Inspire Traveling Part IV

If I could be a full-time travel blogger--where I would travel around the world, explore new places, and document my thoughts for my readers--I think I would be very content with my life. But I'm not, so I will have to settle for going on one or two vacations every year.

I enjoy the way I feel when I'm on vacation. I'm away from work and I don't have to fulfill my responsibilities involved with my job--for a week, that is. I travel to an exciting place, explore new areas, and I don't have to be on a schedule. I unplug from social media and my emails, and I simply relax. 

That's what happened last week when I went on vacation to two places--Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, to explore the Smoky Mountains, and to Atlanta, Georgia, to visit my brother. It was a week jam-packed with so many adventures, I wasn't sure how I was going to document it in this blog post, but I'm going to try.

Let's start at the beginning: the Smoky Mountains. My family has always loved vacationing in the Smoky Mountains, so it broke our hearts when we heard about the devastating wildfires in 2016. Homes and businesses were destroyed, and precious lives were lost. We were hesitant to return to the Smoky Mountains--because we didn't know what to expect. We didn't know what the mountains looked like after the fires.

But everything is okay. I was pleasantly surprised to see the Smoky Mountains were still as gorgeous as ever. While the tops of some of the trees were still burnt and dead (and probably will forever be dead), the mountains are recovering.

They're like people. They were broken and destroyed. They're still recovering, even after two years. But, despite all of this, they are still so beautiful and they will one day be okay. I'm confident in that.

The gorgeous Smoky Mountains. I made this photo collage using PicMonkey (photo/Kasy Long).

I ate a lot of delicious food on this trip. Calories don't count on vacation, right? Yeah, that's what I kept telling myself. On our first night, we dined at The Old Mill Restaurant, a country restaurant that serves some of the best food I have ever had the pleasure of eating. You take a step back in time to the "good old days," and the menu offers the best comfort food.

The Old Mill Restaurant (photo/Kasy Long).

My mouth was watering at the restaurant's specialty corn fritters and corn chowder. Seriously, I could have had an entire basket of the corn fritters to myself and I would have been over-the-moon happy. The fritters are warm and melt in your mouth, satisfying every taste bud. And the corn chowder? Yum, yum! It's creamy, sweet, and it's the best compliment to the corn fritters. The two go hand-in-hand--offering the best appetizer possible.

The corn fritters and corn chowder. Yum! (photo/Kasy Long)

Finally, for the main course, I ordered fried chicken tenders. The restaurant operates as a "family-style dinner," which means your table is served one bowl of mashed potatoes, green beans, and dinner rolls to share with your family. It's like you're right at home. I think when you're in the South, you have to order fried chicken, and this meal was definitely one of the best meals I've ever had.

The main course: fried chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, and green beans (photo/Kasy Long).

To top it all off, I enjoyed chocolate cake for dessert. Again, calories don't count during vacation. I'll keep telling myself that to make me feel better. But the chocolate cake was moist and so rich. I couldn't finish my slice, but that's okay. By the end of the meal, I was so full, but it was worth it. I had looked forward to The Old Mill Restaurant for weeks, and I'm pleased to say the restaurant lived up to my taste bud's expectations. It fulfilled my food cravings.

Dessert (photo/Kasy Long)

Now, if only I knew how to bake corn fritters myself...

The Old Mill Restaurant (photo/Dale Long).

We sat by the window, where we could see a beautiful stream
(photo/Kasy Long).

The next night brought us to another family favorite: The Peddler Steakhouse. If you love steak, you'll love this restaurant. Our table was next to the window, which offered us a gorgeous view of a stream in the mountains.

One unique feature of the restaurant is that a meat carver comes to your table to take our orders. If you order a steak, he carves the meat right in front of you. This is what I imagine happens at elite New York City restaurants. But I'm from the Midwest, and I'm not accustomed to the "fancy" life.

Let's talk about the food for a second. One word: Delicious. I ordered a grilled chicken breast with a baked potato. The chicken was juicy and tender, and a roasted pineapple was on top. The juices from the pineapple mixed with the natural juices from the chicken, providing a sweet sensation I wasn't expecting.

My main course: Grilled chicken breast with a baked potato (photo/Kasy Long).

And to top it all off, my sister and I shared a blonde brownie with ice cream. Oh, my gosh...Enough said, right? The brownie was "melt-in-your-mouth" delicious. It was warm, moist, rich, and everything you want in a good dessert. It was the perfect ending to a delicious meal in the Smoky Mountains.

This was one of the best brownies I have ever had! (photo/Kasy Long)

Our trip to Pigeon Forge concluded with a visit to the Hollywood Wax Museum. As you might remember, I visited a wax museum during my vacation to Nashville, Tennessee this summer (documented here). Before this summer, I have never been to a wax museum. I had no idea they were so much fun!

I especially loved this museum as an Old Hollywood fan. I saw and interacted with the wax figures of my favorite stars and characters--Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, Barbara Eden, and of course, Lucille Ball (dressed up as Lucy Ricardo from I Love Lucy). It was fun to take pictures with the figures! If you're a movie fan, like me, then this is one museum you need to visit.

It was fun to pose with my favorite stars (photo/Kasy Long).

Our vacation concluded by traveling to Atlanta, Georgia (well, north of Atlanta), to visit my brother, who works as the Sports Information Director at an elite college. It felt so nice to be reunited, and this was the first time I visited his place since he moved last summer.

Reunited and it feels so good! (photo/Kasy Long)

It felt so nice to have the family back together again--because family really is the most important thing in this world. There are very few times when we're all together in one place, now that we're all grown up and living in different places. So, that's why we savor these moments.

It's during these times when we laugh the most, share the best stories, and create memories that will last a lifetime. It's truly the best, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Take time out of your busy schedules to travel. Go explore new places. Go have fun and unplug from society for a week. Go travel and don't have any cares in the world. Just simply relax and have fun. We only have one life. Let's remember to make the most of it.

I'm already planning my next vacation.

-KJL-