Nantahala Village

We have just returned from Nantahala, North Carolina - a place I had never heard of until just a few months ago. It is actually right outside of Bryson City, NC and in the middle of the Smoky Mountains. Thomas the Train was going to be at the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad and we decided to just take our family vacation there this year. We would be able to see and ride Thomas with Jack and there would be lots of other things the rest of us could enjoy. Fortunately, my mom and dad went with us for a few days and then they headed back a little earlier.

We stayed at the Nantahala Village Resort in a cabin in the mountains. We felt like we were really roughing it b/c we were pretty deserted up there. We were seriously IN THE MOUNTAINS!! This isn't the same as staying in Gatlinburg (which is about an hour away and we were able to make a day trip there). We were in the middle of the mountain which was an adjustment, but breathtaking as well. We thought we would really enjoy that a lot more than being in the big city, so off we went... Let's just say, it was off the beaten track enough that Ben was listening for banjo music at night:)

We were able to do lots of fun things. Thanks to my parents, Ben and I were able to go whitewater rafting (fun!) and Ben was able to play some mountain golf during the trip. I have lots of pictures from all the other fun stuff we did...

These first two pictures were the view from the front porch of our cabin. Beautiful!

Day Out With Thomas

Thomas the Train was at the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in Byson City, NC (about 10 mintures from our cabin). We were able to get there early and play all the Thomas games, get our picture with Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt and all sorts of fun stuff. We also went to the train museum and Jack loved that. The bad part was it was POURING down rain and it stayed like that ALL DAY! We were running from tent to tent, but other than that it was fun. (Note to Moms: The tickets are only $18 but you barely get your money's worth. The activities are fun and Jack really enjoyed them but the train ride was nothing special. It's worth it, but don't travel a long way unless you have a whole vacation planned.)

When it was finally time to ride Thomas, we had been in the rain all day and were worn out. Jack was under the impression that we were going to get into the actual Thomas car. We explained to him that we were going to ride Clarabel (the car that Thomas pulls) instead and this was the look we got...

In his defense, the train ride was a big bummer... It was REALLY slow and there wasn't even a lot of good scenery. I wouldn't drive a long way for "A Day Out With Thomas" unless you're going somewhere like the mountains to make it worth the trip. The train ride actually just rocked Jack to sleep. We tried to keep him awake...

... but finally just gave up!

Nothing like driving 7 hours for a 25 minute train ride that your child sleeps through - ha ha!!

Santa's Land

This was a theme park and zoo in Cherokee, NC geared towards young children. Jack really enjoyed it a lot and it was totally worth the trip.


How many places do you just get to see Santa walking around?! He was actually riding the rides with some of the older children.


The one and only picture my mother let me take of her the entire vacation!! We were so glad they got to go with us. We enjoyed it with them there soooo much!

A Little of This and That...

This was my greatest discovery on the trip...

It's called a "Pink Lady." I found it at a coffee shop called "Shot in the Dark" in Dillsboro. I never drink flavored coffee - just straight up iced non-fat lattes for me. But I got this for my dad to be funny and I went nuts over it. I would think of reasons the whole trip to go the 30 minutes to this town to get one all the time. I got addicted!!

There was lots more actually... I'll try to post pictures from the sky lift, paddle boats, whitewater rafting, go cart rides, and everything else later, but I'm tired right now...

Outside the cabin

Outside the lodge at Nantahala Resort. Our cabin was actually about a mile straight up the mountain from the lodge.

Great trip, but it's good to be home!!