I love spontaneous road trips...and Funyons.

We had a fabulous time this weekend in Gatlinburg.



I have seen this view since childhood and yet it still takes my breath away.

Every time.

Stunning.



Upon arrival we hit the new Mellow Mushroom in town for a late lunch.

If your taste buds have never had the privilege of bathing in this ooey gooey pizza, let me be the first to say I'm sorry.

I really am.

I will pray that you get to eat here at least once in your lifetime.

Everyone should be able to.

It is that good.



After lunch we had a 3 o'clock reservation to board the R.M.S Titanic.



I cannot express how phenomenal this experience was.

As you board you are given a boarding pass of a real life passenger that boarded the actual ship in 1912.

The experience ends in the Memorial Room where the names of each person that was aboard the ship is etched in glass on a wall.

It is then that you will discover whether you survived or not.

I was a 33 yr old first class journalist from Paris, France.

Adam was a 21 year old kitchen porter from England.

Tyler was a 37 year old Postal Clerk from New Jersey.

Maggie was a 26 year old 3rd class passenger from London headed to America to wed her fiance'.

And Aidan was a 53 year old first class passenger from New York City headed back home to his wife and daughter.

We all survived except Tyler.

It was very sobering considering this was the reality for so many families.

There were no cameras allowed inside so I could not take pictures.

The amount of real artifacts in this museum is amazing.

There were moments I really could feel like I was on this ship.



I highly recommend this museum.

If you are a homeschooler you can make this very educational.

If you go be sure to visit their educational page first.

Fantastic stuff there.

I used almost all of it.

Including the Scavenger Hunt to test comprehension.

I also recommend this DVD Documentary from The History Channel.

After the museum we had dinner at Ruby Tuesdays.

We no longer have one here local and I LOVE LOVE LOVE their salad bar.

I am a sucker for chick peas on my salad.



And these.

Oh my goodness.

This is the best red velvet cupcake I have ever put in my mouth!

Sorry Grandma Margaret...but it was.

The frosting was crazy good.

Ruby Tuesday's...chick peas AND melt in your mouth cupcakes...who knew?!?!



The next day we had breakfast at the Hotel then hit one of our favorite Mountain roadways.

Roaring Fork Loop.



The higher we went...the whiter it got.

And just so you would not think that I had completely abandoned my Canon..I brought it along to snap a few shots.



We hiked a 2 mile trail up and I still find it hard to describe what I saw along the way.

Thankfully a bear was not one of them.





One minute we were walking in inches of snow.



The next minute we were greeted with lush green scenery like this.



Sometimes both.



Sign of Spring were everywhere.

But winter was hanging on with a death grip.

Two seasons battling it out on display.



It was beautiful.



It was also muddy.



Very muddy.



Lastly we dried off our muddy feet and pants by walking around in downtown Gatlinburg before heading home.

Mag and I snapped self photos while we waited on the boys.



Aidan drooled over freshly spun taffy.

Fun was had by all.

Then I came home and stumbled upon a show about a fatal black bear attack on a family in the Smokies in 1996.


Nice.



I'm linking up here:



The Homeschool Post Field Trippin'

"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"