It's SNOWING! - Gatlinburg Getaway 2022

As mentioned in one of my last posts, Hubs and I planned a holiday trip to Gatlinburg! We're Kid-Free now, and there's no reason that we need to be home for Christmas, so off we went, and let me tell you... this may have been one of the best Christmases I've ever had! 

I wanted to leave super-early on Sunday, Christmas morning, but Hubs wasn't done packing, so we didn't get out of the house until 8am. We picked up caffeine and gas, then decided to pick up a Sausage Biscuit at McDonald's. When we got there, it was closed! Huh? McDonald's never closes! 

Even Google agrees with me!

I'm certainly not mad that they closed down so that their staff could have Christmas with their families (duh), but yeah... that sucked. We got back on the interstate and decided to try the next major exit, about an hour north. That McDonald's was closed TOO! We drove up and down the main drag to see if anything else was open (we were getting pretty hangry at this point), but the only thing open was a Circle K. And as you can imagine, it was a popular place. All of their hot food was sold out, the fountain drink area was a mess, and the worst part? The HVAC system was broken, and these poor employees had to work inside a frigid store that was 56º inside! (Oh, and to add... this was a crazy cold snap in Florida, and it was only 24º degrees outside!). We each grabbed a Little Debbie to eat (again, hangry) and got back on the road. But just 15 short minutes later, we saw a sign for a McDonald's in White Springs, and we said, fuck it, let's make it a full fail... 3 for 3! and went to White Springs. 

Lo and behold, the White Springs McDonald's was open, and we were able to finally get two glorious Sausage Biscuits! A huge THANK YOU to White Springs McDonald's for being open and being so cheerful (yes, I sent a special email to them to thank them). 

With full bellies, we were finally out of Florida and into Georgia. We hit up Buc-ee's in Adairsville. After using the restroom, I wandered the store, and I must have looked confused, as I stood there looking at the beverage coolers that were chained closed... a local told me that it is apparently illegal in Georgia to sell beer, wine, and alcohol on Christmas Day, so some stores will run chains through the handles to keep the coolers closed (if there's no locks on the doors, I suppose). 

People are sheep... this huge line for the Ladies Room, but there were plenty of open stalls inside!

Santa Buc-ee, just slip some nuggets under my tree, for me

We looked for lunch in Macon and Byron, but nothing called to us, so we kept driving. We stopped in Lowe, Georgia, and got lunch at Hardee's to eat in the car. We continued through Jasper (super cute town!) and Monticello (home of Trisha Yearwood!) on little single-lane roads until we got near Tallulah Gorge. 

We headed to Tallulah Falls around 4:45pm and paid to park; the plan was to do a little hike to a few waterfall overlooks and then leave. But as I was putting on all my layers, I was stopped by a Park Ranger because they were closing and locking the gates. As a Floridian, I tend to forget that "sunset" comes much earlier in the mountains than it does at the beach. She gave us a courtesy poke on our parking pass and marked off Wednesday so we would reuse the parking pass on our way home (and not waste $5). 

Back on the road, we got to Cherokee after sunset, and it was super-dark outside. As we'd driven, we discussed whether or not we wanted to continue on the back roads, or if it were a smarter option to hop on the interstate. Because it was so late, it was smarter to get on the highway. Plus, I wouldn't be able to see any scenery along the Parkway, which is one of the main reasons I originally wanted to skip the highway. We opted to take the interstate now, and take the Parkway home, when I'd be able to enjoy the view. Interstate 40 was super curvy, and there was lots of road work happening that brought it down to one-lane roads edged with K-rails, which made for a very knuckle-clenching drive. Once we exited the interstate, we still had to take a small expressway though the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. With it being Christmas night, there was hardly anyone on the road (I think I passed maybe 1 or 2 cars?). It was very dark, so I honestly had no idea what I was driving by, but I chose to stop at one overlook, and when I got out of the car... y'all. 

It was 16º outside. The air was painfully crisp and clear. And across the valley (what I assumed was a valley), you could see so many cabin lights peeking out from the woods on the mountain. In the daytime, I probably wouldn't have known they were there, because they would have blended into the landscape, but at night, they pierced the darkness. 

The photo absolutely doesn't do it justice

And then I looked up to gaze upon the diamonds strewn upon the black velvet of the sky. I never felt so small within the universe until this moment. I saw stars I never saw at home, because it was just so dark out here. 

Checking in at the hotel was super-easy; I booked the Honeymoon Suite (awwww), because it was the only room left with a king-size bed. Earlier in the day, I'd gotten a voicemail from an employee to tell me that our room was ready and they stocked it with firewood. Yeah! Firewood - our room has a wood-burning fireplace. 

Unfortunately, they didn't light a fire for us, or even turn on the heater, so our room was frigid cold. And there was no kindling or matches to start a fire, either... We cranked the heater all the way up to 84º but it didn't make much of a difference; it was still struggling after a few hours. The room was huge, with a big bed, a stone fireplace, stone floors, a small dining table and kitchenette, a huge bathroom, and even a patio outside, next to a babbling brook. Too cold for a bath, though! Oh, and the phone didn't work, so I couldn't call the front desk to fix the heater, and after such a long drive, I just decided to hop in bed in my long johns (thank god for Amazon shopping!) to keep warm. I used the old-ass microwave to heat up some water for hot cocoa, then snuggled in for the night to tweet, have some quality time with hubs, and eventually sleep. 

It's so cold!

Our view from the patio is beautiful

Monday, the day after Christmas, I'm happy to say that I slept like the dead, and didn't even wake up until almost 9:30. We stayed snuggled in bed for a while, and then finally got out of bed around noon. We googled Walgreens so I could buy some matches, and some tissues, and then looked for the best place for pancakes. Fortuitous! There was a pancake restaurant right across the street! Sadly, after bundling up and walking across the road, they were closed (boo). So we hopped in the car to head to Walgreen's and find one of the other pancake places instead. 

A high of 33!

One thing I was not prepared for? The traffic on the main drag. It was bumper to bumper and took probably 20 minutes to go just a few miles. We decided to park at "the end" of the parkway, near Ober Mountain, and walk along the drag for a while. The lot was crazy busy, and we sat patiently, waiting for a family to pack up and leave, but after 5 minutes, it turned out that they were only there to change a baby diaper and get snacks. Sure would have been nice if they'd said something the entire time I was sitting there. Luckily, another family was walking by and offered to give us their parking pass. They paid $20 and it was good until 2am. I offered to pay him for it, and he absolutely refused, even saying that he would throw the money away if I gave it to him. I guess he still had the Christmas Spirit. So, thank you Random Stranger, for our great parking spot! And I'm happy to say that we were able to pass along the parking spot to someone else, when we left a few hours later. 

As we walked toward the pancake place I had my heart set on, I got a whiff of something, and after reading the menu for Smith & Son, we changed our plan and headed inside for burgers. We were told that there was a 30-minute wait, but we could go up to the 3rd floor sports bar and be served immediately. Well, yeah, that's a no-brainer. We got a corner table and peeled off our puffer jackets and scarves and gloves and beanies (so.many.layers!) The waiter-slash-bartender was a loud-talkin' brusque kind of guy, but not in a bad way. He told us that his favorite meal was the ribs... "Are they the best you'll ever eat? Nah, but you'll get 'em again when you come back, because they are really good." Points for honesty, lol. 

We both settled on the BBQ Bacon Burger (double patty, barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese, and bacon) with fries. Holy crap... it was huge, and it was delicious. It was just a tad bit overcooked for my preference, and I wish there was more sauce, but other than that, it was amazing. I could only finish about 80% of it, but it was definitely worth $15! Total bill with 2 meals, 1 soda, and tax was only $35 (practically a steal in a tourist area like this). 

Messy, but delicious

Before leaving, we popped outside to take some photos and I spotted snowflakes! Teensy, tiny snowflakes that were so small that hubby swore they weren't actual snowflakes. But you can't fool me... I knew it was snow! We headed back downstairs and walked toward Anakeetsa (where we'd eventually turn around). We stopped in a few shops, which were wall to wall bodies on this day after Christmas. We tasted some "Tiny, Crispy" cookies at Byrde's and each of us got a small box of mixed cookies, and a bag of coffee for our friend who is cat-sitting while we're out. At Beef Jerky Experience, I picked up two bags of jerky (delicious!). As we came out, we could see for sure... it was snowing!!!!!!!!!! Be still, my Florida Girl heart, I'm on vacation, in the mountains, for Christmas, and it's for real SNOWING! 

I can see snow on the ground... can you see snow?

We found Walgreens, and picked up a box of tissues and an Aim & Flame for the fireplace back in the hotel room. Our final stop was a candy store where I picked up some treats for my mom, and well as some caramels for me. As we started walking back to the car, it was definitely snowing... if this were Florida, I'd say it was a light shower, like a sprinkle. The snow had put a light dusting on the car, maybe 1/32"... but deep enough to make designs in with my finger. 

There's snow on our jackets

What else would you trace on the car?

We tried to sneak out a back road (rather than get back on the Parkway), but traffic was even worse that way! We missed our turn and had to make a U-turn in a hotel parking lot. As we sat there, waiting for traffic, we looked across the street and saw that there was a mountain coaster over there. I mischievously turned to hubby and asked, "you wanna?" and that's how we ended up riding a mountain coaster at night in the snow! It was fast, and (duh), it was very cold. 

In the queue for the Coaster

It was snowing harder when we left... light, fluffy, perfect snow that made me giddy and smile like a 3-year old. 

Scraped together all the snow on my trunk

We parked back at the hotel, and then walked over to a local pizza joint called Geno's to pick up a pizza. By this time, it was full dark and quiet outside, and I could hear the crunching of the snow as we walked, and I could see the indescribable sparkle in the moonlight. 

We were the very last order of the night at Geno's; after we put in our order, they got a call from the Geno's in Pigeon Forge and told to close up here and go help out over there. Our medium pepperoni pizza was $20 with tax and tip, and delicious. We ate it in bed while we tried (pathetically) to light a fire. I had stopped at the front desk on the way back to our room to tell the front desk that the heater was broken; they said that they'd come by and fix it tomorrow. So, Fire 101... you need kindling. Freebie coupon books picked up on the sidewalk just don't work the way you think it would. Eventually, after using two full books, we were able to get a smoldering "fire" going, but we never got a full on "crackling fire." It was enough to keep the room toasty warm for the night. 

Medium pepperoni pizza from Geno's

With a belly full of delicious pizza, I stewed myself in a hot bath before bed.  

We have one more full day before we have to leave early Wednesday, and I'm really hoping that we can get up to see the light show at Anakeetsa then head over to Pigeon Forge for their walk-through light thing... but it's just so fucking cold! Yes, the snow was great, but I feel like we haven't had a very vacation-y vacation so far. Oh well... a bad day on vacation is still better than a good day at work. 

Tuesday morning, we woke up earlier, I took some photos behind the hotel, and then we and headed over to Flapjacks for pancakes. 

The snow melting in the brook

Still pretty frozen over here

I hope she said yes!

So... looks like the slide is closed

Hubby (who isn't much of a pancake guy) got Reese's Pancakes. I overindulged (as always) and got The Wonderland: two pancakes, three scrambled eggs, hash brown casserole, biscuits and gravy, sausage patty, link sausage, AND two bacon strips. The star of the meal was, surprisingly, the biscuit! The sausage link was the best of the meats. The bacon was okay, but the sausage patty was hard and dry. The eggs were scrambled well, but the gravy was bland. The pancakes were a little too weak for me, but altogether it was a lovely meal. 

Reese's Pancakes

The Wonderland

We picked up the car from the hotel and made our way to Pigeon Forge to get a lay of the land before going back for Winterfest. Traffic there was peaceful, but just like Gatlinburg, traffic on the main drag was crazy busy. We drove through all of PF and came across a place called Skyland Ranch that had a huge mountain coaster, so of course we had to stop. We got talked into buying a 3-ride ticket for $33/person. We each rode once and then decided to come back to ride the other two times in the dark. 

Jazz Hands

The view is beautiful

The Island at Pigeon Forge is like Downtown Disney on meth... busy, discombobulated, with terrible traffic and crazy parking. We had to park a quarter-mile away and follow the Riverwalk back up to The Island. Everywhere was busy, but not claustrophobic like Gatlinburg. The only thing I ended up buying was some candy. All of the restaurants were too busy (90 minute waits!), so we left and, after some googling, settled on a place called Calhoun's. Hubby got a plate of chicken fingers. I got an order of ribs; they were too dry for my liking - I feel like they would have been tender and moist if I'd gotten them 2 hours before. The sauce was tasty. He definitely "won" this meal. 

Hand-breaded chicken fingers with fries

Half-Rack Ribs and fries (plated very sloppily)

We drove back to the hotel to grab a few extra layers, as well as my camera gear. The room was much warmer - thank god! They fixed the heater! I took advantage of the sunshine and took more photos of the gorgeous area behind the hotel, too. 

We left around 7:30 and headed back to Skyland for our two other coaster rides. The ride definitely seemed faster in the dark! 

The window sign at Gatlinburg Brewing Co. says
Our Pizza's 10" even when it's cold outside !

Then we went over to Patriot Park and walked the entire length of the Riverwalk to enjoy the Winterfest lights. so, honest review... we're spoiled by The Osborne Lights at Disney World; Pigeon Forge did great with what they had, but it wasn't super-impressive. We made our way back to the hotel so I could submerge my frozen bones in another hot bubble bath, and get a little packing done... we have to leave tomorrow!

You've been blessed by the Spitting Dick in the Snow

This vacation definitely wasn't what I was planning or expecting, but I'm so happy with everything we've done and I don't think that I could have actively planned this vacation. And that's how you know it's a good vacation!

On Wednesday, it was time to go home. We were up around 9, and packed up by 10. Since we'd taken the interstate in on Sunday, today was the day that we were going to drive south through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. But Garmin kept telling us we couldn't go that way because the road was closed...? We drove over that way anyway, and sure enough... it was closed, due to the ice and snow! 

One side is salted and clear

So we turned around and came back along 441, with a pitstop at Mad Dog's for some donuts, and then headed back to Interstate 40. 

Boston Cream, Maple Iced
Red Velvet, Devils Food Cake w/ Icing & Choco Chips
Maple Bacon, Dream Angel

And what a difference a few days make... the traffic was insane! There was a massive back-up on I-40 because of all the roadwork. It took what felt like forever before we got off the highway and made our way back to Tallulah Gorge to do that "hike" we couldn't do on Christmas Day. 

Why would this truck block like this? He was in the "Must Merge" lane

Shot from the Sunroof Selfie

The overlooks were very easy to get to... it wasn't a hike so much as a lovely walk with dozens of other people. I also didn't realize how close we were to the super-cool bridge that crossed over the Gorge! There were tons of stairs (about 1,000) that lead down to it, but they're grouped together with landing pads in the middle, so I kept going and resting, going and resting, each time telling myself to stop because I didn't have time to go all the way down. 

We didn't go any further than this!

We made it to Landing #20 before we quit. Oh, crap, then we had to turn around and climb back up all those stairs! I'm so old... 

Tallulah Falls

Photo Proof that he went to the edge! (Afraid of heights)

We picked up a few rocks from the ground on our way out, then drove to lunch/dinner at Cookout. I got a burger tray with a corn dog and cheese bites; the corn dog was perfection, the bites were good, but you didn't get very many. His fries were fresh and delicious. Afterward, we went through the drive-thru (yep, we're weird) and picked up two Peppermint Chip shakes... They were maybe 6/10 okay; full of chocolate chip sand those soft peppermint candies (the Mint Chip is much better, like Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream). 

Burger with Double Fries

Burger with a side of Corn Dog and Cheese Bites (yeah, that's all you get)

Peppermint Chip milkshake

We drove through a lot of backwoods yee-haw territory (I say that with love) back to Buc-ee's. I picked up a tee and sweatshirt for me, as well as stocked up on our favorite snacks, and a giant soda.  We still have hours to go before we get home, and I'm so tired of driving! I told hubby that I had to stop in Valdosta, just to wake up; because I know me, and I would play the "just one more exit" game and try to keep going. He put on his music (heavy metal, not my favorite) and joked that he wouldn't stop it until I pulled over in Valdosta. We got to Valdosta around midnight, stopped at a super-janky Raceway so I could pee, then got back on the road for the last leg of this adventure. 

We got home at about 1:30am and did a quick unload of the car. We gave the cat lots of snuggles while we unpacked the essentials then I face-planted into our deliciously snuggly bed and passed out! I've got so much to do tomorrow, but who cares... I need sleep!

So... Where Have I Been Lately?

I know, I know... I left you guys and haven't been around a while! I think my last post was the Bridge of Lions race report! I've just been keeping my head down, busting my butt at the gym, working on some home improvements, and running races. So, what have I been doing?

Well, no races in August - it's just too dang hot! But I doubled up on races in September, doing RunJax Labor Day 5k and a new race, Dreams Come True 5k, in Jacksonville. This one was fun, it benefitted the Dreams Come True organization, the First Coast's only locally-based organization dedicated to making dreams come true. It was a great race, with everyone encouraged to run in costumes, and there were "Cheer Squads" with entire themes, like a Princess Squad and a Pirate Squad. It was definitely a race I'd do again! Professionally, my long-time boss retired, and I was tasked with being a Shelter Manager during Hurricane Ian. 

In October, I did another new race, Whistling Death 5k, in Green Cove Springs, and I was not impressed with this one. Parking was great, and the medal was awesome, but the race itself was very boring, and messy. It ran along some Industrial Park streets, then into an old trail/service road. I didn't sign up for a trail race! Plus, this was both a 5k and a 10k, with the 10k being two loops of the course, so the fast runners in the front had to return back (swimming upstream, so to speak) and then also fight their way through the slower runners in the back. And there was no good swag, besides the medal; we got a scratchy unisex tech tee, and though there was a promised breakfast, there was only cold toast, burnt scrambled eggs, and fatty bacon ends left by the time I got there. I don't foresee doing this again, even for such a cool medal. Professionally, another long-time coworker retired, and between his and my boss' retirement, I acquired a large amount of new job responsibilities!

In November, another new race, the Wounded Warrior Project Carry Forward 5k. It felt more like an old-school March of Dimes walk, honestly. Kind of Race Lite... There was a start line. There were water stops. There was a finish line. We all got medals. But there were no timers, no official results, and pretty much 75% of the participants were walking. It was a great experience and I'll totally do it again next year, but this time I'll know it's more of a walk and not a RACE race. Also in November, I worked at my local Polling Precinct as a Ballot Scanner for the 2022 General Election (woo hoo, Governor DeSantis won by twenty points!!). My day started at 5:30am and ended around 9pm, but I love being able to serve my community (and getting paid $250 doesn't hurt either; right into the Travel Fund with that check!)

In December, I again ran Santa Suits on the Loose. It's such a fun race! I forgot my water bottle this year, so I ran without anything in my hands, which was weird.

Here at home, I've been busting my ass on a big home improvement project that I'll be sharing soon, both with you guys here, and with The Kiddo and The Mom when they come over for Christmas. I can't wait to show off all of my hard work!