Road Trip to: Great Smoky Mountains

Great Smoky Mountains National Park road sign

This summer, my partner and I decided to take a road trip to Tennessee and visit the Great Smoky Mountains. We stayed in a cabin in the mountains, about 30 minutes from Gatlinburg. It was such an amazing trip. The national park is absolutely beautiful, and the views are mesmerizing. Living in Florida can sometimes feel a little monotonous because everything is so flat. Visiting the mountains was a much-needed change of scenery.

On our way there, we drove through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and finally Tennessee. I would love to go back someday and explore even more—not just the mountains, but also the small towns and the people who live there. Gatlinburg reminded me a lot of Orlando, with gift shops everywhere, plenty of tourist attractions, and a lively atmosphere. Alcohol also plays a big role in the town's culture, with numerous distilleries offering tastings of ciders and moonshine. It was definitely a fun experience.

Capiies Sticker inspired by a hiking clothing brand

Sometimes I forget how enjoyable road trips can be. I personally love driving, and traveling through the mountains while taking in the scenery was both relaxing and exciting. We made several stops along the way, and each one added something special to the trip.

We left Florida pretty late on the first day, so we decided to spend the night in Georgia before continuing our journey. The following morning, we headed to our next stop: Asheville, North Carolina. Funny enough, our original plan for this trip was actually to stay in Asheville. However, after realizing that most of the accommodations were outside of our budget, we changed our destination to Gatlinburg instead.

When we arrived in Asheville on the second day, we stopped at a restaurant called Daddy Mac’s Down Home Dive to watch the World Cup semifinal between Argentina and England. The food was great, and the match was incredibly intense. Afterward, we picked up some groceries so we could cook our own meals at the cabin.

The Great Smoky Mountains were everything we had hoped for. We originally planned to wake up before sunrise and drive to the highest point in the park to watch the sun come up. Unfortunately, when we woke up, it was raining, and we were still exhausted from the previous day's drive. Instead, we decided to get a little more sleep and wait for the rain to pass before heading out to hike with more energy. It turned out to be the right decision, and we were able to enjoy the mountains at a much more relaxed pace.