My Top 10 for EAST TENNESSEE

We recently spent our Spring break in the beautiful East Tennessee. It was about a 6 hour drive from our home but it was all so worth it!

Here is my TOP 10 for this part of the country...

10) Shopping

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Sevierville, TN Outlet mall

Yup, you pass by 2 outlet malls on the way to the Smoky mountains. First is in Lebanon ,TN, about 20 miles past Nashville and the 2nd is in Sevierville!

9) Sevierville, TN

One I actually went to

Flea market

We didn't get to spend much time here but this is the place to go for antiquing and flea-ing! They have a lot along the main highway and on top of that they have some of the biggest waterparks in the area. This is also the place to rent out a chopper for site-seeing tours.

8) Pigeon Forge, TN

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My son aptly named this a "Tourist Trap". From restaurants to shows to all sorts of rides, this place is a lot of fun to go to especially if you have kids with you!

7) Three Bears General Store

This place has all the souvenirs you can imagine! Their Christmas section is not too shabby either. but the main reason to go here, is to see and feed real Bears!!!!

Aren't they cute?

We're feeding them apples and grapes. :-)

6) Wonders of Flight & Wonderworks

We had a real fun time riding this ginormous helium ballon. The view of Pigeon Forge was spectacular.

Ready to fly!

Wonderworks is a fun amuement/science lab that the kids had a blast in.

Some bubble fun

Thrill from above

5) Terry Envaswood Magic Show

Truly worth watching, this show. It is fun, family and kid friendly and we get to meet the man after show! In fact, so cool , our son wanted to be a magician afterwards!

Make sure to come early, no seat numbers, so if you wan to participate, you better sit closer to the stage!

4) Dixie Stampede

Dolly Parton's very own Musical Extravaganza! One of the funnest thing to do if your ever in this town. We love, love, love this show. It has a pre-show of some awesome live bluegrass music...

And the real show is a delight. Amazing stunts, all sorts of animals and of course lots of food! A whole chicken + chops + corn + soup + bread + pie!

We've seen Medieval times, but I think Dixie Stampede is way fun-ner! Yeee-haaah!

3) Food & Taffy

All sorts of restos abound in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg and all the places we went did not dissapoint. Bubba Gump and Callhouns topped my list!

At Bubba Gumps

Taffy-making

Yummy ribs at Calhuons

2) Gatlinburg, TN

This is place is a gem. It has almost a European feel because of the surrounding mountains and all the small shops. I love this small town.

Fantastic view from above

1) Smoky Mountains and the rest of Mother Nature

Of course, nothing beats the majestic Smoky mountains. Wish we could have stayed longer and all the roads were open. Some ice still around that made us unable to go to the highest viewing peak. We went only 5,500++ above sea-level instead of 6,500++!