DEEP CREEK

On our first day in Bryson City, we hiked at Deep Creek.  This is a little campground and trail a few miles from the inn and right inside The Smoky Mountain National Park.  It was a pretty short trail, a little less than two miles out and back, but there were two beautiful waterfalls and lots of great scenery to take in along the way!  The kids had a great time throwing rocks into the river and climbing on the large boulders.




Thanks to the hiker that stopped and snapped this photo of all of us!









It's a great trail for small kids--not too many cliff drop offs!  We had a great time and hope to do this trail again one day!

TRAVELING WITH TODDLERS

We got up really early Thursday morning to get a head start on our trip to the mountains.  Traveling with kids is no easy task and I think that there are certain things that make it a lot easier.  We always try to pack plenty of books and toys that are car friendly, and this time we even brought a dvd player. 

One of our biggest struggles right now is trying to eat in a restaurant.  Liam is almost three and asking him to sit and wait for food or sit and eat his food is not his (or my) idea of a good time.  We've all been there or at least witnessed a cranky toddler that doesn't want to cooperate during meal time.  Not pretty.  Michael's grandparents used to travel all over the country and they always packed a picnic lunch.  We decided we'd give it a try on the trip up, since we wanted to 1. save money 2. not have to struggle with Liam.  

I packed our picnic basket and cooler with things that we already had at home...bread, ham, cheese, apples, oranges, chips, hummus.  We pulled over at a little spot next to the Ocoee River, spread out our lunch and had the most wonderful time.  It allowed some freedom to roam about while eating lunch which was really nice after sitting for six hours.  The kids ran around, drew with sticks in the dirt, and threw rocks in the river while Michael and I ate in mostly peace. 

I can definitely see us doing this more often.  Not only was it more enjoyable, but we also felt really good about being frugal and eating things we already had.  

It seemed like no time before we were arriving at The Hemlock Inn.