Our Trip to Gatlinburg

    Last week we spend a few days in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. There are several reasons why we loved going this time of year.  We were there a few days before big attractions like Dollywood were open (it opened on March 9th) but the weather the days were there was fantastic.  We went on a Monday- and left on a Wednesday so the crowds were on the lower side.  One downfall from being there on a Monday is there were some shops that close on Monday.  There was still a ton to do and see though.  

There are many quaint little shops in Gatlinburg, and several big chairs. LOL.  This chair was in a little themed shopping area.  

    While we did not eat at this restaurant, the giant skillets outside made a great picture.  There are so many places to take pictures in town. 

    One of the attractions we went on our first day was the Ober Mountain Tramway.  You ride up the mountain in a tram which gives great views of the area below.  Up at the top there are many things to do like indoor ice skating and skiing if weather permits.  There were people skiing on the day we were there because they were just enough snow left. 

     Do you see that light green house on stilts on the left side of the photo?  That house is called the Barbie Destiny Chalet, and it  can be rented out during your visit. The inside is based on Barbie's Dream house. It used to be painted Barbie pink but the current owner decided to paint it a more subtle color.  

    We stopped by the Burg Steakhouse for lunch.  They had some lunch specials like  their unlimited soup, salad and side bar. Everything we tried was delicious! 

    We were given a couple of free dessert coupons, and we were definitely not disappointed.  

    The coupons were good for these amazing brownies with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.  They were so delicious! 

    At the end of the main shopping area is the beginning of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. There you can drive for miles through the mountains, and see some beautiful scenery. 

There are many pull off areas along the road to stop and take pictures. Since it was March, the leaves were just starting to turn green. There are some areas of the park that were burned in the great fire on 2016, but we only saw a little bit of it.  We were hoping to stop by the Cherokee Village about 30 miles in the park, but they didn't open until May.

On the way back to our hotel on the other side of the National Park,  we stopped by a mountain farm in the park.  There were signs that if there were elk present to stay at least 50 feet away, and do not approach them.  When we went into the farm area there were no elk present.  When we came out of a small barn in the exhibit, to our surprise there was an elk eating grass nearby.  We quickly and quietly walked away.  The elk did not seem to mind that we were there, and went right back to eating.  We were a safe distance when we took this picture and zoomed in.  We saw a mom with three kids entering the farm area, we told her about the elk so she could keep her distance and the kids safe.  Running unexpectedly into an elk will definitely be one of our  memories of Gatlinburg. 

After our adventure in the park, we stopped by a Daiquiri bar that was right in from the Margaritaville resort which was near our hotel.

We ate some yummy appetizers, 

and delicious daiquiris!! 

Once we were finished, we called it a night on day on.  There will be more in my next blog post sharing more sights in the Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge area.