I really didn’t mean to fall off the map after Tuesday’s post. We knew we had some projects to tackle at Sweet Home Bearolina, but instead of waiting until Wednesday morning, we decided to drive up Tuesday night after David got off work, putting our arrival time at about 10:00 PM.

The next morning I ventured to the local coffee shop, The Heavenly Roast, to do some blogging and realized my computer was completely dead. It just wouldn’t turn on. Because of this, I resigned myself to focusing on house projects, exploration, and playing with the kids, figuring I’d worry about fixing or purchasing a new computer at a later time.

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Wednesday morning we knocked out some projects and took advantage of the Peloton at the house. I did a warm up 1.5 miles on the treadmill then switched to the Peloton. I only chose a 20 minute workout and it kicked my booty! It is such a fun switch up to my regular workouts, and I see why people enjoy it. If I had one, I’d definitely incorporate it 1-2 times a week.

While we worked out, the girls gathered supplies and created a fairy garden along the side stairs. Somehow we lucked out with the most gorgeous January weather!

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Around noon we met with our realtor. We just closed on a long term rental we owned in Charlotte and are now planning to do a 1031 exchange into another short term rental property. Real estate is insane right now, especially in the Smoky Mountains, so many properties are going under contract within 24 hours with multiple offers. Our main goal was to get a better sense of some of the areas.

We really enjoyed getting to see a couple properties and our last visit had us right next to downtown Gatlinburg. Since we finished up early afternoon, we figured to have a little family fun and visit the Gatlinburg SkyLift Park.

I checked online and found it is dog-friendly, so we showed up with Finley. We quickly realized that your pup simply rides up the chairlift with you! We were a little nervous about how Finley would do, but we bought our tickets and decided to venture it!

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We were so proud; Finley did great! A little whining when she passed over the river, but overall, she rocked it. It was comical to hear people passing us on the other side of the lift ohh-ing and ahh-ing over her. The girls were so proud of their pup!

The Gatlinburg SkyLift Park has been on my radar to visit for sometime. The chairlift takes you 1900 feet above sea level to some gorgeous panoramic views of the Smoky Mountains. It was completely rebuilt after the devastating 2016 wildfires and it’s really nice. They have a SkyTrail, Tulip Tower, and the SkyBridge, a pedestrian cable bridge that spans 700 feet across a deep valley. It has a 30 foot section of clear glass in the middle!

Being mid-week in off season, the park was fairly empty and very peaceful. We did everything twice. We wandered the trail, went up and down the Tulip Tower reading about the horrific damage of the fire, the rebuild, and the wildlife in the area.

We walked the bridge twice, too! The girls did great walking right over the glass portion, but Finley and I weren’t so sure. Finley put on full breaks and David ended up carrying her over the glass portion. I almost asked him to do the same for me, but I sucked it up and conquered it! Take that fear of heights!

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In the late afternoon we headed back down the chairlift in search of food. About 1/4 mile away from the base of the Gatlinburg SkyLift Park is a Mexican spot called Loco Burro that offers patio dog-friendly seating. They set us up in a corner spot where we enjoyed the view, the visiting birds, and guacamole.

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We took the road through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park back to Bearolina. Off-season might be my favorite new time in the area. The drive was peaceful and we only saw a car or two. Once back at the cabin, we took on the game room, playing Galaga and Pac Man on the barrel game, Golden Tee, and a lot of Ping Pong.

We managed a pretty good balance of work and play on the trip and all went to bed each night completely worn out. There are so many more things we want to explore in the area, from the Titanic Museum, to dinner shows like Dolly’s Stampede, to alpine coasters, a return visit to Dollywood, and of course a lot of hiking. This was a great way to start our exploration of all the area has to offer!

Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg lovers… what is your favorite thing to do in the area?!