• Point Park - Chattanooga, TN
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    Point Park

    September 18, 2017 - By 

    When site-seeing near Chattanooga, TN, a nice place to stop at is called Point Park, which is located about 7 miles south of downtown Chattanooga. It’s great spot to get beautiful views and to soak in some Civil War history. This ten acre memorial park overlooks the Lookout Mountain Battlefield as well as the city of Chattanooga. Take the sidewalk around the park and read about the lookout points and learn about the corresponding monuments. The New York Peace Memorial is the largest monument in the park that was a tribute to “peace and reconciliation between Union and Confederate veterans…

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    Winter Gatlinburg Trip

    December 5, 2015 - By 

    Last year was the first Annual Ski Trip for our Boy Scout (and family can come too so we get the group rate) trip. You can read about that trip here: —Boy Scout Ski Trip 2014::Gatlinburg, TN {Day 1 & 2} —Boy Scout Ski Trip 2014::Gatlinburg, TN {Day 3 & 4} This year the boys wanted to do it again. We ended up at the Days Inn again. It’s not the nicest of places, in fact some of the parents opted to stay somewhere else this year. We like it for the price and the location. It’s in the same…

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    Tennessee Aquarium {Chattanooga, TN}

    September 6, 2015 - By 

    During our 4th of July trip to Chattanooga one of the days we went to Tennessee Aquarium. When Rob and I first got together and even after we had Drew, we enjoyed spontaneous weekend road trips. Chattanooga was one the cities we would go to on those quick little jaunts. Chattanooga’s Tennessee Aquarium was my favorite aquarium (until the Georgia Aquarium opened.) Needless to say I was super excited to get back there. Something we didn’t take into consideration was that we were there around a major holiday…Oops! It was super crowded, which made it really difficult to enjoy ourselves…

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    Alex’s 1st Camp Out as a Boy Scout

    May 1, 2015 - By 

    Family Friday A couple weekends ago Alex attended his first Boy Scout campout without Rob or us as a family. Boy Scouts is quite different from Cub Scouts in that campouts don’t include parents unless they are certified leaders. Drew, of course, was there. They went to Cumberland Caves in McMinnville, TN. Here they are before leaving. Here are a few pictures provided by the leaders on the trip. Not only did they enjoy the typical educational walking tour through the cave while learning about stalactites and stalagmites, they also got a true spelunking experience. They covered their heads with…

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    Boy Scout Ski Trip 2014::Gatlinburg, TN {Day 3 & 4}

    January 31, 2014 - By 

    If you missed my post about Day 1 & 2, you should read it here first. Sunday we got up pretty early so we could hit the slopes before the crowds. We ate breakfast at the hotel, rode the tram back up the mountain, got our ski boots and skis, and then it was time for ski school for most everyone. Waiting for our lesson to begin Not long after we took this pic we saw Drew as well as most of the other boy scouts, flying down the mountain like they’d been skiing for years. The realization hit that…

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    Forth July 4th Trip 2013::Gatlinburg, TN {Day 5}

    August 7, 2013 - By 

    Chalet ~ Day 1 ~ Day 2 ~ Day 3 ~ Day 4 Sunday we had to rise early and get packed and clean up the chalet before the 11am check out time. We were just in the nick of time and headed out on our last day of adventures. One of the things we had wanted to do on our trip was go to Cherokee, NC, but we decided to wait until on our way home to cut down on driving time since it’s in the direction of home. Cherokee is about an hour away from Gatlinburg, but it’s…

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    Forth July 4th Trip 2013::Gatlinburg, TN {Day 4}

    August 2, 2013 - By 

    Chalet ~ Day 1 ~ Day 2 ~ Day 3 ~ Day 5 Saturday, we got up, ate breakfast, and went to Ober Gatlinburg. It had been raining, so when we got there, the Alpine slide wasn’t open yet. We decided to go ahead and get the activity bracelet, and took the ski lift all the way up to the top of Mount Harrison.

  • Forth July 4th Trip 2013::Gatlinburg, TN {Day 3}
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    Forth July 4th Trip 2013::Gatlinburg, TN {Day 3}

    July 29, 2013 - By 

    Chalet ~ Day 1 ~ Day 2 ~ Day 4 ~ Day 5 The next day of trip we rolled out of bed at the crack of dawn. Wolfed down some waffles and quiche and hit the road towards Cades Cove. Cades Cove is a very popular attraction, which is about 35 miles from Gatlinburg. This isolated valley was the settling place for 100s of settlers in the 1800’s. It’s preserved homesteads, beautiful mountain views, and abundant wildlife are reasons why 2 million visitors come every year. John Oliver’s Cabin

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    Forth July 4th Trip 2013::Gatlinburg, TN {Day 2}

    July 18, 2013 - By 

    Chalet ~ Day 1 ~ Day 3 ~ Day 4 ~ Day 5 On the 4th of July, we slept in a bit, which was much needed since stayed up till nearly 2am the night before. We enjoyed waffles for breakfast, while discussing the plans for the day. We loaded up the car and went to Laurel Falls for a little hike. Before heading out on the trail, we noticed a sign that said “No Pets Allowed.” This was not a good start, since we had brought Daisy along for the adventure. Grandpa said he’d sit back with her, since…

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    Gatlinburg, TN Trip {Day 1}

    July 12, 2013 - By 

    Forth July 4th Trip 2013::Gatlinburg, TN {Day 1} Chalet ~ Day 2 ~ Day 3 ~ Day 4 ~ Day 5 Wednesday we got up pretty early so we could head up to Gatlinburg for the weekend. The trip there it monsooned for a good 2 hours, making the trip exhausting and stressful. Luckily the rain lightened up and we could relax a bit and make up some time. When we got to Townsend, TN, we started looking for a place to eat lunch. We stopped at the Black Bear Cafe. We enjoyed a quick lunch (cheeseburger, grilled cheese, grilled…

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    Gatlinburg Chalet

    July 10, 2013 - By 

    Our 4th Annual 4th of July Trip {the Chalet} Day 1 ~ Day 2 ~ Day 3 ~ Day 4 ~ Day 5This year for the 4th of July, we went further away from home to visit Gatlinburg, TN. Rob and I have fond memories of this place and it has become a place that our kids love as well. We rented a chalet up on top of Ski mountain. It was a nice, roomy place except for the kitchen and dining room. The decor is a bit outdated for those that are concerned about that. We didn’t mind. We…

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    Day Trip Amish Country in Ethridge, TN

    May 9, 2012 - By 

    Last weekend we were up in Decatur, AL, we made a quick trip up to Ethridge, TN to visit the Amish community that Rob had heard about. We did it on a bit of whim after putting gas in the car, so we did not know exactly where to go. We followed the signs to the Lawrenceburg Visitor Center until had driven all the way through to Ethridge. We ended up seeing this sign, where we turned down a dirt road that dead ended to a quaint house and shop building. As we got close to the house a young…

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    Franklin, TN

    May 16, 2011 - By 

    A few weeks ago we went to Franklin, TN, which is about 20 miles south of Nashville. We were there for the last soccer tourney of the season! We stayed in Brentwood, TN (which is about half way in between Nashville and Franklin) at the Hyatt Place. Love, love, love those bed and breakfast places! We got in around 10:30 and hurried to bed for we knew 7 am would come quickly. We got up, enjoyed our Continental Breakfast, and got over to the fields in time for Teenager to warm up and prepare for his game. They pulled out…

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    Gatlinburg {Spring Break 2008}

    June 7, 2008 - By 

    We enjoyed a short trip to Gatlinburg. We stayed at the Edgewater Hotel. We spent a time in Ober Gatlinburg, at the Ripley’s Believe It Not Museum, and way above the city in the Space Needle. See more pics here.