Anniversary Trip: Smoky Mountains

After we left Nashville and Lynchburg, Dan and I drove to the town of Pigeon Forge! It was... interesting. We weren't huge fans of the town itself, but the scenery nearby? Definitely worth going for. We have been missing Colorado like crazy for the beautiful mountains... and while the Smokies aren't quote the Rockies, it was just what we needed!

We spent most of an entire day driving through the mountains and stopping every once in a while to hike around, once up a gigantic hill that I thought was going to kill me - yes, pre-pregnant Janelle would have made fun of me. Ugh. But the hike was worth it for the views!

I'll stop talking now and just let the pictures finish...

Have you been to the Smoky Mountains?
Are you a mountain person like me?


    

Anniversary Trip: Lynchburg, Tennessee

After we left Nashville on Saturday morning, Dan and I made the hour-long trek to Lynchburg, TN. It's a super small town, but I bet each and every one of you has heard of it before. Why? It's home of the world famous Jack Daniel's Whiskey Distillery. Even if you're not a whiskey drinker, I'm sure you've seen their notorious black label with white writing that proclaims Lynchburg as its home.

Anyway, the tour was a lot of fun. We went on the tasting tour, but of course, I didn't taste anything... for two reasons. 1) I'm six months pregnant, so that would be an obvious no-no... and 2) I hate whiskey. You see, I used to love it... until I played bar-golf in college with my (co-ed) fraternity. I had a VERY rough break-up with Mr. Jack that night, and let's just say that it's the only time I've EVER gotten sick from drinking. Bad memories right there.

But Dan loves the stuff, and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to see where it's made! We had a lot of fun, and Dan got a little buzz going because he got all of my samples too.

This area is what made Jack Daniel purchase the location for his distillery in the first place. All of the whiskey made by the company comes from water found in this very spot. Crazy, huh?

Our tour guide told us that Jack Daniel was only 5'2", and I personally think that's why he never got married. This statue is called "Jack on the rocks" - get it? 

This is the actual safe that Mr. Jack used... and it's what killed him. One morning, he got to his office super early, and he couldn't get the safe open. He kicked it really hard, and what do you know? He broke his toe. It eventually became gangrenous, and doctors amputated it. He was still infected, so they took off his foot too. And then the bottom part of his leg. Ultimately, they removed his entire leg, but he ended up dying of blood poisoning anyway. 

This is how many bottles of whiskey come from each barrel - I'm impressed! 

Have you ever been to Lynchburg or toured the JD distillery?
Do you like whiskey?


    

Anniversary Trip: Nashville, Tennessee

The weekend before our anniversary was Memorial Day Weekend, and Dan had Friday AND Monday off from classes. Because of that, we decided to take our trip one weekend too soon, and it worked out really well having those extra two days!

We were able to leave Dayton at 5:00 on Thursday, and we made it to Nashville that night! It was a long night of driving (especially with traffic through Cincinnati - yuck!), but we're glad we had all day Friday to explore the city.

We started off by checking out the Country Music Hall of Fame, of course! We had a lot of fun wandering around, and it definitely took us a few hours to get through the entire place.

It was really cool seeing the whole Alan Jackson display. He was my very first concert. My dad picked me up from Kindergarten and took me, and I have wonderful memories from that night. I even had a t-shirt with the same picture of Alan water-skiing! So fun!

My mom told me to be on the lookout for Luke Bryan... so when I saw this big sign, I knew I had to take a selfie for her! She thinks I'm way too much of a smart-ass, but I wonder if she ever wonders where I got it...

After the Country Music Hall of Fame, we needed some lunch! We found a Tennessee BBQ place that would really good - though, I wouldn't say it's better than the best KC BBQ! I loved that they had banana pudding for a side dish option, though - you don't see that where I come from, and it was DELICIOUS!

After lunch, we met up with our friend Megan from college. She lives in Nashville with her boyfriend now, and it was great to hang out for a day! The bad news? The only picture we all took was a Snapchat to another friend... so I don't actually have photographic proof that we saw each other. The good news? She won free tickets to the Grand Ole Opry that night and couldn't go... so she gave them to Dan and me! Woohoo!

So off we went to the Grand Ole Opry... something I had only seen on TV with my great grandparents when I was much, much younger. It didn't disappoint, though - we had a BLAST! Our seats were AMAZING, and the announcer for the commercials in between acts was just as entertaining as the music. I would DEFINITELY go back if we had the opportunity!

On Saturday morning, we got up, ate breakfast, and headed toward Lynchburg... but that's a post for another day! 

Have you ever been to Nashville?

What's your favorite thing to do there?