New Years in Gatlinburg

New Year's Eve celebration in Gatlinburg was chilly but a lot of fun. We walked into town from a parking garage and hung out til the fireworks were shot from the space needle. It was a little chilly but we all loved it. Over the course of the week we took the tram up to Ober Gatlinburg. While there we did some ice skating but found the rink quite chopped up and slushy. Ripley's Aquarium is great for the family! Don't forget to stop by for great food and fun at Bubba Gump's Shrimp restaurant. My son now has a new favorite restaurant. We had a blast skydiving at the indoor facility in Pigeon Forge, the kids were a little scared at first but are already talking about doing it again. We then drove up to Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains. This was a beautiful drive and great picture sights. We plan on doing more hiking tomorrow at Newfound Gap and top of the week with a show at the Comedy Barn. Best of all though was the Michigan football game when we beat the Florida Gators. GO BLUE!

Quick Tips:

There are great coupons to be found in the travel books. You really have to grab a variety and see which one gives you the best deal. The cheapest parking that we found was at light 9 in Gatlinburg (.00) Then we walked to each destination. Despite the cold it was a nice easy walk even with kids. DO NOT try to drive in town for New Year's Eve. We arrived at 5:00 and parked in a garage on the end of town closest to our resort. We were able to get out of there with no problems.

Best Way To Get Around:

There are great coupons to be found in the travel books. You really have to grab a variety and see which one gives you the best deal. The cheapest parking that we found was at light 9 in Gatlinburg (.00) Then we walked to each destination. Despite the cold it was a nice easy walk even with kids. DO NOT try to drive in town for New Year's Eve. We arrived at 5:00 and parked in a garage on the end of town closest to our resort. We were able to get out of there with no problems.

We stayed in a Chalet. We had a very small kitchen, dining area, living room, bedroom with queen bed for my mom and dad, a King size bed in the Master Suite for Sandy and myself and the kids loved having their own twin beds in the loft. The place was clean and we had plenty of space. It is so nice to be able to cook for ourselves and save on the spending money by not eating out each meal.