ahead and bought our tickets for the show first, just in case it would sell out. While the guys bought the tickets, they took the liberty of asking the lady who sold the tickets where she would recommend eating. It's always a good idea to get a "locals" advice. She recommended The Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant.

And, OH MY GOODNESS was it good!! First thing when you sit down, they give you complimentary Apple Julep, Apple Fritters and Apple Butter. The Apple Fritters were "to die for"!

I feel like all we did on this trip was eat...not that I'm complaining. So, after stuffing our faces yet again, we headed to The Apple Barn and Cider Mill to buy some of their famous Apple Butter to take home with us!

Next stop was our variety show at The Country Tonite Theater.
It was a cute show, but honestly I don't remember a whole lot of it. I think I was in an Apple Fritter-induced coma. haha


Just like most vacations, we hated to leave! We loved this little cabin, and could have easily stayed there for several more days.

But our trip had to come to and end....

Tennessee, Day 3

This is the view that I woke up to on our first morning in Gatlinburg!



I think I could sit in these little rocking chairs on this porch and stare at the mountains for as long as the sun would shine!


Of course, we had to get a few games of pac man and pool in before we left for the day.




We walked around downtown for a while.....how cute is this town?!


And stopped in at The Pancake Pantry for breakfast. There was a looooooong wait but I have to say the wait was well worth it! If you ever go to downtown Gatlinburg, you MUST eat at the Pancake Pantry!


We watched this man make taffy while we waited in line.
He was working so diligently!

These boys were ready for some pancakes man....standing in line builds up an appetite!


So, I thought this was whipped cream.....nope - that is a HUGE bowl of hand whipped BUTTER! I think I'm in heaven!! haha


I ordered the pigs in a blanket, and they were sooooo yummy!
These pancakes were a consistency I've never had before...so light and fluffy, but dense and rich at the same time. They were out of this world good!


After eating all that butter and syrup, we decided we needed to walk around a bit.
So we did a little shopping in "The Village"


All the little shops were so cute! Our favorite was the Pepper Palace. We found some awesome hot sauce and wing sauce there. They had a ton of samples and the salesmen were really good at figuring out which hot sauce we would like. It was a good thing someone helped us cause there were a TON of hot sauces, marinades, dips and mixes....we'd have been there all day trying to figure it out.


Before we went on our trip, we read many traveler's reviews on what to do while visiting Gatlinburg and most everyone recommended not only the Pancake Pantry but also the sky-lift.


It was a little bit cold that high up in the air....


But the views were well worth it!


They're called "The Smokey Mountains", but I didn't know it was really going to look smoky up there.


By the time we got to the top, took some pictures, looked around and headed back down the mountain...we were FREEZING! But once again - the view was well worth it!


So after freezing our tails off, we headed inside this pub to warm up.


Hogg's & Honey's Saloon and Grill, Home of the "Hillbilly Hammer"
And guess who had to try the "hillbilly hammer"??...the Phillips brothers! haha


After a few drinks, we headed to Bubba Gump's for some shrimps!


I think Josh makes a good Forest! haha


Cajun Shrimp!


After stuffing our bellies full of shrimp, we went back to the cabin and ended our day just the way we started it...in the game room.

Dreaming of Spring

I don't know about you guys but this Oklahoma winter has just about got the best of me! I am so tired of grey, wet, gloomy, cold, snowy, icy days!!!! So yesterday I took a brief mental vacation and did some dreaming.

I dreamt of sunshine! Warm, peaceful sunshine warming up my skin.


I dreamt of vacation!

Josh and I are wanting to take a small vacation this summer. I am thinking it will definitely have to be somewhere warm!

Maybe a cool hotel in Vegas with a pool something like this??


And I even did some online window shopping.
Ordered this dress at Old Navy.


To go with these shoes I found at Target the other day.

I think I may just make it through this winter after all!

Tennessee, Day 2

We woke up day 2 in Nashville ready to see the sights! First stop.....Grand Ole Opry! We knew that the Grand Ole Opry House was closed for tours but we wanted to at least stop and see it from the outside.

We got a little bit lost trying to find the Grand Ole Opry House and ended up driving around The Gaylord Opryland about 5 times! This place was HUGE!


We were so excited to finally make it to the Grand 'Ole Opry House! We only wished we could have gone insde. But we couldn't have asked for better weather to walk around the outside of the building in. It was chilly but the air was crisp and the sun was bright!


Next Stop......The Ryman Auditorium!
On our way in, we saw the CMT building.


The Ryman Auditorium is such a beautiful building right smack dab in the middle of downtown Nashville! We didn't know it at the time, but we had walked right by it the night before.


This building has so much history. It was first built as The Union Gospel Tabernacle and it's first revival was held in 1890. The building was converted for The Grand 'Ole Opry starting in 1943 and continued until 1974 when the Grand 'Ole Opry moved to it's current location. It was restored again in 1994 and continues to host concerts to this day. Artists that have performed at The Ryman include: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, James Brown, Patsy Cline, Etta James, and Bob Dylan to name a few.

Statue dedicated to Minnie Pearl and Roy Acuff


When I walked into the auditorium, I literally got chills!
Thinking about all the people who have stood on that stage took my breath away.



Exhibit featuring clothing worn by Minnie Pearl.


The Johnny Cash and June Carter Exhibit was my favorite!

I wanna love like Johnny and June
Rings of Fire burnin' with you
I wanna walk the line, walk the line
Until the end of time

I wanna love, love ya that much
Cash it all in, give it all up
And when you're gone, I wanna go too
Like Johnny and June

After touring the Ryman, we went to BB King's Blues Club for lunch before heading on to Gatlinburg.



When we got to Gatlinburg, we took a quick little tour of our cute little cabin.............



And then headed out to celebrate New Year's Eve!

We headed to downtown Gatlinburg to partake in the festivities.

But we were completely worn out so we decided to go back and bring in the new year in the comfort of the cabin.


It was an eventful day, ending in my PJ's with a glass of wine by the fire!
Can it get any better than that??