Last week, I shared my video of our experience at Wilderness at the Smokies! Today I am going to go into a little bit more detail on our visit. We got to visit Wilderness at the Smokies for two nights as part of the Trekaroo Superoo program. If you have followed this site for awhile, you will know how much we love Trekaroo. Trekaroo is kind of like a Trip Advisor for families! You can do a search for a city or area and get reviews by families just like you and me for hundreds of hotels and activities! If you haven’t already, definitely stop by and check it out!
The Wilderness at the Smokies visit was so great for us as a family! We spent an evening and a day splashing in the water at the three different water parks. We have visited waterparks all over the country. This waterpark resort is definitely not the biggest, but it isn’t the smallest either! Our favorite of the three water parks, Salamander Springs, is what I am going to share with you today! To see my full review of Wilderness at the Smokies on Trekaroo, head to my Trekaroo Passport.
When we first arrived at the hotel, we were so bummed when we realized that we were staying across the street from the large indoor water park. Once we checked in, we had a chance to look out one of the windows where we spied Salamander Springs! Salamander Springs is full of water slides, pools, hot tubs, and play structures great for kids of all ages but in particular, the younger kids. My three year old was able to go down all the slides on her own. They splashed around the pools and loved exploring the huge play structure. The structure had slides, tunnels to crawl through, steps to climb, and a bucket that dropped gallons and gallons of water on unsuspecting children every few minutes!
Even the itty bitty toddlers can have a great time splashing around. There is a small section set aside just for your youngest children with a little pool, slide and swings. It is manned by its own lifeguard.
The best part about staying next to Salamander Springs was that when our kids got tired of being in the sun and water, we took them upstairs to our room for a snack, rest and some tv time. When we were all rested, we were ready to head back downstairs.
I loved the fact that there were plenty of lifeguards watching and interacting with all of the children. I also loved being able to sit in a chair while my kids romped around into the water. I did not feel the need to have to follow them around as they played like I did at some of the bigger parks.
Disclosure: We were guests of Wilderness at the Smokies for two nights. Water park admission is included with every hotel stay because you must be guests of the hotel to visit the water park. While on this trip, we paid for everything else including our meals and the gas to get there. My reviews are based solely on my experiences and opinion with no outside influence.
Next up – Part Two – Wild Water Dome Indoor Water Park.
Stop by Trekaroo’s Spotlight Thursday to learn about other places to travel!
On this road trip, we vowed to slow down. If we saw something that made us want to stop the car, we would. The Lost Sea Adventure was exactly one of those things…we were in the middle of Tennessee. What on earth could the Lost Sea Adventure be?
We were not disappointed! This roadside attraction has a large cavern and an underground lake that you can take a boatride on. The cave has quite a history! We decided to skip the cave tour because it is 1.5 hours and you must go on a tour. Even though we weren’t on a time crunch, we did have a timeframe that we wanted to stick to. Instead, we headed over to the Old Sweetwater Village. We visited the store and stopped by the Blacksmith Shop.
While at the General Store, we purchased a bag of dirt for five dollars. We took it over to Red Ruby’s Gem Mine were the kids got to sift through the dirt and see what they found! Both kids got several large stones and tons of little ones. With a purchase of the bag of dirt, the kids got a little card with pictures of the gems they might find all labeled. Big S spent almost an hour looking at his stones and comparing them to the pictures.
The Lost Sea Adventure is located about 5-7 minutes off of the interstate and is worth the drive if nothing else but the walk around the village to stretch your legs and the relatively clean restrooms. There is also a small shop where you can get snacks and ice cream.
The Lost Sea Adventure is located at 140 Lost Sea Road in Sweetwater, Tennessee.
Stop by Spotlight Thursday at Trekaroo to see where other travelers are now!
Florida has many beautiful state parks. They are covered with large beautiful trees, blooming flowers and winding boardwalks that take you into areas that make you think of fairies and wood sprites. We bought the Real Florida Passport and we love to visit the different state parks and collect our passport stamps. We make the drive from Pensacola to Panama City fairly often to visit family. Whenever we are driving Highway 98, we see signs for so many state parks along the way-seven state parks total! When we make the trip to Panama City, we always try to stop somewhere along the way to visit something new. This time we stopped at Eden State Gardens.
Eden State Gardens is a beautiful state park located about 30-40 minutes from Panama City Beach. Eden State Gardens has a rich history in lumber. It was the home to the Wesley Family. The beautiful home, painted a brilliant white, has a gorgeous wrap around porch that will make you want to invest in one of those Cracker Barrel rocking chairs! Can you believe this beautiful home and 10.5 acres was purchased in 1960 for only 12,500 dollars?!
She then put in another million dollars to convert the home to an antebellum home. She wanted the home for her extensive collection of Louis XVI antiques. After 5 years and failing health, she gave her home and antique collection to the state of Florida.
While visiting, we wandered around the grounds for awhile. It was a nice walk to Tucker Bayou. The kids loved to walk the pier.
All I wanted to do was sit on this bench. All. Day. Long!
The gardens are absolutely beautiful and although many plants and flowers have not bloomed, the Camellias are out in full force. According to the state park site, the Camellia peak bloom is in March so we timed our trip beautifully!
There is a nature trail…
and it is a beautiful setting for a wedding. My daughter spent fifteen minutes watching the “princess”!
For other suggestions on things to do near or around Panama City, visit me at Traveling Mom or explore my other posts here on Two Kids and a Map.
Stop by Delicious Baby to see where others are traveling this week!
This is the closest that we will get to snow this year.
Last year we were sledding down mountains of real snow in Germany. It snowed on Christmas morning, the kids went sledding every day and my husband was able to ski as often as he wished. This year, we are staying in sunny Florida where yesterday it was 78 degrees and I turned on the air conditioner. Seriously…the air conditioner. Today it did drop down to the 50′s so the air went off but we have no hope of seeing snow this year although I do have to admit we had little snowflakes fall a few years ago…they just didn’t hit the ground!
Last weekend we headed to Foley, Alabama to check out Fish River Tree Christmas Farm and see snow at the annual Let it Snow event. Yes…in the deep south we got to see snow. It was man-made snow…more like ice chunks, but it was great big fun for the kids! There was a children’s village, food, and performers. The kids thought it was fantastic and we enjoyed seeing them play in the snow. This is what snow in the south looks like!
Stop by DeliciousBaby to see the photos that other travelers are sharing!
I have a fake tree. It is a beautiful tree, but it is most definitely fake. Oh, that fake tree didn’t enter this house without a fight. Unfortunately, my husband and the fake tree won but I went down kicking and screaming! We bought the tree the day after Christmas and my husband couldn’t have been happier taking the tree out of the box this year. We didn’t fight over whether the tree was straight in the stand or not, we didn’t dump water all over our hardwood floors as we tried to feed it, and there were no pine needles to sweep or sap to clean. On the one hand, the tree was much easier this year. The jury is still out as to whether or not I am happy about the fake tree. However, my consolation prize was a family field trip to Fish River Tree Farm in Summerdale, Alabama (just a few miles from the Foley Outlets!).
Fish River Trees is a beautiful tree farm where you can cut your own Christmas tree, purchase a tree already cut or purchase a tree grown in a container. This farm is way bigger than I expected and is a great place for a holiday family outing. There is a small train ride that takes you around the property while you enjoy your complimentary candy cane.
After the train ride, pick up a hot chocolate and wander over to see Santa and two of his reindeer!
The kids loved running around and exploring the different trees.
My son thought it was fascinating that there were such teeny tiny trees right next to huge trees.
If you are cutting your own tree, they have made the process very easy. All the trees are already tagged with prices, you cut your tree, carry it to the cleaning and netting area, and then get the tree home to decorate!
The train conductor told us that the tall tree in the picture below is 19 years old!
I am hoping that next year, my husband will cave and allow me to buy a container tree to plant in our front yard!
Today I am dreaming of New Orleans…again! Only a short three hour drive away, New Orleans makes a fantastic destination for an overnight getaway. Yesterday I saw a commercial for Miracle on Fulton Street. Fulton and Poydras Streets in downtown New Orleans turns into a winter wonderland from November 27 to January 3. It snows! In New Orleans! There is live entertainment, falling snow, a canopy of lights, movie nights and so much more. We visit New Orleans on a regular basis but haven’t made it over for Miracle on Fulton Street. Hopefully I will be able to talk my husband into the quick trip over! Some of the things I am dreaming about doing while we are there.
And of course we will make some time for several stops at the Cafe du Monde to indulge in beignets!
See what other are dreaming about over at Mother of All Trips, host of Mondays are for Dreaming.
On our massive Virginia road trip, I drove the kids up to Hershey, Pennsylvania to meet up with an old friend. We visited Chocolate World (I have coined the trip Chocolate Disaster…that is for another post, another day!) and on the way home, we stopped for a potty break at Boyd’s Bear Country in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When we stop for bathroom breaks, we try to avoid gas stations. With small children, there is no easy way to keep your little ones from touching all sorts of nasty things in the bathroom. By stopping at touristy places such as Boyd’s Bear Country, usually we can find a clean enough restroom that doesn’t make me cringe when I open the door.
After racing the little ones to the restroom (which was incredibly clean!), we wandered around a little bit. I chose to stop here because the potty break timed well as we were driving past. I wish that we had been able to spend a little bit more time here because the kids had a blast. Everywhere you turn there was a Boyd’s Bear, mouse, moose, etc.
There is a restaurant where you can get a country buffet meal. There were some great spots for the kids to wander as well. The kid’s activities include an Adopt-a-Bear program and a place where you can actually make your own Boyd’s Bear. Oh yeah…the fudge is divine!
Stop by Debbie’s at DeliciousBaby to check out other Photo Friday submissions!
This week, for the first time, I am participating in You Capture over at I Should Be Folding Laundry. The theme for this week is the feeling of fall. Hmmmm…well, just this week did the thermometer drop below 90 degrees (we spent one weekend day at a water park all day!); however, when I think of fall I think of farm visits.
Did you know that this past weekend was National Alpaca Farm Day? We made the short drive to Fairhope Alpacas for a visit to the alpaca farm. I am so glad that we did! We saw so many beautiful alpacas and the owners were so friendly and welcoming to all of the farm visitors. My children thought the alpacas were hilarious but “stinky”. We spent some time watching a very cool spinning demonstration and couldn’t get over how soft and beautifully colored the yarn was. Even if you missed Alpaca Farm Days, you can still visit the alpaca farm. Email the owners to set up a visit! Not going to be in the Gulf Coast area soon? Check out the National Alpaca Directory to find a farm near you.
You can find Katy and her alpacas at her blog (Yay! A fellow blogger!), Alpaca Farm Girl or on Twitter as @alpacafarmgirl. I wish I had a chance to meet Katy while we were there but she was very busy with all of her guests! Hopefully we will make it to their next open house!
The alpacas were so curious about all of their visitors! When we went from one end of the barn to the other or when we wander outside, they constantly followed us!
This picture is of a very young me at Coca Cola World in Atlanta! During our first year of marriage, my hubs and I headed to Tennessee where we visited extended family for Thanksgiving. On the way home, we stopped for a night in Atlanta. That is where I fell in love with Atlanta, a bustling city with southern charm. In a few weeks, the hubs and I will be headed back to Atlanta but this time we will have two kids with us! I am so excited about this trip! I am looking forward to the weekend away, visiting the Georgia Aquarium, the fountain rings in Olympic Park, and the children’s garden at Atlanta Botanical Gardens. I am also looking forward to meeting up with my blogger buddy, Amy, from Atlanta with Kid and The Q Family Adventures. I hope our schedules work out so that we can meet up with the kiddies!
I found out that my sister has moved to the birthplace of Mr. Peanut, the mascot of Planters Peanuts. I made it my mission to find Mr. Peanut and a peanut factory to tour while we were in Suffolk. I knew my kids would get a kick out of it as we love peanut butter! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find a roasting plant in the area. If you know of one, please forward me the information!
We did find a great little Planters Peanut retailer called Suffolk Peanuts. As soon as you open the door, you can smell the peanuts roasting. They have one of the original roasters and there is a very small Mr. Peanut in the corner!
Of course we had to buy a burlap bag of peanuts, salted in the shell!
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