‘Sevierville’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Visit: Chocolate Monkey {Tennessee}

August 21, 2014 · Narrative

Need to satisfy a sweet tooth while in Tennessee? The Chocolate Monkey is just the place.

When I was compiling a list of things to do, see, or eat for our Spring Break trip to Tennessee, a few people suggested that we visited the Chocolate Monkey, billed as the #1 chocolate shop in the Smokies. And since my six-year-old is our resident chocoholic, it was a given that stopping here was pretty high on her list.

During our week long stay in Tennessee, it felt like we saw Chocolate Monkey locations everywhere we went, which stands to reason since they happen to have five locations in the areas that we were visiting. We ended up visiting the Sevierville location, which happened to be near one of our hotels, and chose this one because of its cute outdoor area that resembled something out of the 1950s, complete with a canopy and picnic tables.

When you walk into the store, it is definitely sensory overload. There are bright colors, sweet smells, and, well, monkeys everywhere. Fun, but dangerously teetering into that too much category.

Originally started as a candy and fudge shop only five years ago, it has expanded to include a wide selection of creamy and delicious ice cream as well. And those candy apples were something else. Huge.

…

Visit: The Great Smoky Mountain Wheel {Pigeon Forge, Tennessee}

May 14, 2014 · Narrative

I didn’t used to be afraid of heights.

Years ago, when my ex-husband and I were dating (and even boyfriends before him) and we visited amusement parks, I always went on the roller coasters.

As a good girlfriend would.

And then one day, I stopped.

I can tell you exactly when the fear of heights set in. We were on a ferris wheel and got stuck on the top.

Mechanical difficulties.

Twenty minutes.

And I said never again.

Nick, on the other hand, has exactly zero fear of heights.

Higher.

Faster.

Better.

And unfortunately for me, his sister is following fast in his footsteps.

So it sometimes means that I need to suck it up in the interest of not standing in the way of my kids having fun.

Which is exactly how I found myself some 200 feet in the air (roughly twenty stories high) during our recent Spring Break vacation.

Because every day that we stayed in Sevierville, we passed by The Great Smoky Mountain Wheel.

Multiple times daily.

And it was huge. And it looked like great fun.

Except for the, you know, fear of heights thing.

…

Visit: RainForest Adventures {Sevierville, Tennessee}

May 6, 2014 · Narrative

Love animals and visiting Tennessee? RainForest Adventures is a quiet little tucked away treasure in downtown Sevierville. Let me show you around.

Our second Tennessee hotel was located on a semi-busy highway that went straight through downtown Sevierville. With every bit of real estate taken on both sides of the road, Sevierville is an odd mixture of the weird and the wonderful, dotted with every roadside attraction you can think of.

And then some.

Which made it kind of awesome.

Before we set off on our Tennessee adventure, I did massive amounts of research to pull together a list of places we wanted to check out, looking for a cross-section of things that both the kids and I would enjoy. My goal was to fill up about half our time, and leave the other half completely up to chance, wandering to whatever struck our fancy.

RainForest Adventures ended up being right down the street from our hotel, and one of the places we had planned to visit. Situated at the less busy end of the highway, it was easy to find with ample free parking.

The tours are self-guided, which are perfect for kids darting from one exhibit to the other, and it was quiet with only a few customers when we arrived. The facility is neatly laid out so you can intuitively walk from one end to the other without needing a map or having any fear of getting lost. Big enough to keep the kids intrigued, but small enough to be just right.

With over 600 animals and 130 different species, there was a lot to see, but not in an overwhelming way. There were a number of animals that we, of course, had seen before, but also many we hadn’t. There was an exhibit with capuchin monkeys that we could have seriously sat and watched for hours. They were a lively bunch, particularly one of them, who we decided was a mouthy teenager who didn’t want to listen to his dad. Because that’s pretty much how he behaved.

…