‘Tennessee’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Visit: Gatlingburg Space Needle {Tennessee}

April 13, 2015 · Narrative

Looking for a great view of the Tennessee landscapes and the beautiful Smoky Mountains? Be sure to visit the Space Needle in Gatlinburg.

I have to finish posting about the rest of our Tennessee trip so I can finally get all the photos off my phone and into a photo album. I think after today, there are three more posts and then we can finally close the book on Spring Break 2014.

When we visited the Ripley’s Aquarium in downtown Gatlinburg on our first night, I spied the Space Needle and asked one of the employees about it. I am all for visiting a place that would give us stunning views and photo opps.

I am not so much in for the height aspect, but sometimes you just have to suck it up.

So I did.

It was opened to visitors in 1969, and rises 407 feet in the air. After paying your admission, you take a short elevator ride to the top observation deck. Once there, you’re free to stay there as along as you want, and the views of downtown Gatlinburg, and, of course, the Smoky Mountains are amazing. When it was built, it was the second tallest tower in the state; it is now the fifth tallest.

There are many free view finders located around the 360 degree deck, and there is also quite a bit of history to read up on while you are there as well. The tower took over a year to make and weighs over four million pounds.

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Visit: Dollywood {Pigeon Forge, TN}

March 24, 2015 · Narrative

Hitting the road for Spring Break or looking for a fun new destination? How about Dollywood? An all-American theme park with something to see around every corner.

It’s safe to say that if there is an amusement park within a few hours, we have been there.

Likely multiple times.

When my sister and I were kids, I have fond memories of visiting Great Adventure with my Dad. We would leave at (what seemed like) the crack of dawn, so we could be there when the park opened.

And now as a parent myself, visiting theme parks have been a fun pasttime for us.

Especially since Nick LOVES roller coasters.

Higher. Faster. Better. Is pretty much his mantra.

Two feet on the ground is pretty much mine.

So when I was planning our Spring Break trip to Tennessee last year, I checked to see how far we would be from Dollywood, a theme park that has been around forever (well, almost, since they’re celebrating their 30th anniversary this year).

We didn’t exactly get there right when the park opened, which would have surely disappointed my Dad, but we did manage to make it there by noon. A day with beautiful blue skies and temps in the 80s, it couldn’t have been more perfect.

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Visit: Aerial Tramway, Ober Gatlinburg {Tennessee}

December 3, 2014 · Narrative

Visiting Tennessee? The Aerial Tramway at Ober Gatlinburg will give you some of the best views of downtown Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains that you could ask for.

I am not exactly scared of heights.

They’re just not my favorite.

But I try really hard not to let it impede on my activities with the kids.

See Exhibit A.

And Exhibit B.

And countless other to-be-blogged activities.

And today’s topic is another example.

There are two things that help me deal with getting over my issue.

1 – My kids

2 – A photo opp

Which is exactly how I found myself high up in the air during our Spring Break visit to Tennessee.

Because it sounded like fun (minus the up in the air issue), the kids agreed, and I knew it would be ripe for good photos of the Smoky Mountains.

Nestled right in the middle of the bustling downtown section of Gatlinburg, the tram and parking was easy to find. We paid our admission and queued up to board the next tram.

Built in 1973, it cost $5.5 million for the tram and its construction, and another $1.3 million later on for modernization. Made in Switzerland, each car (there are two) holds 120 people. And by “hold,” it mainly means grabbing for the ceiling strap and hanging on.

There is a bench at both the front and back of the tram car, but only a handful of seats. Both times we went on it (going there and back to its destination of Ober Gatlinburg), I angled for the best spot to be near a window. The counter-balanced tram cars were originally put in place to give skiers an easier way to head up the windy hill when they wanted to go skiing.

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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.

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Visit: Ripley’s Believe It or Not! {Gatlinburg, Tennessee}

August 11, 2014 · Narrative

The creepy, spooky, and downright icky can be found right in downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! museum.

Nick, my twelve year old, is a big fan of the weird and the wonderful, so when I found out that there was a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! location in Tennessee, it quickly got added to our “things to do” list for this year’s Spring Break.

Natch.

Located right on Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg, it couldn’t have been easier to find. On street parking is available, as well as many hourly lots tucked down various side streets. Since this is the main drag through Gatlinburg, it is a hotbed of activity. If you park in one of the lots, you will more than get your five bucks worth. Guaranteed.

This Ripley’s museum has three floors filled with exhibits, over 500 of them, in every nook and cranny. Some of the exhibits we have seen in the other locations, and many were new. The very tattooed lady with multiple piercings (and the man who is tattooed from head to foot) has been at many of the other locations we’ve visited, as well as the art pieces made entirely of matchsticks. There were a number of old-school exhibits as well, including a giant Lite-Brite set and a game of Operation.

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Review: The Applewood Restaurant {Pigeon Forge, Tennessee}

June 2, 2014 · Narrative

Looking for an home-spun meal of good Southern cooking? Visit The Applewood Restaurant in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. A delicious, filling, and reasonably priced meal that won’t disappoint.

During our wanderings in Tennessee, I kept seeing signs for the Applewood Restaurant in Pigeon Forge. Although we left the great state of Tennessee with a few “must stop food visits” uncompleted, we did manage to squeeze in a meal at the Applewood. And thank goodness for that.

Most of our breakfasts were kind of on the fly. Grabbing something quick here and there, and taking full advantage of the hotel’s free continental breakfasts. We didn’t want to waste time with getting our day started.

But we ended up saving the best for last.

The Applewood Restaurant and adjacent candy and general store was right around the corner from the hotel we stayed at in Pigeon Forge. So on the last day, we headed over there right after we checked out.

The menu is expansive, with each item sounding more delicious than the next. It’s the kind of menu that you need to close right after you make a decision, lest you change your mind.

As soon as our waiter greeted us, he brought over a basket of fresh apple muffins, apple fritters, and apple butter. On the house.

Madeline demolished all the muffins, and the basket was happily replenished. She didn’t care for the fritters, but I did and took care of those. And the apple butter? Amazeballs. So good that I hunted it down in the general store and brought home a few jars.

Having Tennessee smoked ham had been on my “must eat” list for the week, so that was a given as part of our order. Madeline went with waffles, and Nick chose French toast. We also added biscuits, since we had been on a Southern biscuit kick for most of the week. And I had an egg white veggie stuffed omelet. Trying to be virtuous enough to balance out the apple fritters and apple butter.

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Visit: Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies {Gatlinburg, Tennessee}

May 21, 2014 · Narrative

It’s a given that probably 75% of our outings involve animals. Or Ripley’s. And our Spring Break in Tennessee is no exception.

It actually involved a lot of both.

And that 75% is purely an unscientific guess.

When I was researching things we could do in Tennessee and saw that there was an aquarium in the general vicinity of our second hotel, it was pretty much a given that we would stop there.

On our second night in Tennessee, we made the three hour drive from Nashville to Gatlinburg, checked in at the hotel and took off for the aquarium right away.

It might not take the average person three hours to drive that distance, but that’s the beauty of road trips, isn’t it? You can stop along the way whenever you want.

The Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is located right off the main drag in downtown Gatlinburg and was really easy to find. A tall parking deck adjacent to the aquarium made it easy to find a space, and it’s only a few dollars (cash only) for parking.

We arrived a few hours before the place closed, which I highly recommend, because I wouldn’t necessarily say we had the place to ourselves, but we almost had the place to ourselves.

Which was all sorts of awesome. It gave us the freedom to wander from exhibit to exhibit and not have to worry about fighting any crowds when it came to a show or an opportunity to touch slimy creatures.

The place is huge, boasting some 10,000 sea creatures amongst their space. Some items are usual suspects amongst aquariums, some were new to us. (They have a great virtual tour right here)

There is peaceful, calming music piped throughout the aquarium, which was really a nice touch, and there were knowledgeable staff members ready to answer any questions we had as we explored at our own pace.

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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.

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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.

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Review: Jack’s Bar-B-Que {Nashville, Tennessee}

April 30, 2014 · Narrative

Need to know the best eats in Nashville? Jack’s Bar-B-Que. That’s pretty much all you need to know.

As soon as we pulled up to our Nashville hotel for our first night in Tennessee, I asked the valet for a dinner recommendation.

Want to know the best place to eat in town?

Ask a local.

But I gave him very specific criteria.

Kid-friendly. Reasonably priced. Not a huge wait. A place that screams Nashville.

And the place where he would go to if he could only go to one place in all his time in Nashville.

And Jack’s Bar-B-Que it was.

Originally started as a catering company in 1976, the restaurant was about four blocks from the hotel, and since the weather was pretty clear, and I am intent on keeping up with my Fitbit friends, we decided to leave the car and walk to dinner.

Which totally would have been awesome had the skies not opened up during dinner to welcome us with a torrential downpour.

Yep, yep.

Nothing that a six dollar cab ride can’t fix.

So we walked into the lively Jack’s and I dispatched Nick to grab a table. There are a handful of tables in the front of the restaurant, and more on the second floor (seating that you can view from a tv screen while you’re in line).

Luckily we were a bit early for dinner, and there were just a few people in line. I queued up and started scanning the menu so I would be ready. The menu is short and direct.

Meat.

BBQ.

Vegetables.

They are focusing on what they’re good at.

Which is pretty much the way to go.

Restaurants that have pages and pages and pages of menu offerings always are off-putting to me. Lack of focus.

During our Tennessee adventure, I wanted to be sure to hone in and enjoy local Tennessee specialties. Really chow down on the best the state has to offer.

And BBQ is definitely a sure-fire way to go.

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Our Favorite Eats in Tennessee {Food}

April 22, 2014 · Narrative

When we were in Tennessee last week, I wanted to make sure to have as much local food as possible … to really have a chance to dive in and find local favorites.

And I think we did just that.

I swear it feels like we ate our way from one end of the state to the other.

Likely because we did.

While most days, we didn’t even have three meals a day (some days were just one), we snacked and tasted and indulged around every corner.

And it was wonderful.

Let’s dig in.

Tennessee Pork Shoulder – BBQ is, of course, big in Tennessee and our first foray into it did not disappoint. We found the very best at Jack’s BBQ in Nashville. Tender, subtly flavored, but made amazeballs with their house-made, slightly tangy, BBQ sauce.

Cinnamon Bread – When we visited Dollywood, we spied a working grist mill where they were turning out fresh, hot from the oven loaves of cinnamon bread and giant cookies nearly as big as Madeline’s head. We bought one of each, found a shady spot outside and devoured every last speck.

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Spring Break 2014 {Tennessee}

April 22, 2014 · Narrative

Oh Spring Break, you were awesome.

(And re-entry today was no joke.)

Armed with a list of attractions and a keen eye on keeping that magical balance of seeing everything, yet being able to bask in the supreme nothingness of a true vacation, last week the kids and I set off for the great green lands of Tennessee. Something completely different for us. My first go-to for a vacation is always a cruise. Because I like the fact that everything is taken care of for you – from where you’ll go to dinner to how you’ll get to your next destination. And as the only grown-up in this traveling crew, that’s a huge help. But this year, we took a cruise off the table and set off to explore someplace we’ve never been.

Tennessee.

Choosing a destination was ridiculously hard, although my criteria was fairly simple.

A destination that was a few hours by air.

A place that none of us had been to before.

And reasonably priced air fare.

Nevada was in the running for awhile, but the airfare was out of my budget.

And the last criteria? That there be enough kid-friendly activities for us to do, with a balance of things I would like as well.

And the more I looked at Tennessee, the more we liked it. Although we planned to spend most of our time in the Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg areas, we flew into Nashville, three hours West by car. One, because it saved me $450 on our airfare and two, because it gave us an opportunity to see other parts of the state as well.

We spent the first night in Nashville, and had the most awesome BBQ ever on Music Row. The next morning, we bummed around downtown Nashville, taking in the sights and some shopping before we headed to our next destination. And also in search of sweatshirts because the city was an unexpected cold of 30 degrees (with snow even, on our drive to Pigeon Forge). Once firmly ensconced in our Pigeon Forge hotel, we spent the next thirty-six hours bouncing between there and Gatlinburg.

Our last night, I was originally planning to drive back to Nashville and spend the night there, but we ended up staying in Pigeon Forge because we liked it that much more.

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