After our first trip to Tennessee, we said we would be back. And we sure did this past January, but it was met with a few bumps on the road. Literally, this trip almost didn’t happen.

Let me start in the beginning, we got to the airport right on time. With a couple of hours before our departure time. To get situated, let the girls eat and not feel in such a rush. As we got to our gate, they immediately changed it. “That’s fine”, I thought, we just need to walk over to the other gate. After finding our new gate, we decided it was time to get the girls something to eat. Though the only restaurant that was not closed was Burger King and the line was LONG. Once again, I repeated “That’s fine. We made it in time and the girls are watching their shows on their tablet.” Shortly after what felt like 5 minutes, I get a text from Rob saying, “They canceled our flight.” I responded back with “Stop, playing. We just got here, and we are early. Don’t play with me.” As I was waiting in line to get the food, a general announcement came over the speaker. “Flight to Nashville, Tennessee your flight has been canceled. Please make your way to customer service.” My jaw dropped as I grabbed the food and made my way to Rob and the girls. My appetite had left.

“What do we do?” I muttered quietly to Rob. I can tell he was frazzled. He didn’t respond. I tried to remain positive and not show my emotions in front of the girls as they were so excited to be going back to Tennessee. Rob texted me and said, “Let’s go home.” I quickly responded back with “No, we are here. We must find another way.” He figured out why the flight was canceled. He told me, “They canceled it because there is a storm all over the area.” My mind went quickly to the movie, The Devil Wears Prada. Remember, when Miranda calls Emily and says “My flight has been cancelled. It’s some absurd weather problem. I need to get home tonight.” But there was nothing flying out because of the weather. I felt like Miranda but instead of saying “It’s just drizzling.” I said, “But it’s SUNNY!” I laugh at myself now. But at that moment, it felt worse. I asked Rob if there was another flight at any other airline as he searched for that, I looked at the United States Map.

Rob quickly looked at me and said, “ Most flights have been delayed or canceled. The airline we were with has nothing flying in or out of Tennessee.” I felt horrible. He had planned this trip months before. I then reopened my phone to the United States Map. “Ok, if not Tennessee. Where else can we go?” I said to myself. “NORTH CAROLINA.” Popped straight in front of me. “Ok now I know where to go, now I need to find the closest airport near the border of Tennessee. Got it! Charlotte, North Carolina.” Once again, I said to myself “That’s fine. We get a car rental drive to our original destination, Asheville. It was not Nashville as it was the only flight, we had available to go to from Fort Lauderdale. It’s the exact time we had originally to drive from Nashville to Asheville now It would be Charlotte, NC to Asheville, TN.” I then Googled to see if there were any flights with our current airline and they did. I told Rob quickly to check.

He was able to get the last 4 remaining tickets! WOOOOO! The relief left my shoulders. But soon there would be another hurdle.

Rob refreshed his tickets on his phone. He quickly looked over at me and said, “I don’t see them no more. I don’t see the change to North Carolina. It says to go to Customer Service.” My heart dropped. We had past customer service on our way into the airport and the line was long and the agents looked frustrated. Once he said that to me, I mentally prepared myself to go home. But then, two agents appeared at the gate we were waiting for. Rob quickly got up and asked them questions. Thankfully, the agent helping rob was a life saver! He was able to fix the tickets and print them for us. I can finally breathe. “North Carolina, here we come!” I said to myself.

We made our way to the other side of the airport to our new destination gate. We sat, and I grabbed a celebratory drink for Rob and I. Beer! The time went by fast, the sun quickly disappeared, and it became night. Rob then looks at me and says, “There’s been a delay to the flight.” At this point, I just really thought the universe didn’t want us to go. So, I left it alone. I said “Ok. I really hope they don’t cancel. It’s a different state.” My anxiety came back, but I tried not to show it. The lady at the new gate made an announcement over the speaker. “Here we go again. Please don’t cancel.” I said to myself. “Good evening, there has been a delay with the crew. They are flying out from Tampa and should be arriving soon.” I let out a huge sigh of relief.

The crew arrived an hour later, we grabbed our bags and made our way to the plane. You should’ve seen the smiles on our faces! You know the ones that hurt! Yup, those were ours. We were gratefully thankful to be going on our way to Tennessee. Without the girls knowing all the drama that had just happened to us of course.

Made it to Charlotte North Carolina at 12am, we were starving. Ran to get our rental car and made our way to the hotel, which was only a 7-minute drive. Only to find out that there was nothing around to eat. Once we dropped our bags we headed to the nearest fast food, Mcdonalds.  It was the only place open at that time. I only heard about red eye flights but never have I felt so drained from a flight until we sat in that line waiting for our food. We were exhausted. We were given our food till 1:30 AM. The poor manager was the only person working in the kitchen and the register. We headed back to the hotel to eat, shower and sleep.

The next day was bright and early as we had to drive 3 hours, go to Walmart and get all the necessary food and supplies because we were heading to a cabin up the mountain. Our first one as a matter of fact. You are probably wondering why Walmart and nothing closer? There was only a general store that closes before 5PM. We also thought we wouldn’t be able to get all the items we needed for the girls and that it could cost more due to the convenience and location.

We got to Walmart in time but now I had to rush in and hurry out. You may be wondering why? Well, if you haven’t been to Tennessee, I can tell you it is not ideal to drive at night because there’s no light post. There are many hidden curves, hills, one-way streets and if you don’t know the area I wouldn’t recommend driving at night, it is PITCH BLACK. Also, most deliveries are not made to drive up a secluded cabin, especially at night. As I got out of Walmart, I could see the sun was setting. It was time to go.

We did not beat the sun; it became dark once we got near to the cabin. We passed a pond and up the hill we went. My stomach was in knots, one wrong move and you can seriously be off a cliff. We don’t have inclined hills in Florida. But Rob was calm and steady as he always is while driving. I had my phone recording. We were going up a high inclined hill, imagine it as you were going up on a roller coaster. Then it became road, ok we were good until the GPS announced, “Your destination is on the left.” After we passed it on the one-way street. My stomach had turned. Rob must now try to reverse and make a 3-point turn to go down a steep hill into the cabin. We were all quiet. As he was turning in the car felt like it was going off the cliff. We went back to the rollercoaster position in the car then down we went. We had finally made it, once we got out of the car, we noticed the big hill we had just conquered. What a journey.

The next day, we woke up to a beautiful view out on the balcony of our cabin. The weather was perfect to explore. We did Alpine Coaster in Pigeon Forge with the girls. This is a mile long rollercoaster through the mountain and is the longest one in the United States. You can go as fast as you want or slow down the cart as you have control of the brakes, just make sure there’s no other cart around. Not going to lie, I was very nervous at first. The experience is one I won’t forget; the ride is set atop of the mountain where the air was so fresh. The weather was a perfect 38 and the sun was out.  I would truly recommend this. We then had lunch at Smokey Mountain Brewery. Rob selected this place, and it was a great choice. Inside you can view the microbrewery. Good food and awesome service. We then went next door to The Tower Shops at the Mountain Mile. The girls played around and grabbed a dessert. Out of all the things this place had and how cold it was outside, they decided on ice cream. Good thing there was a firepit and we sat next to it and relaxed with the great views of the Great Smoky Mountains. We then decided to head back to the cabin.

The next morning, we woke up to rain. We decided to visit Cades Cove Loop Road. We had done the drive the first time we came to Tennessee, and it was beautiful. But this time we were prepared, we ate before going. I would also suggest packing up some snacks for the little ones as this is an 11-mile drive through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Be sure to wear hiking boots as there are moments you can get out and visit log homes, churches, barns and working mills. This drive is so picturesque as the mountains surround your backdrop every inch. It’s so breathtaking. This time around, the mountains had their famous blue hue and foggy look. It’s so peaceful. Back at the cabin we enjoyed the firepit and made smores. We also played many family games like jenga and pacman, while we had Elvis music playing in the background. We ended the night at the jacuzzi overlooking the views from the balcony.

The following morning was Rob’s 35 birthday. We sang happy birthday and then we were on the road again. We were on our way to Ober but along the way I spotted one trail that was highly recommended for families and kids called Laurel Falls trail. I told Rob about it, and we decided to cancel Ober as we had already done that the first time around. If you decide to do this trail with your little ones, I recommend bringing water. Make sure to take plenty of stops. Halfway through the trail, I thought we had to turn back because it felt quite long but we knew we were getting closer when a warning sign stating “DANGER, falling deaths have occurred there are high vertical drop-offs ahead along the trail and at the falls. CLOSELY CONTROL CHILDREN.” My knees buckled and my momma bear instincts took over. In my head I was wondering how did this highly recommended trail just turned into my worst nightmare? I had to hold Arya tightly by the hand, making sure Rob was holding Averie’s hand. We finally heard the waterfall, we had arrived. It was a beautiful sight. I am beyond grateful for the lady who saw us and asked if we wanted our picture taken. Shortly after, we headed back to the car. I heard many mamas along the way, feeling the same way I felt going up this trail. I was not alone, and I reassured them, they were getting close. Just keep going, its worth the walk for the waterfall at the end.

On our way out of the mountains we stumbled on this little spot that we had to get out for the most beautiful pictures that I will forever cherish. The sun was just right, and the clouds were moving through. We can finally say that we have seen the “Land of Blue Smoke”. Please stop at this location with your family, it’s the most majestic view of Tennessee. We took the chance and ended the night at Little Tokyo Hibachi Grill and Sushi in Pigeon Forge. They were quick on service as it was packed but were seated within 5 minutes. The food was excellent, I had the combination chicken and shrimp with a side of yum yum sauce. Back at the cabin we sang Happy Birthday and cut Rob’s cake along the mountain view. Perfect night to end our vacation.

Tennessee has a hold on me with its beautiful mountains and tranquility all around.

Till next time.