meme

My mom’s family lives in Knoxville, Tennessee and we try to visit at least once a year.  Last week we spent our Spring Break traveling to the town and I thought it would make the perfect post to share things we did.  So if you ever visit Knoxville, here are ten things you must do while you are there.

1. Ripley’s Aquarium – We love visiting aquariums.  The one in Gatlinburg is about 45 minutes from Knoxville.  There is an area where the kids can pet Sting Rays and Horseshoe Crabs.  There is an area that you walk through that is an aquarium tunnel filled with various fishes and sharks that seem to be swimming around you.  It’s pretty neat.  I was able to take photos of the sharks from underneath them which is a view you don’t normally see.  This was Noah’s favorite part of the trip.
2. Pigeon Forge – When driving from Knoxville to Gatlinburg up into the Smoky Mountains you drive through Pigeon Forge.  There are a million things to do in Pigeon Forge, it’s basically a tourist attraction filled town.  The little kids love riding rides at various amusement centers.  When driving down one long strip you pass Go Kart tracks (which the big kids loved), kiddie rides, laser tag and even arcades.  If the weather is nice you can stop and do fun things outdoors or you can find amusement inside if it’s raining.
3. Bungee Sling Shot or Bungee Jumping - Several places in Pigeon Forge offer bungee jumping, bungee swinging and even a bungee sling shot that my oldest and her cousin did.  It was pretty crazy but they thought it was exciting.
4. Indoor Water Parks -  There are two indoor water parks in the Smoky Mountains.  We stayed two nights at the Wild Bear Falls Westgate Resort in a gorgeous cabin.  It was a very nice one bedroom with full size living room that included a pull out couch, full size kitchen where we were able to fixed dinner one night and a hot tub that was indoors.  The rate was reasonable as well.  The kids loved the water park, especially the lazy river and big water slides.  Even though it rained one day of our trip they got to enjoy swimming indoors.  The other indoor water park that we heard was nice is called The Wilderness at the Smokies. [click to continue…]

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