Gatlinburg!

Yeh for our trip to Gatlinburg! We really had a great time! It was so nice to relax and enjoy the wilderness (ha, kidding.) But it was really was nice up there! Brian and Susan are such a fun couple to hang out with and I couldn't imagine better traveling partners. And perk, Brian drives like a maniac...which means we got there super fast! I didn't know before we left, but my small digital camera was dead, so I (really, Josie) lugged around the big canon all week. But got some really awesome photos.

(side note: all photos were taken in manual with adjusted ISO, f stop and shutter speed)

Our view from the cabin. That's right, we were on top of the world. If you look closely, you can see China.

I think ours was the one at the top. And let me tell you, going up that mountain with Brian's cray cray driving was OOC.

Me. Of course sweet Josie didn't know how to adjust the light at first.

He learned by day 2 of the trip.

Joey pondering life. I bet he was thinking about how much he loves his wife. Ha!

And meet Chewie. One of the dogs that came with us. Four pounds of pure fury! Chewie is also pondering life. But she is pondering how she can get out the door without her leash on. Chew was my snuggle buddy the whole trip. And now we are back home, she doesn't want anything to do with me. Silly pup!

Up next, we have our first hike. Rainbow Falls. Now, those mountain people are somewhat liars. They said this trail was 2.7 miles up and 2.7 miles down. UPHILL, mountain trail. Well about halfway up (and me gasping for air), we still had 2 hours left to go. 2 HOURS, people. This was not ok. Susan was also feeling the difference bt Mississippi miles and mountain miles. I came up with a formula to demonstrate.

1 MS mile = 3.445 mountain miles. Really? Needless to say, we did not make it up to see Rainbow Falls. I bet those falls were ugly, anyways. Stupid mountain liars.

Our fearless leader. My sweetness. (Notice the Canon bag. We didn't think of bringing a backpack like Brian and Susan, so we used the camera bag for our stuff. Inventive, those Lindleys)

The mountain woman.

(not sure why this picture is over to the left).  Its Joey and Susan enjoying the rocks.

Sweet couple.

Sweet couple, Brian and Susan!

Another picture. Trying to not slide down the rock. Pretty baby waterfall behind us.

Up next, we have Cape's Cove. A scenic 2 hour drive through the wilderness and national park. This is where the wild things live!

Ok, this is a dark picture, but if you look closely, you can see a HUGE buck looking straight at me. This spread was so wide ( and yes, that is deer lingo). The picture is dark bc I got nervous and forgot to adjust my shutter speed.

A babbling stream (isn't that the right saying?)

This is a pretty waterfall on the drive back in. So wilderness-like!

Joey. He's cute.

Those Lindleys.

Next, the Ripley's Aquarium. I got really camera happy at this event bc I had been slacking the whole week with pictures. Sorry for the overload, and I won't comment on every photo.

Seahorse. These remind me of my childhood bc Trish had dried seahorses in a bowl. Random, Trish! Why did you want dried seahorses? Was that some weird 80's decorations?

Shark attack!

Jellyfish. Those are some big ones!

Is that Nemo?

Me and Susan!

Lindleys love pinguins. Joey was really embarrassed to take part in this picture.

This pinguin's name was Fred, I think. They all had tags with their name.

Last event pictured was Laurel Falls (I think that's the name). This hike was MUCH easier than that loser Rainbow Falls. It was 1 mile up and 1 mile down with a paved trail. This citygirl needs a paved trail. But it did have some steep cliffs, where someone could just fall off and totally die. Joey kept pushing me into the mountain so I wouldn't get close.

Our group. We are fun! Funny story, my family vacationed in Gatlinburg when I was little, and I fell into this very same waterfall. And I remember exactly what I was wearing. It may or may not have involved tie dye. Don't judge.

Things that we did that were not pictured:

*Dixie Stampede. So fun! You must do this if you come here!
*Flap Jacks Pancakes. Some of the best pancakes around...maybe better that IHOP.

*Outlet mall

*Beef jerky store (yummo!)

*Sky Lift up the mountain (Joey LOVED this)

It really was a great trip! Lots of great memories!

Disclaimer from the pictures: I deemed it necessary to eat my way through Tennessee, so I've got a chubby face. But all that food was fantastic!!

Have a great weekend!