Tennessee – Summary and Reflection

Visiting Tennessee was on our list-to-visit as it’s a potential move-to destination. Bailey visited with some of her friends earlier in 2024 and her inspiration was the foundation for much of Janet’s planning. Bailey made a PowerPoint showing us an itinerary to give us an idea what we could do. Janet got everyone to identify their preferences which included us splitting up a couple of times. The plan also included each couple preparing one breakfast and one dinner in each city. We had previously travelled through the state a couple of times, but the focus of this trip was to check out Gatlinburg and Nashville. We were not disappointed!

We chose to travel in two cars (our Honda Pilot and Kylie’s Honda CRV) as there were six of us travelling. We stayed 5 nights in an Airbnb at 732 Beanstalk on hills above Gatlinburg which advertised 3 bedrooms with 5 beds and 2 baths and 6 nights in an Airbnb at 960 Dalebrook Ln in Nashville’s suburbs which advertised 4 bedrooms, 5 beds, and 3 baths.

Day 0. 9 May: Driving to Gatlinburg. Drive ~1000 miles from home to 732 Beanstalk. Dinner at Junction 35 in Pigeon Forge before arriving at Airbnb.
GATLINBURG
Day 1. 10 May: Gatlinburg and Dolly. Enjoyed the sunrise and views of The Smokies from the deck; wandered around downtown Gatlinburg; dinner at Dolly Parton’s Stampede.
Day 2. 11 May: Birds, Anakeesta, and Bears. Enjoyed the deck again, especially the birds; spent the morning at Anakeesta; I grilled steaks for dinner which brought the neighborhood black bear to come begging at our deck! Returned to Anakeesta for sunset and to the Treetop Skywalk in the twilight.
Day 3. 12 May: Mother’s Day and More Bears. Started Mother’s Day with breakfast at Pancake Pantry at 7am to avoid the crowds and queues. Hiked to Laurel Falls in the Smokies. We planned to hike to Grotto Falls but could not find parking so drove the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, stopping at a few points. Enjoyed our picnic lunch at The Place of A Thousand Drips, though the smell attracted another bear! Played Hillbilly Golf, enjoyed a Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta made by Jett and Bailey, and played dominoes.
Day 4. 13 May: Another Waterfall and Dollywood. Bailey and Jett enjoyed the day at Dollywood. The rest of us enjoyed heading back to Grotto Falls, having worked out a parking strategy, and then went go-carting. Kylie and Samuel fixed curry for dinner, and all six of us headed back to Hillbilly Gold for a round in the dark.
NASHVILLE
Day 5. 14 May: Welcome to Nashville. Grabbed breakfast at Mama’s Farmhouse in Pigeon Forge en-route to Nashville. Did a scavenger hunt in downtown Nashville to check out the main sites and get our bearings before eating Nashville Hot Chicken at the Assembly Food Hall. Checked out Franklin and the Old Natchez Trace before arriving at our Airbnb in East Nashville. Janet prepared fine taco salad and nachos, using up leftovers.
Day 6. 15 May: The Grand Ole Opry and more. We took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Grand Ole Opry and found some geocaches in the Shelby Bottom nature preserve where the cicadas were screaming. We dined on the General Jackson while cruising the Cumberland River and watching a show recognizing the history of country music.
Day 7. 16 May: Nashville Biscuits, Murals, and The Listening Room. We all enjoyed breakfast at Biscuit Love in The Gulch before checking out a few of Nashville’s many murals. Bailey and Jett checked out the Country Music Hall of Fame while the rest of us walked across the Shelby Street pedestrian bridge and checked out other areas such as Printers’ Alley. All of us headed out to an owl sanctuary in suburban Brentwood before enjoying listening to songwriters showcasing their famous songs while we ate at the Listening Room Cafe.
Day 8. 17 May. Goo Goo and The Grand Ole Opry. We made our own chocolate bars at the Goo Goo Chocolate Company before heading back to The Gulch to enjoy a focaccia pizza at Vito Focaccia. After an early dinner of chicken with gnocchi, courtesy of Jett and Bailey, we headed to a show at The Grand Ole Opry.
Day 9. 18 May. Horses and a Sunset. After breakfast at the Frothy Monkey, we headed back toward Franklin for horse-riding with Natchez Trace Trailrides. We enjoyed Kylie and Samuel’s shrimp tacos before a round of Hand and Foot (card game). I took some drone photos at sunset.
Day 10&11. 19&20 May. Good Bye Nashville Until Next Time. We had a chill day visiting Nashville’s Farmer’s Market, the Bicentennial Mall, and the Greek Parthenon replica. Bailey and Jett headed to a friend’s wedding about an hour away, while the rest of us relaxed, getting ready for a 3 am start to drive back to Houston, which was recovering from a major storm that had left 1 million people without power.

Favorite moments

We all enjoyed everything we did. All the activities we did were very well organized, and each couple preparing breakfasts and dinners was a highlight. The itinerary was less full than other trips (thanks to Janet!) which allowed us to breathe a bit more.

In Gatlinburg, the black bear visiting us for dinner was voted favorite our favorite experience.

Even though Gatlinburg was touristy, we enjoyed wandering around the town and heading up the mountain to Anakeesta. Dolly Parton’s Stampede was well organized. The view from our Airbnb was quite special.

The logistics worked well too. We wanted everyone to have their own bed, but one of the guys got the sofa bed in one of the living rooms, which we like to avoid. The drive up to the Airbnb is a very windy road which is interesting in the dark… The local grocery store was great.

A quick note on black bears is worthwhile. There are many around Gatlinburg. It is very rare that they attack humans (in contrast to Grizzly or Brown Bears, which are not found in this area). They are inquisitive, and if they get used to associating humans with food, they will go looking for food around humans, probably causing trouble and needing to be euthanized. Mothers will protect their young. They are a lot of fun to watch, should not be approached, and park rangers advise that you prevent bears coming to you by screaming and shouting at them rather than running away!

In Nashville, the Grand Ole Opry (both the show and the backstage tour) and The Listening Room Cafe were favorite evenings. Making our own Goo Goo clusters was also a special time.

Reflection

This was a fine trip from many perspectives and I wouldn’t change any aspect of it. I started this post by mentioning the area is somewhere we might move to, and it remains on that list. We very much enjoyed the vibe of the areas we visited. Gatlinburg was a bit too touristy for our liking, and Janet is uncomfortable with too many bears around! Nashville was great, but we likely want to live somewhere more rural, closer to countryside. Janet already has her house plans picked out with a wrap-around porch. I’d love for our property to back onto public lands like a National Forest. We want a view so we enjoy watching the sunrise with our coffee. We shall see!

This page is part of our Tennessee set of posts.