So this post is extreeemly late, but better than never! 😊
This past September my husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary trip! It was so fun and enjoyable, I cannot wait for next year's trip! I figured I would share our trip and the low down of where we stayed, what we ate, what we saw, and all our recommendations!
We left earlyyy Friday morning, dropped off our pup at a very trusting and awesome family members home, and hit the road! Of course we stayed up extremely late the night before last minute packing and full of excitement! Road trips are always the best with my husband. It's probably one of the top favorite memories of every trip..{except for the one trip the weekend he proposed, but I'll save that story for another time 😉}
We were off to Nashville, we live in Missouri so it was about a 4-5 hour drive. I, of course, packed breakfast and lunch! Our trip was very budget friendly and also I've lost 30lbs, no way was I gaining 10 of that back because I was too lazy to prep 💪! Driving through Illinois was the WORST, so flat and so boring, but once we got outta there it was a breeze! We arrived in Nashville and immediately checked into our hotel, which I booked through Travelocity. {Love that site for booking anything!} We stayed at Days Inn hotel off West Trinity Lane. Very close to downtown and very cheap. Well, it was cheap for a reason. The air was not on when we arrived to our room, if I knew what it was like standing in hell, I'd relate it to the temperature of our room 🔥, but once we turned the air on and came back, it was fine. My husband and I are kind of weird about hotels, so we did put t-shirts over the pillows we used and brought our own blanket!
Next, Broadway! I suggest taking a cab there, if you plan on drinking lots! We only had a few. Staying up late the night before, getting up at the crack of dawn, and driving for so long doesn't exactly put you in the party mood. We walked up and down Broadway checking out all the shop, which I loved! We aren't much for souvenirs, but we did buy our first Christmas ornament together! Will now be our tradition! Ornaments are small, budget friendly, useful, and doesn't sit and collect dust..well only for eleven month out of the year 😉! We did check out all the boot stores, but my husband is a boot snob and didn't find a single pair!! Can you believe that?! I, of course, could have bought a million! We settled on Rippy's for dinner and drinks. AWFUL BBQ, I was so very disappointed. The ribs literally tasted like I was licking the grill. On the other hand our server was awesome {big buff guy with a man bun}, drinks were great, entertainment wasn't bad, and their baked beans were fantastic! We walked some more and just HAD to stop in the candy store, Savannah's Candy Shop, and I bought a giant homemade reese's peanut butter cup! So delish and worth every calorie! We then stopped at a liquor store, bought some drinks, and spent the rest of our evening in our hotel!
Next morning we had a quick breakfast and waited in line at the American Pickers museum, my favorite part in Nashville! {I wish I would have known about the Johnny Cash museum. My fault for lack of research, but maybe next time!} The American Pickers museum was awesome! I had my first iced coffee, ever, which I loved! They had an absolutely fantastic band playing! I recorded a clip, but it's so blurry 😔 The stuff the had was so neat! We ended up buying a koozie {another collection item we always pick up, useful and not dust collecting.} And an old letter "K", I kind of have an obsession 😊. We then had lunch at The Pharmacy, a burger joint. Very cool atmosphere. They make their own soda! {I just had water} the hubs HAD to get homemade rootbeer, he's a sucker! The burgers were a-okay! Not the best I've ever had, but definitely good! {I recommend the chili burger.👌}
All in all, Nashville would be such a fun place to go with friends, party, and let loose! And not after such a tiring day!
That afternoon we hit the road! Another 3-4 hours to our destination, we did stop on our way at an outlet mall buying Nike shoes for my hubs and a new workout shirt for me, spent only $40! {You will see in the photo's my new shirt and laugh.. just wait.} I rented a cabin through Acorn Ridge in Sevierville, TN. I HIGHLY recommend them! They were so accommodating, the cabin was beautiful, and location was perfect! We stayed in the cabin named Love Song {I know, how cute💕} We did have "neighbors", but our back deck faced the woods and we didn't see one person while out there! They had a greeting letter and basket full of brouchers of activities waiting for us..we didn't do any of those activities, but still nice! Oh and organic toothpaste that was a thumbs up on my list 👍! The cabin was fully loaded, could even do your own laundry {We didn't. Who does laundry on their anniversary?} We settled in, checked everything out, then drove back into town for dinner. We ate Holston's Kitchen, really the first place we saw as it was pouring down rain and we were starving! We ordered fried pickles and I was so bummed, they were sooo salty, BUT considering I barely eat salt, it could have just been me and a sign that I should NOT be eating them in the first place😉. My husband seem to scarf them down just fine, not that it was a surprise 😂. We personally thought the portions were small for the price, but all in all it wasn't bad! Finished the night back at our cabin putting good use to the hot tub! {No dirty thoughts, peeps!😂🙅}
Next morning we woke up bright and early! We made breakfast at the cabin, enjoyed a little time on our back deck, and then drove the opposite way of Sevierville into Gatlinburg, TN. Such a neat town! We drove up and down the strip checking things out and then drove into the smokey mountians! We stopped at the information center to ask a few questions {about fishing, of course. My husband is obsessed. There was only trout fishing allowed in the park during that time.} And grab a few maps! We enjoyed our drive checking out the scenery and ended up at Abram Falls Trail, 5 mile hike roundtrip! The most beautiful site we have ever seen! Mitch taught me a few things about mushrooms and wild life, then he chased me with a lizard, which I ran for dear life, {I am TERRIFIED of lizards 😣😲😢} so the last half mile to the waterfall was a breeze, literally! We came across quite a few people, an older couple married for 30 years! {Bravo to them👏}, a girl hiking in cowboy boots {I'm sure her dogs were a barkin!}, and a guy who ran the ENTIRE trail {No joke. Those hills HAD to be killer!💪} it started raining right as we finished our hike, thankfully, then it was the longest car ride outta there! EVERY one was leaving at the same time, driving sooo slow, we were starving, and sweaty. When we finally made it into Gatlinburg again we stopped for dinner at Calhoun's. Oh my sweet baby jesus, if you ever get a chance to eat there, DO IT! And order the potato skins, they come with pulled pork on them! Most delicious thing I have ever put in my mouth👅! Plus I totally deserved them after the five mile hike😉! I ordered another burger..MISTAKE! Order BBQ! With baked beans and the mac n cheese, sooo good!
We then spent our last night savoring the time we had left away from home, enjoying our beautiful cabin and hit the road in the AM for nine hour ride back😯! By morning I was definitely ready to be in my own bed and with our puppy, Hank🐶! Wish we would have taken more photo's, maybe next time😉!
Hope this helps with your future weekend getaway! 😊
