It all started by me winning a 3 day 2 night stay at any Westgate Resorts last year. Thankfully Westgate has a resort in Tennesse, so that’s where I decided to go because of the proximity to the Smoky Mountains. And that’s how this trip begun. Josh and I took a full weekend off in May and made our road trip to one of the most visited National Parks in the US. It took us about 10hrs to reach our destination that included 3 stops for bathrooms and snack breaks. I love the outdoors, it’s where I feel most happy. Visiting this place has been at the top of my bucket list for a long time, so I knew that this trip was going to be amazing. It was an honor to be able to photograph this beautiful place. 
Since our trip was short to only 3 days we had to decide on where to go, knowing me I wanted to do everything but the time was not enough. The first night we stayed in Gatlinburg a small city with lots of restaurant, attractions, entertainment and souvenir shops. Josh and I joked around that this place looked just like International Dr., Orlando FL. One of the best parts of this small town is all the breweries and distilleries and the free samples of moonshine you can get. Just kidding, I’m not an alcoholic but it was fun to try so many flavors of moonshine. The first night was so much fun.
The next morning we went to Laurel Falls. It’s only a one mile hike. It was just beautiful I couldn’t believe I was at the Smoky Mountains. We also went to the Noah “Bud” Ogle Place, a cabin from the first settlers. It’s incredible that this cabin is still standing it’s been preserved by the National Park. We also drove through the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. It consists of a very narrow street through the mountains with scenic views of the beautiful Smokys. Josh was having fun driving like we were on a race, taking sharp turns like we were on fast and the furious. Until we would catch to a car and Josh would have to start driving like a real person. 
That same night after all the fun at the Roaring Fork we went to the Sky Lift. It was my first time getting on one of this things and it was so much fun and scary at the same time. They were not too secured only a little bar surrounded you and stopped you from falling to your death, but we made it to the top and it had the most amazing view of Gatlingburg and the stunning mountains. That same night we went to another moonshine distillery like I said before we are not alcoholics, but who doesn’t like free samples of the best moonshine in town.
The next morning Josh had a surprise for me, he took me horseback riding. It was my first time riding a horse on my own. It was an awesome experience. We took the 1hr 1/2 route and it was so worth it we saw beautiful scenic views and we just enjoyed nature. We also saw a black bear which was pretty awesome. Unfortunately I don’t have pictures of the bear but it’s all in my photographic memory. due to all that horseback riding my legs were soar for about three days and for a few minutes after getting off the horse I walked like a real cowboy (lol). That same day our adventure followed to the Grotto Falls. It was a 3 mile hike to this beautiful fall. This is the only natural fall at the park that you can walk behind it. There were many salamanders on the rocks close to the water, I thought they were disgusting but “hey” that’s nature. 
The next morning our last day in Tennessee we woke up around 4am because we were planning on watching the sunrise from Clingmans Dome. In those early hours of the morning there is so much fog that it was very difficult to drive through. It took us a good hour to get to Clingmans Dome then we hiked the paved road for about a mile to the top of the actual Dome itself. It was so cold up there about 40 degrees and I had a very thin jacked that didn’t keep me warm at all. Once at the top all I could see was fog. To be honest I thought that I wasn’t gonna be able to see the sunrise because it was already close to the sunrise time at the Smokys and nothing was clear. I didn’t loose hope and kept searching for some clear view and soon enough the fog cleared out a bit and I saw a bit of orange in the sky, it was the most beautiful view. After a couple of minutes the sun started rising and I was speechless. The view was breathtaking , the clouds were above the mountains and you can see them moving like a big sea. It was just amazing it was the perfect ending to our small vacation.
12hrs later we were back in Florida.
Thanks for reading. Cheer! to traveling.
*MBerri*
MBerri 