Adventures with the Nelson Family: September 2014

Ben and I decided we needed a short break from the chaos that our lives have been for the past many months. Since we are in a different region these days, we decided to visit a nearby site and we concocted a plan to go to the Great Smoky Mountains for some fresh air. Naturally, Rooney had to come with us... he goes on all our great road trips. Luckily, Lilah had just learned the word "Bubble" before we left and uses the word completely out of context. We thought we might lose our sanity somewhere on the 7 hour drive. And then we reached Dollywood and we knew sanity was a relative term now.

Our cabin was beautiful but was up the most insanely winding and steep road I have ever traveled. Worse than Machu Piccu! We laughed everytime as we smelled Ben's car engine nearly smoking that we would be trapped in the land of the Hillbillies. Our cabin's downstairs bathroom was broken, so we opted for no baths for the first 2 days. When in Tennessee.... be a dirty little hillbilly. We never got see the local raccoon that frequented the cabin for treats, but we did get to see a black bear running across the road! I also had a very unfortunate meeting with my first hornet who stung me on my hand. It hurt like a *#$%! My hand was the size of Texas for the next 4 days.

We loved the over-the-top towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg where we stayed. It was like where Mountain Town + Hillbilly culture + Vegas all met and the result was pretty unique! Along with adorable shops of taffy, chocolates and black bear items, you could stop in about 30 haunted houses, visit a number of "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" museums or simply listen to banjo music everywhere you go. We took part in Hillbilly golf, where Lilah nailed her first hole-in-one. We both couldn't believe it, the little cutie pie didn't even know how to swing her hockey stick club but got the ball where it needed to go in one try.

We hiked daily and the views were Gorgeous! Similar to the beauty of the Rockies but with completely different vegetation. We struggled a bit to keep Lilah happy on these 2-3 hour hikes but turns out she enjoyed hitting the back of her daddy's head with leaves, sticks and tugging his hair. Bless Ben, the man is a saint. Lilah also consumed a vast amount of fruit snacks while on these hikes to keep her content. We loved the new territory!