Cabin Trip Recap

Sunday evening Keith and I returned home from our 4 day trip to the mountains! I wanted to write this recap on Monday, but getting back to reality was a bit tough. School started again, and so did work, laundry, responsibility, etc.

So, here we go with the recap!

We left Thursday morning around 9am and picked up our bro/sis-in-law, Stephen and Ivey. We arrived at about 4:30ish thanks to a few construction traffic stops and the GPS taking us on a tiny back road, and again on a tiny mountain road. (Gotta love being GPS-dependent) Once we made it to the cabin we were blown away. It was gorgeous!

Our cabin in the middle, morning view on the left, night view on the right

Keith and I at the cabin.

Us with Stephen and Ivey...being nerds. :o)

We took it easy Thursday night and settled in, went to the grocery store, and cooked yummy fajitas! On Friday we headed to the National Park. A lady in the gift shop told us that there was a waterfall only 15 minutes from the shop, so we decided to check it out. Little did we know that we'd end up hiking an unnecessary 2-ish steep miles (that's what it felt like anyway) only to discover that we were on the wrong path. When we finally re-routed, we found the "waterfall".

The "waterfall"

After this, we decided to head over to a real waterfall. We hiked 2.6 miles round trip, and were much pleased with this one.

Top - Keith and I with the gorgeous view on the way to the waterfall; @ the waterfall
Bottom - Waterfall; Stephen and Ivey

Our friends Chad and Melissa arrived in TN around 5ish. That night we headed out to dinner and had a blast. We ate at Johnny Carino's and it was delicious! After dinner we stopped at the grocery store and picked up a few items...although I can't remember why now. :o)

Keith and I, Stephen and Ivey, Chad and Melissa

When we arrived at Kroger all 6 of us walked up to this door and stood there for quite a few seconds wondering why it wouldn't open. Chad even tried to pry it open...please look at the blue sign on the door. Lol, "Here's your sign."

On Saturday we headed into Gatlinburg and our first stop was Ober Gatlinburg (OG). It was so much fun! We road the tram, the scenic chairs, and the Alpine Slide. It was awesome!

Top - A cabin made to resemble a Barbie doll house; View from the tram
Bottom - Riding the scenery chairs at OG; KC and I on the tram

Chad and Melissa, Stephen and Ivey, Keith and I

The boys getting ready to ride the Alpine Slide...they were REALLY excited about it!

After OG, we headed to Calhoun's for lunch, and once again, the food was delicious! We roamed around Gatlinburg and enjoyed the day.

Top - Us at lunch (KC/me, Chad/Mel, Stephen/Ivey)
Bottom - Us posing at our "cabin neighborhood" entrance

A beautiful picture from the Thomas Kinkade Gallery.

That night we cooked dinner at the cabin and there was an intense Scrabble game going on. The guys ended up outside smoking cigars and the girls stayed in and watched America's Funniest Home Videos. :o) All in all it was a long, great day/night.

Sunday morning we packed up and said goodbye to our lovely cabin...but not without taking a few pictures. :o)

Keith and Chad with their jumping picture...we never got a group one :o(
Don't they look like Batman and Robin? :o)

We had breakfast at the Old Mill Restaurant and then headed back to Charleston.

Overall it was a pretty good trip. When I was younger my family would go vacation with all of my cousins, but this was my first time going on vacation with a group of friends. There were definitely some pros and cons to this, but I'm glad we went. I really enjoyed the company, but I think next time Keith and I will be going alone. :o)