The Island at Pigeon Forge

I had heard all about the Island at Pigeon Forge because it just opened 2 years ago so I was excited to see all the cool things there. I knew what to expect because I did my research but it was honestly the coolest place! There is a huge ferris wheel that has 360 views of the mountains, ropes coarse, a ton of restaurants and shops, a fountain show and Jimmy Buffet has a hotel there. 

We went on the ferris wheel (I'm guessing it's just like the Orlando Eye just a little bit smaller.) It was worth the price in my opinion, it was awesome to see everything from 200 feet up in the sky! The Island is defiantly on my list of things to visit every time I go back now :)

The fountain dances to the music and lights up at night

Rocking chairs around the fountain 

Moonshine store

Dick's Last Resort!!

200 feet up

Great Smoky Mountain Wheel 

Looking down at the Island

Looking down on the fountain show

The hotel is above the shops

Paula Deen's restaurant 

Cute coffee mugs

Christmas tree ornament

Gatlinburg trip part 2

I took the underwater camera with us during the white water rafting and zip lining and the bigger camera during the horse back riding. I finally got around to looking at these pictures and uploading them. Last time I went white water rafting it was a class 1, so it was pretty smooth for the most part. This time it was fun to catch some air.

Zip lining was terrifying the first couple of times across and then by the end it wasn't scary at all. I tried getting pictures while moving but most of them came out blurry. It was so cool flying between the mountains. 

Cades Cove, TN

Horses going through the little river

19 of us went horse back riding at once

White water rafting on the NC/TN boarder

9 rafts getting ready to go down the river

Floating down the river

Ryan and I raced to the end

Flying in the air

Beautiful mountain background 

Great Smoky Mountains iphone recap

Last week Ryan and I went to the Great Smoky Mountains, Sevierville to be exact. We were with his family and family friends, 22 people in one huge cabin for 5 nights..... it was a blast!

We went horse back riding, hiking, saw a waterfall, white water rafting, explored the touristy things in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, road an alpine coaster, zip lined, shopped and went to Dolly Wood. It was a jam packed trip that's for sure. I took a ton of pictures on my phone, professional camera and underwater camera. These pictures are few a few from my phone.

I used to go to Gatlinburg every summer as a kid for family reunions up until middle school/high school. My Grandfather had a chalet and we'd always pack it full, kids slept on floors because we ran out of beds! It was fun being in the mountains again with a big group. It had been quite a few years since I was last there with my other Grandparents so there was a lot of new things to see.

If you ever need a location for a family vacation I highly recommend The Great Smoky Mountains! (I love it so much that I have a tattoo of the coordinates of my Grandfathers chalet!)

Abrahams Falls in Cades Cove

2.5 mile hike each way up and down a mountain, it was not the highlight of my trip

It rained most of the hike back to the car, trying to make the most of it on this tree branch crosswalk 

This is why they call it the "smoky mountains" it looks like their smoking but its the clouds. I just love the view of the mountains!!

Famous moonshine distillery 

Had to get the pumpkin butter

Ski lift in Gatlinburg

Great Smoky Mountain wheel (just like the Orlando Eye)

Beautiful 360 views of the mountains

The Island at Pigeon Forge had a shop that only sold french fries! 

Paula Deen has a restaurant and store at The Island at Pigeon Forge

Riding an alpine coaster at night was awesome! I screamed the whole way down

Getting my parents presents for watching the dogs

Dolly Wood has a special place in my heart for my cousins and I