Townsend, TN- Fall 2017

And we are back! Derek and I spent my college fall break celebrating our one year anniversary by returning to one of our favorite places: Townsend, TN! We rented a cabin and spent the next few days hiking, exploring, laughing, EATING…. needless to say it was the best vacation of my life. A few of the places we went to I wrote about in my last post, but we also did a lot of new exploring. As I’ve said before, there truly isn’t a more peaceful and beautiful place for a quiet vacation than Townsend, TN.

We started our first day by returning to one of Derek’s family’s favorites: Spruce Flatt Falls. This is great for new or experienced hikers (and it is extremely family friendly). As you can see, it has some of the most beautiful sites.

After that, we researched some cool new places around our cabin in Townsend and we discovered this little gem: Tuckaleechee Caverns. If you love cave exploring or even if you are new, you will love coming here! It is a very spacious cavern, so I never felt claustrophobic or anxious and it has some of the most diverse underground scenery I have ever experienced. They have a beach, a wishing well, a waterfall, and, of course, plenty of amazing natural sculptures! But check out the photos for yourself.

(Derek making a wish at the wishing well)

(Touching the water on the shore of the beach)

We spent our second day doing more “touristy” activities in Pigeon Forge. We returned to one of our favorite places: the Island and then I took Derek to the Hollywood Wax Museum and my favorite, the Titanic exhibit! We had such a blast and we ended the evening by returning to the Apple Barn for dinner. If you haven’t eaten down here, I highly recommend it. It has something for everyone here, plus it is so cute!

(side excursion to a cute swinging bridge)

(How precious is this church?!)

(This was a recreation of a picture from our first trip outside of a store at the Island)

(Real props/ costumes from the Titanic movie!)

(At the very top of the Hollywood Wax Museum with King Kong photobombing)

(Dinner at the Apple Barn)

Before heading back home, we did one final (and new) hike at Abram Falls and let me just tell you, this hike is absolutely breathtaking! I have done a lot of hiking in my life but this was by far the most beautiful. Now I must warn you, this is also labeled one of the top 10 most dangerous hikes in America due to the steep edges and rocky terrain but if you are up for the challenge, it is certainly worth it. Plus afterwards we rewarded ourselves with the best sweet potato fries ever, so win-win, right? I don’t have too many pictures because we were too busy living in the moment and soaking up the gorgeous views.

I could seriously spend forever talking about how amazing this trip was, but I hope these highlights inspire you to check it out yourself. This is perfect for a family trip, or as Derek and I recommend, a romantic getaway or anniversary celebration. Not only did we fall in love all over again with the beautiful surroundings, but we also fell in love with each other all over again too. Townsend, Tennessee truly revitalizes my soul and I hope everyone is able to find somewhere that gives them that exact same feeling.

Lots of love,

The Traveling Brunette