Road Trip- 3 Generations: Tenn, NC, Virginia, More
Aug 30th, 2019, 02:35 PM
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Road Trip- 3 Generations: Tenn, NC, Virginia, More
Just got back for a fun 10 day road trip ahead of school starting back for me and the kids. It was myself, husband, our three kids ages ( 13,12,7) and my parents- still very active and mobile.
We started in Arkansas and Drove to the Smokey Mountains and Stayed in Maggie Valley, NC for four nights. We stayed in a very nice little cabin with a beautiful view.
https://www.vrbo.com/4612683ha?noDat...&adultsCount=2
We choose here because it is right outside of the SMNP- we had stayed in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg areas before and wanted something different- and quiet. And this was. It was lovely and super close to the Cherokee entrance to the park. The boys went on a charter to fish in Lake Fontana- which they loved, while me and the girls and my mom shopped around Bryson City which was very fun. One day we hiked around GSMNP and visited several of the visitor's centers and another evening we drove into Cataloochee Valley and saw so many elk, beautiful creeks that the kids played in etc. Just a beautiful time.
On the way to Mt. Airy we stopped at the Biltmore Estate as well as the Ashville Farmer's Market. They were both extraordinary. Even the kids enjoyed The Biltmore. We spent a whole day there and probably could have stayed longer but we got hot.
We filled up on amazing produce, jams, jellies, homemade breads and cheeses etc at the Farmer's Market then went on our way.
We then drove to Mt. Airy, NC as we are three generations of The Andy Griffith Show fans. We stayed right outside of Mt. Airy in Ararat, VA at a super cute old farm house that was private and had a huge river/creek in the front yard that we floated in every day. https://www.vrbo.com/1351518?noDates...&adultsCount=2
It was very fun an a nice house with plenty of bedrooms. We went to Mt. Airy two days in a row and spent full days there. We did the police car tour in the squad car from Andy Griffith- that was so fun and is a must. My dad got his hair cut at Floyd's Barbershop, there was the Walker Soda Fountain that was decorated like the 50's soda shop, Opies Candy store, and many more cute cafe and shopping areas in the adorable downtown. We went to the Andy Griffith museum as well as the Mt. Airy history type museum. It was very good and had a great children's hands-on type of museum which was nice for the kids to play in . Our whole family really enjoyed Mt. Airy. The next day we explored the Blue Ridge Parkway which was just minutes from Ararat.
We then drove through Virginia and West Virginia to Kentucky. We stayed in Williamstown, KY in a hotel. It was close to the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum. Personally I liked the Creation Museum more, as did the kids, but the Ark was pretty awesome as well. You can buy a combo ticket and tour both attractions. We all enjoyed both of them, and I think folks of all ages would enjoy. We got finished with the Ark before my parents did ( they read everything and go to the little movies) but it was fine as there is a small zoo and a playground. Same thing at the Creation Museum, a very nice playground.
The boys went to a Cincinnati Reds game one evening which they enjoyed. We drove into Cincannit one day and went to a famous Chili restaurant ( that had been on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) and went to their Fenway Market which was another glorious market with every food you can imagine. We bought macaroons and cupcakes and cobbler and salads and bread to eat that evening at the hotel for supper
.
Then we headed home. It was a very nice trip. We enjoyed it immensely and get to cross off Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia off our maps of states we have traveled with the kids.
We started in Arkansas and Drove to the Smokey Mountains and Stayed in Maggie Valley, NC for four nights. We stayed in a very nice little cabin with a beautiful view.
https://www.vrbo.com/4612683ha?noDat...&adultsCount=2
We choose here because it is right outside of the SMNP- we had stayed in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg areas before and wanted something different- and quiet. And this was. It was lovely and super close to the Cherokee entrance to the park. The boys went on a charter to fish in Lake Fontana- which they loved, while me and the girls and my mom shopped around Bryson City which was very fun. One day we hiked around GSMNP and visited several of the visitor's centers and another evening we drove into Cataloochee Valley and saw so many elk, beautiful creeks that the kids played in etc. Just a beautiful time.
On the way to Mt. Airy we stopped at the Biltmore Estate as well as the Ashville Farmer's Market. They were both extraordinary. Even the kids enjoyed The Biltmore. We spent a whole day there and probably could have stayed longer but we got hot.
We filled up on amazing produce, jams, jellies, homemade breads and cheeses etc at the Farmer's Market then went on our way.
We then drove to Mt. Airy, NC as we are three generations of The Andy Griffith Show fans. We stayed right outside of Mt. Airy in Ararat, VA at a super cute old farm house that was private and had a huge river/creek in the front yard that we floated in every day. https://www.vrbo.com/1351518?noDates...&adultsCount=2
It was very fun an a nice house with plenty of bedrooms. We went to Mt. Airy two days in a row and spent full days there. We did the police car tour in the squad car from Andy Griffith- that was so fun and is a must. My dad got his hair cut at Floyd's Barbershop, there was the Walker Soda Fountain that was decorated like the 50's soda shop, Opies Candy store, and many more cute cafe and shopping areas in the adorable downtown. We went to the Andy Griffith museum as well as the Mt. Airy history type museum. It was very good and had a great children's hands-on type of museum which was nice for the kids to play in . Our whole family really enjoyed Mt. Airy. The next day we explored the Blue Ridge Parkway which was just minutes from Ararat.
We then drove through Virginia and West Virginia to Kentucky. We stayed in Williamstown, KY in a hotel. It was close to the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum. Personally I liked the Creation Museum more, as did the kids, but the Ark was pretty awesome as well. You can buy a combo ticket and tour both attractions. We all enjoyed both of them, and I think folks of all ages would enjoy. We got finished with the Ark before my parents did ( they read everything and go to the little movies) but it was fine as there is a small zoo and a playground. Same thing at the Creation Museum, a very nice playground.
The boys went to a Cincinnati Reds game one evening which they enjoyed. We drove into Cincannit one day and went to a famous Chili restaurant ( that had been on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) and went to their Fenway Market which was another glorious market with every food you can imagine. We bought macaroons and cupcakes and cobbler and salads and bread to eat that evening at the hotel for supper
.Then we headed home. It was a very nice trip. We enjoyed it immensely and get to cross off Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia off our maps of states we have traveled with the kids.
