Greer was still feeling a bit off this morning and wasn’t sure whether she wanted to come zip-lining or stay in bed for the day. Mark gave her a gentle encouragement to come. His thinking was that if she was up and moving, she might just find herself feeling well enough to join in. And to her credit, by the time we arrived, she decided she may as well give it a go—and I think she was glad she did in the end.
We went with ClimbWorks, the same company we zip-lined with in Hawaii a few years back, so we had high hopes and knew we were in good hands. Their site is perched right on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, surrounded by incredible 360-degree views. Just the ride up to the first platform was stunning—rolling green hills, dense forests, and layers of misty blue ridgelines that go on forever.
After getting harnessed up, we hopped into their off-road vehicles to be taken up the hill to our starting point. The course includes six zip lines, each offering a different mix of speed, height, and panoramic forest views.
Our guides—Alex, Emma, and Ryan—were fantastic: funny, knowledgeable, and full of interesting tidbits about the local environment and park history. There was another family and a couple on the tour, and we all took turns gliding through the treetops in pairs.
On the final line, there was a bit of excitement when a bear was spotted down below in the woods by most of the group. I missed it—not because I wasn’t looking, but because I was still waiting for my turn to cross!
After the zip-lining adventure, we were all starving, so we decided to head towards a BBQ-style cafe Emma, our guide, recommended called Docs 321 Cafe & Marketplace. It sounded great, but when we pulled up, the kids took one look and instantly decided it looked way too dodgy for their liking! We were convinced they were missing out on a tasty lunch but decided to let them off the hook. So, we turned back and ended up at The Old Mill Restaurant in Pigeon Forge instead. It was a huge place with quick service and massive portions. We started with creamy corn chowder and warm corn fritters slathered with maple butter, and while the food was pretty average, it certainly did the job of filling us up and keeping us going.
Greer was still feeling under the weather and wanted to rest, and when Mark casually mentioned there was an outlet mall nearby, Sophia and I were already in the car before he finished his sentence.
We dropped Greer and TJ back at the cabin and took a short break ourselves before heading to the Tanger Outlets. It was massive, with plenty of great shops and some real bargains. We covered most of the stores and came away with a few solid finds—always a satisfying way to end the day.
Then it was back to the cabin for dinner and a quiet night in—equal parts adventure, shopping, and recovery.
You all sound like you all are having a gre