Affordable, family-friendly travel to the Smoky Mountains!
The drive to Gatlinburg was so pretty. Traffic was light with a heavy mist. We only had about a half hour wait for the Pancake Pantry, an awesome must-stop-at in the area. When we left, the line was over I’ll a block long. I highly recommend stopping here. I had Pecan pancakes, a slice of ham and some hash browns. The portions are beyond huge. My appetite has shrunk significantly the last 6 months so I had a lot left on my plate. So good!
We shopped the strip and made some purchases for a friend and family.
Ed scored some Napalm Horseradish from the hot sauce store. We ooohed and ahhhed over all the sauces we’d never try because we’re too chicken! The owner has his personal display of hot sauces he’s collected through the years. There was one shelf with x-rated sauces. Lex pointed those out…I guess she’s officially a grown up now! I guess college will do that!
Anni and I headed to sit in a parked car (it was definitely misting more but not too cold) while Ed and Lex took the ski lift up the mountain to the glass bottom bridge - SkyBridge. Yeah, Anni and I took one look and decided it was a “nope” from us. We headed back to the cabin to crash for a few and have some lunch.
We went to the Dixie Stampede Dinner Show. We brought our own plastic utensils. Yes, seriously. The reviews all said you eat with your hands. I guess enough people complained because now you at least get a fork. The food was really good. They served us small, roasted chickens, baked ‘taters, a biscuit, veggie soup, corn on the cob and an apple turnover. The girls had never seen an “assembled” chicken and they weren’t too sure how to dig in! The show was super cute too. Aside from the horses and their tricks, we also saw pig races, goats, and chickens. They sure do like to race their animals!
One random Anni funny: we’ve been hearing a lot of Christmas songs but most definitely have heard “We need a little Christmas” quite often. (This was in the church show from a few weeks back that I was in.). I call it out to Anni whenever we hear it. She typically rolls her eyes and mutters “Omg not again.” By the third time I quipped, “Anni! It’s our jam!”, to which she responded with “Sorry, gotta go…” then made a beeline for the shop exit!
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