moonshine. and the moon shining.

I got all nostalgic about the mountains and seeing Lila playing in the river and it taking me back to my days of tubing down the French Broad as a camp counselor...and then I totally forgot to write about the rest of our weekend in Gatlinburg! I guess that is what happens when you have 3 major events at work in nine days. And then your brain dies. 

We had a great Labor Day weekend trip to Gatlinburg, TN with Brian's parents, brother and grandmother. I had never been to Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge, so I was excited to see what all the fuss was about. And it meant I got to spend at least 20 minutes of the 6 hour drive reading Brian fun facts about Dolly Parton (Pigeon Forge's most famous native) off Wikipedia on my phone. Did you know she has been married for over 45 years and her husband has only seen her perform in public once because he is so shy and does not like to be in the spotlight? Oh, and she has big boobs. 

Photo Credit

The 6 hour drive with a toddler? Not so much. My personal limit is five hours in the car and this was pushing it. Especially when Lila decided to go on nap strike so she felt all the pressure changes as we drove through the mountains. Poor little one just cried and cried because her ears hurt. I was never so glad to get her out of the car and run around. 

We had an awesome time exploring the Gatlinburg area, the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and Pigeon Forge. Some of our favorite moments...

The Adorable Apple Barn, a cute apple orchard, store, bakery etc. that sells anything apple you can think of. We stocked up on apple pancake mix, apple butter and enjoyed some delicious apple cinnamon homemade ice cream. Lila enjoyed her nap. 

We also had the whole family down at the river in Great Smokey Mountains National park for a picnic and enjoying the amazing cool mountain air. 

Tennessee is a lot cooler than North Carolina and allows the sale of moonshine. Or more importantly, the tasting of moonshine. It was hilarious to watch the whole family taking mini-shots (imagine tiny communion cups filled with high alcohol content burning moonshine) as they all hopped around from the shock of the first taste. And it was obviously my first taste since responsible mothers have never taken shots out of unlabeled mason jars full of moonshine at fraternity parties. Obviously not. BTW: the peach moonshine was our favorite. 

We also had lots of fun being silly together and spending time watching Lila splash in big rain puddles and not caring about staying clean, enjoying the beautiful sunshine and beautiful moon beams on the mountain tops, and making memories together. Vacays are just the thing you need some time!

If we took a holiday
Took some time to celebrate
Just one day out of life
It would be, it would be so nice

~"Holiday" by Madonna