**I will do the first half of this post in a travel style blog, and then the second half will be more of our engagement story, so y'all can have the deets on all the things!
Hunter and I had been talking about going on a trip for several months, and we finally planned a trip to the Smoky Mountains. I found us a cute place to stay on Airbnb, we decided we wanted to explore in the Smoky Mountain National Park, eat good food, go to the Biltmore Estate while we were near (as near as we would probably ever be), stare at the mountains, and do some relaxing. Little did I know, what was in store for us!
Where We Stayed
Because we went right after Christmas (we left on December 27), the Airbnbs were a little pricier than they typically are. We decided to stay for four nights. Our condo was part of the Gatlinburg Summit condos, and I've linked the Airbnb listing, above. I was a little disappointed in our tiny condo (There was a little cabin I had saved, we were thinking about the trip and hadn't pulled the trigger yet, then when I came back to book it-- yep-- she gone), but it was perfectly fine for the amount of time that we spent there. We ate breakfast there a couple mornings, and made burgers one night for supper there with some deer meat that we brought with us and put in the freezer (we don't typically eat out for three {or usually even two} meals a day-- it's too expensive, and then we're tired of eating). Our condo was small, and a little older than what I expected, but had everything we needed and it was SO SPARKLY CLEAN. That was the first thing I noticed when we walked in. It also had an amazing mountain view!
The condo had a community style indoor pool and two hot tubs but there were children everywhere! By the time the kiddos left, it would be almost time for the pool to close. I love children, but I do not want to be in the hot tub with them 😂. We went one night and it was mostly peaceful, but definitely not private.
Gatlinburg was a busy area, but our condo was so far up the mountain that it didn't feel like we were right in the middle of all the action. We were about a ten minute drive up or down the mountains, and very close to lots of restaurants on the strip (Parkway). The brakes on Hunter's truck definitely got a workout that week, going up those winding mountain roads. It was a little terrifying, since we got to our condo at night when it was pitch black.
Also because we went right after Christmas, Gatlinburg was PACKED. The streets were full-- it legitimately looked like Beale Street on a Saturday night, down the main strip. We did have to wait to eat at a few places we went to, but most places we either went at a weird time or they had room for us to immediately sit down.
The Food
1. The first night after we checked into our condo, we went down to have supper at the Cherokee Grill. It is on the main strip through downtown. Their Trip Advisor page is linked! For an appetizer, we got spinach dip that came with amazingly crunchy chips. Hunter had the seafood platter (scallops, shrimp, tilapia, and a crab cake) and I had the Southern Fried Catfish. Hunter's comment on his seafood platter was: "stupendous". My catfish was SO good. I am a crappie girl through and through, but it was amazing! The breading was perfect and it didn't taste heavy, even though it was fried. This restaurant was more pricey than what we typically choose, but everything was so good. We highly recommend!
2. The second day we had breakfast in our room and sandwiches from the cooler for lunch. This night we were absolutely disgusting (I'm talking muddy shoes, sweat, and ratty hair... I looked like an actual Wild Thornberry) from hiking all day, so we opted for something more casual! We ate at Bennett's Pit BBQ (also right on the strip and close to our condo). We ordered a pound of their hickory wings for an appetizer and they were so yummy! I think we ate them in all of 4 minutes. Hunter ordered the Brisket Burger and it was HUGE. He got spicy mac n' cheese for a side and was not impressed (I concur. It was not good). I ordered the Carolina Pork Sandwich and put some of their really tasty BBQ sauce on it-- It was good! I only was able to eat half of it. Their green beans were wonderful-- everything southern and yummy that you would expect from a BBQ joint.
3. On the third day, third day was the charm 😉,I believe we had breakfast in the room and then had sandwiches that we packed in our cooler for lunch. We hiked all day and then made burgers in our room!
4. On the fourth day, we overslept... 😂 Hunter set his alarm for 6:00 our time-- which is an hour past when we should've gotten up. We needed to get up early because we were still almost a two hour drive from Asheville, North Carolina, where the Biltmore Estate is. Anyway, we flew out of bed and jumped into some clothes (I threw on some makeup-- typical daily routine LOL). We had breakfast at good ole McDonald's on this morning.
We explored the inside of the Biltmore all morning and then had lunch at the Stable Cafe. We sat in the converted barn's loft and it was so cozy and charming! Hunter had the chicken salad sandwich and absolutely loved it! I went with the Classic Burger since I hadn't had a burger the whole trip. The pickles that they served on the side were AWESOME! We meant to ask about buying some to take home, and then forgot. The sandwich and burger were both served with crunchy potato slices that were really good.
We also had ice cream at the Biltmore after doing another several hours of exploring the Biltmore grounds. They have so many options of things to do, outside of the house itself! We found some gorgeous walking trails (we were SO sore from hiking the mountains the two previous day). The Biltmore Dairy Bar was the perfect treat before we headed to the outside farm area and winery. It was SO good! Hunter had cookies and cream and I had butter pecan. They give you a ton for a "kid's scoop"!
After leaving the Biltmore, before we headed back to Gatlinburg, we wanted to try somewhere in Asheville. Our first choice was Tupelo Honey, but there was about an hour wait. We had already paid to park (it was downtown) and didn't want to wait that long, so we walked around to see what looked tasty. We ended up at the Bier Garden. We had the {GIANT} pretzel for an appetizer, Hunter had the bratwurst, and I ordered the nachos. It was a good experience-- none of the sports we watch (baseball) were in season at this point, but they had giant TV screens!
Whew. Lots of eating on the fourth day! We earned it after doing an 8-mile hike the day before!
5. On the fifth day, it was time to say goodbye to our little condo in the mountains and head down the mountain toward home. We made a special point to arrive at the Pancake Pantry right when they opened at 7 a.m. In fact, Hunter dropped me off at the door so that I could get us a table while he parked. The pancakes were HUGE! Hunter had a breakfast platter with an added pancake. I had the pecan pancakes-- the pecan syrup was nutty perfection. The Pancake Pantry is Gatlinburg's oldest pancake house, since 1960. I was so glad that we got there when we did, because a line was already forming outside the door by the time Hunter got to sit down.
We definitely had some AMAZING food and a wonderful time in the Smokies!
Up next: Part 2.2- Our Engagement Trip- Entertainment & THE Story 😊
xoxo,
ljh
Comments