Sister Trip To Gatlinburg In the Great Smoky Mountains

Hello friends

I am a few posts behind.  I know I sound like a broken record but man have things been crazy around here.  Anyway here we go:

It’s hard to believe but another of our annual Sister Trips is in the books. As usual it was such a fun time.  A couple of weeks ago me and my two sisters and my niece Tammy, who is just like our sister, went on our annual Sister Trip to Gatlinburg. Gatlinburg is only about 70 from our hometown so just a short drive for us.  We have so much fun when we all get together. We eat and laugh and talk and talk and talk.

We stayed at Baskins Creek Condominiums, sorry I couldn’t find a proper link for it, just off of the strip in Gatlinburg.  We also did a short trip to Cherokee NC to Harrah’s Casino.  The sisters like to gamble a little.  I am very conservative when it comes to gambling I have a very small budget to gamble on.  It turns out I had a $20.00  voucher from the last time I was in Cherokee at the casino and I used that.  I never thought I would win anything on that but after being at the Casino only five minutes, using the voucher, I had won $375.00!!!!  I couldn’t believe it.  I played for a little while longer and lost a little and left with winnings of $310.00 not too bad for me.

The condo we stay in has two bedrooms and we have four people so we share a bedroom. I am always the first one up so I make coffee and enjoy the quiet time for a minute. If its not too cool I will go out on the balcony for a little early morning fresh air.  The mountains are beautiful this time of year.  We haven’t had a lot of color from the leaves because of the lack of rain but the leaves are starting to turn a little.

This is the outside of the condo.  Every room has a balcony.

The rooms in the condo are very spacious and nice.  We tried staying at another place last year but we just didn’t like it as well.

The sunset from our balcony.

The Gatlinburg SkyLift is an attraction that has been an icon in Gatlinburg since 1954.
Several years ago a terrible fire burned much of Gatlinburg including homes and attractions.  The top part of the SkyLift burned pretty bad.  The SkyLift was closed for quite a while.  But what happened when the rebuild started was quite a thing to behold.  A suspension bridge was installed on the top of the mountain along with a SkyDeck that allows you see for miles.  The SkyBridge is 140 feet high at its midpoint and 680 feet across and is the longest suspension bridge in North America.  You begin by riding the SkyLift to the top of the mountain.

    At  the midpoint of the bridge the panels are clear!!!  That means you can see right through to the bottom.  This is a very weird feeling. A lot of people close their eyes when walking over this part of the bridge.  Being a suspension bridge the bridge does move more as more people are it.   I have to admit it is a little scary.

 You can tell I was a little nervous on the bridge.

I promise those are not cracks.  It’s actually trees that you can see below you.

 

This  picture was taken from the bridge.  A great shot of the city of Gatlinburg.
Coming down from the mountain via the Skylift.  This is an amazing view.

We ate at some wonderful restaurants while we were in Gatlinburg and the Pigeon Forge area.  In Pigeon Forge we ate at the Five Oaks Farm Kitchen.  It is one of the newest eating establishments in Pigeon Forge.  They serve breakfast lunch and dinner.  I have eaten both breakfast and lunch there and it is great.    We also ate at Park Grill in Gatlinburg.  Park Grill has some amazing steaks and a fabulous salad bar it is right on the parkway in Gatlinburg.  Gatlinburg is the perfect place to get away to the mountains for shopping, eating and enjoying the attractions.  For more information check out these sites: Gatlinburg Attractions,  Things to do in Gatlinburg,   Great Smoky Mountains National Park 

On the way home we always stop in Sevierville and do some shopping at Tanger Outlet Mall.  There is 107 outlet stores at Tanger.  We have our favorites and don’t usually go in half of them but it is a lot of fun just being together.

It was good to be back home.  I have been gone so much the months are flying by.

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!