"Travel, Taste, and Shop"

                         If your like us, we tend to go on spur of the moment trips to places, therefore we never have a place to stay already booked before we go. Normally we are driving down the road as I am finding us a place to stay. Well this one particular time while searching all the best deals on hotels while in Pigeon forge I stumbled upon the Tru by Hilton hotel and once we got there I was ever so glad I did. This hotel exceeded our expectations and was immaculately clean! When walking in the first things I noticed is how clean and modernly decorated the place was. They had lots of seating in the lobby that included anything from benches, cushioned chairs, bar stools, to hanging egg chairs.                           They also had a pretty good selection of a snack bar so if you want to purchase a late night snack it is available to do.  They also had desks built in to the wall like little cubby holes where you could sit down and relax or work if needed to in the lobby.  They

   If you have a child that loves flamingos as much as mine then you must stop by this neat exhibit next time you are in south florida. Everglades Wonder Garden in Bonita Springs FL is a really neat place to stop. It's not extremely big therefore you won't spend a whole lot of time there (I would say maybe an hour) but you have the opportunity to feed and interact with flamingos, gators, different types of rescued birds, turtles, parrots and more. When you first go in and pay for admission which isn't bad priced as well ( $12.00 adults, $7.00 children, and $10.00 for seniors) you also have the opportunity to purchase flamingo food, gator food, and bird food. I highly recommend purchasing atleast the flamingo food and gator food to be able to get the whole experience of the exhibit. They have several gators that you can feed through the fence and it's pretty neat how they will fight over who gets it and they will chomp it down pretty fast. Just a warning though, the gat

One place I have always wanted to visit and take my children to experience is Dollywood. Well we finally made a day trip out of it and drove to Dollywood! Now must I say we went on probably one of the busiest days that they have... MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND! But guess what... We still had a blast regardless of the crowd and traffic. We expected an experience like Six flags but Dollywood is so much larger than that. We definitely agree that we need a couple days to experience everything Dollywood has to offer. BUT here is our one day experience: We arrived at the park at around 10:30 eastern time and the line to get to the parking was wrapped out into the highway. As many times as we have been to pigeon forge and passed by Dollywood this was the first time I've noticed traffic backed up that far to enter the park. The line moved pretty fast and we were up to the parking kiosk in no time. We did purchase our parking pass in advance on Dollywood's site and saved $2.00 doing it that way

One resturant I have to review is Mamas Farmhouse in Pigeon Forge, TN. This is a must try resturant where I promise you will not leave hungry and if you do something is wrong. At this resturant for dinner you will get three meats brought to your table along with 4 sides that you get to pick. You will also have the option to start with a salad or soup of the day. The salads are just basic with lettuce, cucumber and tomato with your choice of dressing.  They also bring homemade buttermilk biscuits to the table with some really good homemade preserves. The meats that are served change daily, besides fried chicken cause it is served everyday, and all meats are served on platters and the vegetables are served in bowls for the whole table to share. Once you run out of a certain side or meat they will keep bringing more until you are done. Even though you will definatley be full after all this food, this meal also comes with dessert! You will get a choice of cobbler and ice cream, banana pudd

   C Level Grill - Panama City Beach, Florida C Level Grill is a must try while vacationing in Panama City Beach for sure. We did have to wait for a table for around 30 -45 minutes but it was well worth it when we got our food. They serve everything from Gumbo, seafood, to steaks and sandwiches. They also have a full bar as well if you like to have a alcoholic beverage with your meal. I ordered the crab cakes, fried okra, and caramelized Brussel sprouts. I was amazed at how much food was on my plate when it arrived. Needless to say I was unable to finish all of it and had to take some home for later. Below is an image of the amount of food I received. My husbands meal consisted of a sirloin steak, Brussel sprouts and a house salad. The steak my husband said was one of the best steaks he has had in a while at a restaurant. The Brussel sprouts were amazing as well. He also tried a margarita from the bar and really enjoyed the taste of it.  They also bring some bread to the table as well

   Urban Air Adventure park - Franklin, TN If you have never taken your kids to Urban Air Adventure park, you must go now!!! This place is amazing for kids and is by far my children's favorite jump park of all time!!! They have climbing walls, play areas for smaller children, ball pits, a zip line type roller-coaster on the ceiling, virtual realty games and much more!!! You can chose a one day pass or you can purchase a monthly membership as well for a low monthly price. You do have to purchase jump socks that have the special non slip material on the bottom but you can bring them back with you each time you come. They have a concession stand with Pizza, drinks, and snacks along with some beer choices for the adults. If you have a premium membership that includes all the activities you will also get a free piece of pizza, and free snack per person that has the premium membership.