Friday, May 6, 2011

Favorite Vacations

I absolutely LOVE to travel. You say the word go, and I'm there. In fact, I have at least one weekend for the next 5 months that I will be out of town. And honestly, I'm so excited. Over at Kelly's Korner, she is having SUYL favorite vacations this week. Now, where do I start?

Destin, Florida
The beach is one of my all time favorite places. I love sand in my toes, the sun on my back, and a quick trip into the water when I get too hot. I love being lazy on the beach during the day and living up the night life. Four years ago a couple of friends and I went down for the weekend. We had the best time! Simply loved it. Two years ago, a group of us from work went. Again, a great time had by all. And in July, we will be heading back to the beach. We love lounging inside and then lounging on the beach. We usually come inside in the afternoon. Then get dressed up and head out for dinner. One day while we are there is declared shopping day. They have an outlet mall and everyone goes shopping. I usually sit outside somewhere or in a vehicle. I'm not that big on shopping. Some people have their own definitions of shop till you drop. But, I love to go to the beach and I'm not about to pass up a trip with great friends!
Kristen and I living the night life  
Our group at The Crab Trap 
Ready for a night on the town 
One of the most favorite and most talked about places to eat in Destin is The Crab Trap. O-My-Goodness, it's great!!! I love all of the food. But, you must try the tuna dip. So fine. I know that I will be breaking all diet rules when we go again in July. I can hardly wait!  
This is out back at The Crab Trap. So fun to wait on the beach.  
Another one of our favorites, Whataburger. It's also a must. I can tell you it's excellent at 3:00am. There's just something about this burger that makes my mouth water even now.  
Now, for night life this is where we go. It's a lot of fun. They have a live band and open deck setting. We have been there each time we've gone and had fun each time.
This is the outlet mall. Wow! Tons of stores and you'll need tons of time!
We went to the HarborWalk in Destin one day/night. Four of us went on a dolphin sunset cruise. It was cool to watch for the dolphins in the water. After our cruise, we at TGI Friday's. Yummy!
This is the name of the boat that we went cruising on.

Gatlinburg, TN                                                                                                                                            
Now, as much fun as I had at the beach, I had just as much fun in the mountains. Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN has been a great place to go in the winter. I first went with The Trents back when I lived with them. We took the camper and stayed at a campground for the week of Thanksgiving. Not my idea of a great time. It's something that I will NEVER do again. Or at least I don't want to. The trip was great except for lodging accommodations. We went to Dollywood, shopped downtown, and ice skating. Fun times for sure. Right now, I can't remember everything about that trip. But, last year, six of us from work loaded up and went for Jametra's birthday. (the week before Thanksgiving) So here are some details from that trip.
We rented a cabin! Best decision ever. It was absolutely GOREGOUS. The only time I've ever been to the mountain is in the winter. I'm thinking a summer vacation there would be nice as well.
We went shopping a lot on this trip. It was one main reason for going. We also stayed in the cabin one night and cooked steaks for Jametra's birthday. We played games and karaoke. So much fun. Waking up in the morning to some people in the hot tub and some reading or lounging was nice to. We went downtown Gatlingburg to eat and shop some. I chose to go to Ober Gatlingburg to ice skate instead of shopping. I loved it. There is something to do for everyone. Great vacation. I can't wait to go back.
We stopped in Chattanooga to eat lunch. We ate at sticky Sticky Fingers. AMAZING! We will most definitely be eating there again.
Me, Jametra, and Pam 
Yummy goodness
Bedroom I stayed in with Jametra 
Hot tub 
Living room
Ober Gatlinburg-skytram to ice rink 
my view from skates
Tons of shopping 
Very pretty place to shop
Of course we loved the food! We even got up for breakfast one morning.
This is at Old Mill. Great photo opportunity. They have some incredible food. And portions are so much that we shared meals.  
This is the chicken parmesan at The Best Italian in Gatlinburg. It's a whole in the wall kinda place.
One of my most favorite places is Apple Barn. This is where we ate breakfast. They bring apple fritters to your table and oh my! It's just more than a restaurant. They have several buildings with a shops inside. There's a candy store, an ornament store, a wine store, and a barn that sells everything. We stayed a few hours at this place. Also decorated great for photos. Ha! HIGHLY recommend you go here.
The general store 
Waiting for breakfast 
A tree in the ornament store 
Breakfast!

I love going places! Can't wait to read about everyone's vacations. (I'm not sure what's going on with my pictures). Sorry. Have a great weekend.
Also, Sunday I will post winners of the Reshaping it All books.

2 comments:

  1. I'm stopping by from Kelly's Korner. I listed Gatlinburg as one of my favs as well! I really enjoy going there. Love the Apple Barn! Have you tried Bull Fish?

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  2. First, I LOVE the new "look" for your blog!! Just like you! :)
    I love the beach too! We have been to Orange Beach, Alabama and really enjoyed it. Of course, being from TN I have been to Gatlinburg/ Pigeon Forge several times. I agree about the cabin - it's the only way to go and less expensive in the long run because of being able to eat in some
    nights.

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