Gatlinburg Adventures | Gatlinburg TN

Jacksonville. Chicago. Key West. Savannah. Clear Water. New York. Chicago. DC. Chicago. Massanutten. Chicago. Ashville. Gatlinburg. That’s how that search went when I began attempting to plan Chad’s birthday getaway. I had asked him prior to what he wanted, and he gave me that sugary sweet what-every-girl-wants-to-hear speech… “Babe, the only thing I want is you.” Yea yea yea…. “No really. You better tell me.” After much coaxing, he finally gave in and gave me a couple of options. One stuck out to me. “An adventure.”

My mom is a beast at planning things, so when I mentioned to her that Chad wanted to go somewhere, she immediately started giving me insane ideas. I handed her my computer, and she immediately had tons of beautiful and affordable places listed. The problem is, it’s summer so nearly everything affordable is taken leaving only super cheap and sketchy places OR insanely expensive ritzy places. “What about Gatlinburg or something since he likes the mountains? Maybe Ashville?” I knew he’d mentioned Ashville before, but we were talking about just doing a day trip for that since it was so close. I searched for cabins in Gatlinburg, and was immediately drawn to the Elk Springs Resort cabins. I scrolled through tons of their fanciest and loveliest cabins, and clicked on the pricing tab with my eyes halfway shut for fear of the hefty tag I may see attached.. When I peeked out, I thought for sure I’d misread. It was affordable. It was gorgeous. I am a water lover, so seeing that one place had not only an amazing shower but also a Jacuzzi tub AND a hot tub? Like seriously?! SOLD. When we arrived, it was more than either of us could have dreamed of. We spent an entire hour just walking around exploring the cabin rooms and looking at the movies they had out for us. There was also a cute little book where others had written about their time there!

(cue instagram!)

^ I joked that my friend/assistant Christina was always around everywhere 😉

For those that haven’t heard, I’ve been having a ton of trouble with foods lately, so my doctor placed me on a medication and suggested only eating very healthy things. No greasy foods, fattening foods, sweets, none of the good stuff. Chad suggested that we hit up the local grocery store and cook our own meals since I had so many limitations, but suggested that we eat out once or twice at some local places if we felt up to it. As we wandered the aisles of the grocery store, he kept me in check with what we needed rather than what I was craving (because s’mores IS a sweet apparently… UGUGHUGHUG). We got back to the cabin, and I turned some music on (guys, check out Jasmine Thompson – for real), and began steaming some green beans and raw sweet potatoes while Chad took the chicken breasts out to grill. I heard him come back in and felt his hands grab my waist. He turned me around, took one hand to my side while grabbing my hand with the other, and began dancing with me right there in the kitchen! After the song, we got back to cooking, and enjoyed a dinner sitting by the fireplace shortly after. “Do you wanna go get in the hot tub now?!?!” I practically screamed. “Absolutely!” And off we went to grab towels and our swim suits. At that point the sun was setting, and we watched the stars come out and the moon slowly rise. We talked more than I think we’ve ever talked in the entire time we’ve known each other.

The next morning, I woke up to the delicious smell of pancakes! Chad had gotten up and started cooking us breakfast, so I quickly took a shower and got ready before heading downstairs. After we were both ready, we took on Gatlinburg by storm! Our first stop was this shop I immediately recognized on the way up as a Welsh owned pottery shop I had visited just after coming back from Wales about ten years ago! I had seen Ross’s hand carved and polished stone Gatlinbears, but these came with a hefty price. Just as we were about to head out, this little guy caught my eye. I looked for a price tag only to find a note asking us to make an offer. I am the WORST at this stuff because as an artist, I know the amount of time that can go into even the simplest things. I wanted him to get paid properly for his work, so after seriously struggling on what to offer, he grabbed a paper and suggested that he price it for me and then have me take a guess as to what he wrote. Turns out I was only $5 off, so I bought this little bear to remember our trip by 🙂 And below you will find some of Ross’s humor 😉

You see how high up that goes, right? I’m not necessarily scared of heights, but instead scared of what could happen if we were to fall or the cable were to snap or something crazy like that. Chad attempted to reassure me by grabbing my knee and saying, “It’s okay! If that happens then it’s just meant to be!” …. RIGHT. But the view!!!!

After spending several hours out, we decided to head back to the cabin for a bit to rest before dinner. We cooked a late lunch, sat around watching some crazy TV shows, and enjoyed a nice nap with the sun coming in the open windows. We headed back that evening to do dinner and some moonshine tasting! Well, he did the moonshine tasting since I could not… but I may or may not have stolen just a drop or two from his cup just to taste 😉 ( three words.. apple pie moonshine)

 On our last day, we opted to rest a bit and make it a low key day. I knew I needed to finish up a couple of sessions anyway, so we hung out and worked (fun, I know). It was a rainy day anyway. That evening, we had gotten some food suggestions from some great folks on Facebook, and decided to hit up the first one suggested – the Old Mill! I reminded myself not to cheat on this diet or else I’d severely pay for that… but that food was SO delicious and filling though that I only ate the veggie sides we were provided 😉 They sent us home with loads of to-go boxes and full bellies! 

The next morning, we packed everything up and loaded the car. Chad finished making the rest of the pancakes for us while I added a page into the book. It was a great trip for us to grow as a couple and learn about the other while also getting much needed time away to relax! I’m already looking forward to our next adventure 🙂

“As long as we’re together, doesn’t matter where we go.”