Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Hello Gatlinburg!! So when we told everyone that we were heading to Tennessee for part of the summer many people suggested we go to Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg is a touristic spot set in the Smoky Mountains. We left last Friday after work and drove the hour and a half to get there. Really it is only about an hour away but traffic makes it take about an hour longer! On our way there we drove through Pigeon Forge which is very touristy. It was almost too much! There was tons to do on every side of the road and there were sooo many people! We were glad that we were heading to Gatlinburg. There is a lot of people there too but not as much! This is one of the excursions in Pigeon Forge...It's upside down! We thought it looked cool!

Once in Gatlinburg we checked into our hotel and headed downtown for dinner and ended up eating at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was Joni's first time eating there...
We even got a little show when all the servers started dancing to YMCA! This guy was pretty cool!

Here we are in front of our hotel. It was pretty decent and was in a beautiful surrounding.

Our first activity of the day on Saturday was to head to Ober Gatlinburg which is a ski/amusement park resort and is set up a little ways from the downtown bustle.

We hit the miniature golf first.

Then a scenic chair lift up the mountain.

At the top.

Then had a little break for lunch and then hit the Alpine Slides~which are 1800 foot tracks that you slide down on these sleds. You have control of the speed and braking with the little handles. It kind of imitates a bobsled. Really fun!

Then we hit up the water slides. No swimming attire required. In fact you really don't get that wet!

Another one...

On our way out...two bums! He he!

Here are some of the attractions downtown...After Ober Gatlinburg we headed to Ripley's Believe it or Not Odditorium.

This is a creepy guy that we thought was fake at first but then it started to follow us with his eyes. He is real and creepy!

Ripley's was pretty cool & there were lots of things to see. It was amazing to see all the weird things in the world. Here is a big chair we sat in!

This is a wax figure of the tallest man that ever lived at 8 feet 11 inches. He was 6 feet by the time he was 8 or 10 and then 7 feet something by the time he was 15. All of his family was normal heights.

A cool shadow thingy. This is us being crazy!

After Ripley's we bought some Smoky Mountain Fudge and headed back home.

Well our conclusion is that Gatlinburg is fun and there is certainly a lot to do (and a lot of money you could spend since most everything costs) but we think one time is plenty!

(For us and the checkbook!)

So far we have really enjoyed Tennessee. The people are very nice and Chase is getting into his internship and enjoying the work he is doing. We couldn't ask for more! The Lord is good!