Two weekends ago, we went on a quick weekend get-away to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I will choose not to comment on Gatlinburg. The Great Smokey Mountains National Park, however, was great. We arrived in Gatlinburg around 4pm EDT on Friday. We took it easy, ate some dinner and then utilized one of the greatest inventions in modern hotel history - the indoor pool! Ellie loved it! Being the disciplinarians that we are, all of us (Will included) swam until about 10:00 EDT.
We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, which was brand new. ALL 4 of us stayed in one room with two queen beds (and a pack and play). This was a very large risk...Ellie and Will in the same room. Luckily, everyone slept well. Will usually starts to wake up around 6:00 am CDT. When
he started stirring, I took him downstairs to watch the World Cup, drink coffee and feed him while the girls slept. 
We had no real plans for the trip (which I believe is a direct result of the EXTREMELY planned vacations we always took when I was growing up). Being my mother's child, however, I started researching placed to visit in the National Park. So, once the girls woke-up, we decided to hike to a waterfall that was labeled as a "moderate" 1.5 mile hike. I figured we could make it with Ellie and Will! We made it without too much trouble. CB carried Will all the way to the waterfall in the Baby Bjorn and Ellie walked the ENITRE way! We were so proud of her considering that the elevation gain over to the waterfall was "moderate" for an adult but "significant" for a 3 year old.
Here are some pictures from the waterfall...
After the waterfall, we found a local swimming hole in the National Park where three streams converge. So, we got in! Ellie loved it. Daddy and Mommy thought it was cold,very cold. We hung out for a couple of hours.
After the swimming hole, we returned to the hotel and decided to go to Ober Gatlinburg, a place in the mountians with ski runs in the winter. To get there, you take a sky tram for about 10 minutes. We took some pictures from the sky tram.
Ober Gatlinburg was unexciting, excpet for the alpine slide! Now, if you know Ellie, you know she can be slightly skiddish and, if she decides she does not want to do something, it is very, very difficult to talk her into trying it. Knowing this, I thought it would be a great idea to take a ski lift further up the mountain and try the alpine slide. Without too much convincing, she decided to try it and LOVED IT. She loved it so much, she went for round 2 with Mommy.
After Ober Gatlinburg, we ate dinner and, again, swam. The swimming was Ellie's favorite part of the trip! We had a great time. I highly recommend this area for a quick get-away. My recommendation - rent someplace up the mountains outside of Gatlinburg.
