Couple’s Getaway

Couple’s Vacation- Age: Mid 20’s

Condo: The Sweet Magnolia at River Place Resort

Day One

What did you do? We arrived at our condo in the evening, so this day only consisted of settling into the condo and dinner plans. We decided to eat at Smokey Mountain Brewery, which had great service, excellent drinks, and their calzone’s are huge!

What was your favorite part of the day? Arriving at The Sweet Magnolia! This condo is very welcoming, beautifully decorated, and the view can’t be beat!

Tips/Wish I would have known: N/A

Day Two

What did you do?  First thing in the morning we went to breakfast at the Pancake Pantry. The pancakes here are delightful! After breakfast we did a little shopping in The Village, which is full of super cute shops! We then did some tastings at the Tennessee Cider Co. and Little Bear Winery, which both had a wonderful selection! We were not disappointed! At noon we had a reservation for ziplining at Anakeesta. The ziplining was a ton of fun and the guides were so funny! After ziplining we rode the alpine coaster there in Anakeesta, and while in line we saw a bear! We also enjoyed a nice drink in the beer garden overlooking the mountains. That evening we went to Junction 35 for dinner. The salmon was incredible, and they had a large selection of moonshine and whiskey to choose from when doing their tasting.

What was your favorite part of the day? Ziplining at Anakeesta was a blast, something we would definitely do again! We also really enjoyed doing the different tastings in Gatlinburg.

Tips/Wish I would have known: Finding parking in downtown Gatlinburg can be insane, so if you don’t want to deal with the headache definitely arrive early in the morning! Pancake Pantry is typically busy, but the service is very fast so we didn’t feel as though the wait was too long.

Day Three

What did you do? We started with breakfast at The Apple Barn, which was super convenient as it was right down the road from our condo. The apple muffins and apple fritters there are the best part of the meal, especially with the homemade apple butter then give you! After eating we went shopping at their general store, did a tasting at the Apple Barn Cider House, and a tasting at the Apple Barn Winery. The ciders are wonderful, we bought several to bring home! We had bought tickets for the Alcatraz Crime Museum before the trip, so once we were finished at The Apple Barn we left for Pigeon Forge. The crime museum was very interesting, and had exhibits from the era of cowboys to John Wayne Gacy to 9/11. After the crime museum we ventured into The Island and had some appetizers at Timberwood Grill. We followed that up with a moonshine tasting at Ole Smokey Moonshine Distillery, a wine tasting at Bootleggers Winery, and we had a couple of drinks at Yee-Haw Brewing Company. We then ended the night with a ride on The Great Smoky Mountains Wheel (Ferris wheel) which gave you a beautiful view of Pigeon Forge. We then went and had dinner at Johnny Carino’s, which had really great Italian food!

What was your favorite part of the day? We really enjoyed the Alcatraz Crime Museum, as we are both true crime fans. The exhibits held a ton of information, you got to move through at your own pace, and they had some really unique articles on display.

Tips/Wish I would have known: We spent several hours at the crime museum, as there was a ton of information and numerous exhibits. If you’re the type of person who likes to read everything while at a museum, definitely block off at least 2 hours for this museum.

Day 4

What did you do? We had to pack up and head out this morning, but we did manage to swing by Honeybee Coffee Co. before hitting the road. It’s a very cute coffee shop, with a lot of options!

What was your favorite part of the day? Having to leave was quite a bummer, but reminiscing on the trip and everything we had done over the past few days made the day enjoyable!

Tips/Wish I would have known: Leaving is never easy, especially when leaving a place as beautiful as Gatlinburg!