Smoky Mountains Day 1 and 2

View from the balcony of our place.


Day 1

We left at about 6:30 am yesterday morning and arrived at our condo in Gatlinburg about 6:15. Almost 12 hours of traveling for what was supposed to be a 9 hour drive.  Our pit stops were not too long,but we had some unexpected construction and the drive took longer than expected.  As usual, the kids handled it better than we did.  All in all, it was a pretty smooth trip.

Or place here is quite nice.  A small living area (fireplace we won't likely need) with a leather couch bed; kitchen with fridge, two burners, and sink.  It is actually quite well stocked, though, with plenty of cooking utensils.  The bedroom is roomy with a king bed and attached bathroom.  The kids slept together on the couch couch bed last night.  Eleanor, of course, stayed up talking while Ethan snoozed next to her.  And, of course, Ethan was up far too early, and Eleanor slept in.

Day 2

I got up with Ethan this morning to explore town a bit.  We walked down back stairs from our building and walked the few minutes to main street Gatlinburg.  It was fun to walk there without crowds, though nothing much was open at 8 am.  We did find a dunkin donuts for some coffee for mommy and donut holes for the kids.  We also hit the Walgreens and found some water shoes for Hilton Head.  No luck in finding good socks...I realized I did not pack mine. Oops.  We will have to hit a Target on net he way to HH.

When we got back and everyone was dressed, we headed out and went to the Gatlinburg visitors center to get a trail map.  We got some advice and set out to find Laurel Falls, a short hike to a waterfall we read would be ok for the kids.  Well, we missed  a turn we needed, so we ended up on a different road, winding through the mountains.  When we realized we had gone the wrong way, we turned off at a parking area.  There was a creek/small river at the bottom of a short hill.  We walked down there, took off our shoes and socks, and explored. We stayed for at least an hour and a half.  The kids had a blast collecting small, smooth rocks and walking on the big rocks.  It was really beautiful, peaceful, and not crowded.  We met a family from Texas and chatted with them a bit.  The husband has been coming here since childhood, and I guess this random spot we found is his all-time favorite place in the area.  We felt pretty lucky we came across it randomly.  This man actually was born in Berwyn and grew up in Bloomington Normal.  But he has lived most of his life in Texas.  Both he and his wife are elementary school teachers, and they have two teenage girls. Very nice family.

When we finally dragged the kids out of there, Eleanor had sopping wet shorts, we found a grocery store to get stone lunch items and then went back to the condo.  We rested a bit after lunch and then went to Laurel Falls.  This time we  found it right away.  It is a paved path, not too strenuous but a bit steep.  The hard part is that the drop off is fairly steep so you you just have to watch the kids.  I had Eleanor in a carrier for most of the way up, which meant I got an extra workout.  When we were about 10 minutes from the falls, the people coming back started telling us that up ahead there was a bear in a tree coming up. They assured us it was not close enough to attack or anything.  There had been a warning at the bottom of the trail about bears being active in that area, so we were all a bit freaked out.  But everyone said it was fine.  I put the zoom lens on the camera, and we went faster.  People told us to look for a crowd of people watching.  Unfortunately, after all the hype, we appear to have missed the bear. We never came across a  crowd, so we are  guessing the bear got out of the tree and the crowd dispersed.  Oh well.  :) The falls were cool, but we did to stay long as we heard thunder in the distance.  Eleanor walked the whole way down, and the kids had fun doing mini climbs on the sides.

Once we we back in town, Will let me out to go to  Paula Deen's store.  It was cute, but I did not buy anything.  I then wandered into a bootleg wine shop, where I tasted a few wines.  I bought a blackberry one for Lisa and I to enjoy in HH.  Then, next door, was a moonshine shop.  It was huge.  I looked around at all these crazy moonshiner and then went to the tasting bar.  There were maybe 10 different kinds and the tastings were little thimbles. They were pretty good, though strong, and I was joking with a couple there that my husband dropped me off to go in one store and I would be lucky to find my way back.  Luckily, I did.  Found them at the pool and I went to join them.  Will got out and went to get some taco take out.  I bathed the kids and we relaxed while waiting for daddy.  Ethan is asleep, and I think Eleanor is almost there.  She is a staller.  Will and I are enjoying a Life Below Zero,  a Nat Geo show about people living in Alaska.  We find it fascinating, and also  a bit horrifying.