July 11-12 Departure
Off we go! Destination all over the country, but the furthest west point we will travel to is Bear Lake Utah to visit our Utah family, before looping north and heading back east. Never did we think we could pull these trips and time frames off, so if you are reading this and dreaming of doing something similar but thinking its out of reach, I encourage you to take a leap and do the things!
We try to keep our drives 6-8 hours max at a time, so our first stop was Jonestown Hershey KOA just for one night, and this year we brought Summers good friend Ava on our first leg with us! We are meeting her family in Pigeon Forge!
https://koa.com/campgrounds/jonestown/. We would definitely stay here again. This RV park was close to the highway, close to a good gas station that we fit easily in for diesel, and felt safe. The perfect overnight.
July 12-13 Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Next stop Pigeon Forge and our frandssss!! The drive from Hershey area to pigeon forge was about 9 hours with quick stops here and there. Summer and Ava binge watched the entire twilight series, we are grateful for in flight Wifi! Definitely recommend. Not only can we stream movies on the road, I can work more efficiently and upload photos etc.
For our Pigeon Forge home we chose Camp Margaritaville. https://www.margaritavilleresorts.com/camp-margaritaville-rv-resort-lodge-pigeon-forge?utm_source=google&utm_medium=listing&utm_campaign=camp+margaritaville+rv+resort+and+lodge+pigeon+forge.
We would absolutely stay here again! What a fun place. This location was also perfect for us on this trip because Ava's parents were able to stay in a nice hotel right at the campground. We had 2 pools, one pool with a high energy vibe, slides, and a hot tub, and a quieter area with a lazy river, both having bar and food service.
The hotel had a cool downstairs area with an entire arcade, yard games, a full Margaritaville restaurant and clean and beautiful accommodations for all!
Pigeon Forge is a wild area, it sits right at the entrance to the smokey mountains and there is more to do there then you could possibly image. If we ever go back, I really want to go to the titanic museum! https://titanicattraction.com/pigeon-forge?utm_source=mediaone&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=im_brand&utm_content=titanic&utm_term=titanic%20museum%20pigeon%20forge&utm_campaign=PS_IM_Brand_2025&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_acc=5374981496&hsa_cam=22148733063&hsa_grp=175712999682&hsa_ad=730948951581&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-302570795642&hsa_kw=titanic%20museum%20pigeon%20forge&hsa_mt=p&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gad_source=1
On arrival, we got settled into sight 75 (this site is fantastic, its set the furthest away from everything and you are right on the edge of the smokeys, you see nothing but trees out your window and the sunrises are beautiful. You are also as far away from the high energy of the RV park as possible, so unless you want to be near the pool because of little kids, I recommend this site! We took a ride through pigeon forge to get the lay of the land, and we stopped at Stages West to do a little shopping. https://stageswest.com/?srsltid=AfmBOop4ZV9EixzJt3VqVszzB77X_HWBnGmXoVVaL938vQ0tMHmdbQPv, this place looked like the coolest country store on the stip, and we had a fantastic experience here! We found all the things we were looking for! Belts, boots, shirts, hats. They have everything, and it was all high quality and fun!
July 13, Our friends arrived! Also, Brian's birthday! 44!
We booked a night at the Dixie Stampede, and it did not disappoint! The food was actually so good, and the show was really fun! A perfect way to celebrate, and it was only a 5 minute drive from our RV resort.
July 14 girls do Dollywood, boys golf
Our first time at Dollywood (and OMG it's hot and humid). https://www.dollywood.com/
The park opened at 10, and we arrived about 10:15. Not a crazy line to get in, and we paid 50 dollars for premium parking (worth every cent, otherwise you are FAR from the entrance and need to take a shuttle to and from entrance, we also went for the plus fast passes. You can use the plus for all rides but one, and unless you plan on doing some of them over and over (premium fast pass) the plus was perfect for one day at the park. What a fun place! Our favorite rides were the Wild Eagle and Thunderhead, but they were all really fun! We did most all of the things and were there from about 10-4. The boys went golfing about 30 minutes away. There was a course right next door to where we were staying, but unfortunately they had a tournament this day. The course they traveled too was just okay.
For dinner we stayed at camp Margaritaville and hung by the lazy river and had dinner from the restaurant. Everything was delicious and they played great music!
July 15 - 19 Nashville Kentucky
The drive from pigeon forge to Nashville was about 4 hours. We stopped in a Walmart parking lot, got some chick filet and essentials, and finished out our journey to the Nashville KOA. https://koa.com/campgrounds/nashville/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp.
We also made a pit stop for gas and goodies at buckee's, because you just have to! https://buc-ees.com/
The Nashville KOA was great! We would definitely stay here again. Great pool, good amount of space around sites, only downside was it is right on the highway so you do hear the cars. It was located directly across the street from the gran ole Opry, and gaylord convention center, also a huge nice mall. We were located about 15 minutes from Broadway/ downtown Nashville, and 15 from 12 South, our new favorite place in Nashville! The campground had a nice pool and amenities as well. We felt safe and happy!
Our first night we went to dinner on Broadway at Kid Rocks Honky Tonk Steakhouse. http://www.kidrockshonkytonkandsteakhouse.com/. Ultimately just a giant party with live music on every floor which is pretty awesome. We at on the top floor rooftop deck with the kids. Food was decent, music was great, and the energy is high! Kids under 21 are only allowed there until 8pm. We realized most places on Broadway they actually don't even allow kids under 21 at all. We also learned there are a lot of great places all around Nashville to hang out and explore that are fantastic! 12 North being our favorite area of all!
Our second day we went into 12 North, an area a friend had told us to check out where she had lived for some years prior.
We checked out some really great places and we will definitely be back. https://fivedaughtersbakery.com/?srsltid=AfmBOool9aEmJ85sOZLjR37ov682wuvgFqOiDsZHvKEDVvTVU9h6617M. Adorable vibe, delicious donuts. Our favorite was the apple fritter. We also checked out Frothy Monkey for some coffee. https://frothymonkey.com/bakery/. They also had sit down breakfast that looked awesome. We just grabbed coffee to try them out, fun place, decent drinks.
July 16 we got to go to the Grand Ole Opry! What an amazing experience. We saw 5 0r 6 different bands / singers, and they were all so talented, the one who stuck out the most was Carter Faith. She sang her song Grudge, she's adorable and the song is fun! I would love to see her again someday! https://www.instagram.com/carterfaith/?hl=en
The Grand Ole Opry venue is so beautiful, and to think about all the talent that has been on that stage is really awesome. It was fun to get dressed up and go out.
https://www.opry.com/ It doesn't really mater what show you see, if you are passing through, go see whoever is playing, the venue is amazing and everyone is so much fun to see.
Our last few days in Nashville were really fun. We ate at a few more fantastic spots nestled around Nashville center and listened to some really great music. Here are a few of our favorites
Biscuit Love https://www.biscuitlove.com/
Henrys https://www.thehenryrestaurant.com/locations/nashville/
Princes hot chicken https://www.princeshotchicken.com/. ***** MY FAVORITE
Raising Canes Chicken https://www.raisingcanes.com/home/
We sent our friends off with love and so many memories. It was really fun to travel from home to Tennessee with one of Summers best friends. Off to Kentucky we go!