All tagged 2022

The Resort at Governor's Crossing

The Resort at Governor's Crossing

Brittany Payne
Vacations

During our fall break trip last year to Dollywood, we stayed at a resort instead of a cabin. We actually had seen this resort on our trip last summer when we would drive to the outlets or certain parts of Pigeon Forge. Melody was obsessed with the slides coming out of the building. Well after doing some research, I discovered the resort was called “The Resort at Governor’s Crossing”. The rates were exceptionally reasonable, and all of the amenities were tough to beat. So we decided to give it a try for our short trip.

Hilton Cool Springs

Hilton Cool Springs

Brittany Payne
Vacations

Back in June of 2022, we took a trip to Dollywood with my family. Then we headed to Nashville to celebrate birthdays for both Melody and my niece Caroline. We did the American Girl Party, and we stayed at the TownePlace Suites and had the American Girl Hotel Experience too. However, we did have to find a hotel to stay in between those two trips. It didn’t make sense to drive back to Huntsville just to drive back to Nashville the next day. So we booked a room using our Hilton points in Franklin, TN. We decided to stay at the Hilton Cool Springs.

Carnival App

Carnival App

Brittany Payne
Vacations

Well let’s just continue the app reviews with another one this week. My April cruise was the first cruise I had been on in over 6 years! So some things were bound to be a different. A big difference came with the Carnival App. Carnival no longer provided paper copies of “The Fun Times”. Instead, everything you needed to know about you could find in their app. You cannot really explore their app from home, so I was sure to take A LOT of screenshots to share!

Dollywood App

Dollywood App

Brittany Payne
Vacations

When visiting Dollywood, we were sure to download the Dollywood App to help us navigate the park. While the park isn’t in need of navigation quite like at Disney World, there are some tricky areas. The app can also be useful in finding out wait times, height restrictions, and just general information. It is a great tool to help make your day a little bit easier. We also stored our season tickets in the app. By doing so, we did not have to go get a physical pass card made. Although this can be troublesome if you ever find yourself without internet. But you can also add it to your wallet in your phone to make it easier too. Another negative here is that with Bring-A-Friend tickets, they do not go away once used. So that can be a bit frustrating.

The Chop House

The Chop House

Brittany Payne
Vacations

At my mom’s previous job, she would travel a lot for work. She would go to Pigeon Forge often, and one of her favorite places is The Chop House. So on our trip back last summer, we ate dinner there one evening.

Sweet Frogs

Sweet Frogs

Brittany Payne
Vacations

Back in May and June of 2022, we went to Pigeon Forge to visit Dollywood. During our trip, we found a cute ice cream/coffee shop on our daily drive to Dollywood from our cabin in Sevierville. The ice cream portion is called Sweet Frogs. It is a traditional FroYo place. But connected to it was a coffee named Smoky Mountain Espresso. It is located on Veterans Boulevard connecting Sevierville to Pigeon Forge. They did have a drive thru, but we went in each time. We literally visited daily. I loved that they had a dole whip flavor!

Homewood Suites Cape Canaveral

Homewood Suites Cape Canaveral

Brittany Payne
Vacations

When we went on our cruise in April 2022, we decided to stay near the cruise terminal to make the morning easier. My mom had went on a cruise the month before, and I they stayed at the Homewood Suites in Cape Canaveral. It was literally less than 5 minutes to the terminal. The room itself was great and spacious. And the free breakfast the next morning was also nice. I highly recommend it if you are taking a cruise out of Port Canaveral.

Carnival Liberty

Carnival Liberty

Brittany Payne
Vacations

As I have mentioned in previous posts, my mom and I took a cruise back in April 2022. We decided to try the Carnival Liberty cruise ship. It offered the best price, and we really liked the idea of getting to go to a private island. It wasn’t Half Moon Cay, but it was still somewhere private and fun. So now I want to share all about the ship!

Fall Break Day Four

Fall Break Day Four

Brittany Payne
Vacations

We went to Pigeon Forge this year for fall break. Brad was unfortunately traveling for work. So we made it a girls trip including my mom. We found a good deal on a fun hotel, and we used our season passes for Dollywood to give us some additional fun. Emily’s family also was there for a part of a trip giving Melody someone to play with at times. We had a lot of fun, and I have a lot to share! Here is day four!

Carnival Liberty Ocean Suite

Carnival Liberty Ocean Suite

Brittany Payne
Vacations

On our cruise back in April, we opted to stay in a nicer room since it had been so long since we had cruised together. We opted to do an ocean suite. It is in between a junior suite and a grand suite. It definitely did not have as much room as the grand suite we stayed in years ago, but it was still much nicer than most of the rooms we have stayed in. Having the balcony and extra room during our cruise was really ideal too.

Fall Break 2022 - Day One

Fall Break 2022 - Day One

Brittany Payne
Vacations

We went to Pigeon Forge this year for fall break. Brad was unfortunately traveling for work. So we made it a girls trip including my mom. We found a good deal on a fun hotel, and we used our season passes for Dollywood to give us some additional fun. Emily’s family also was there for a part of a trip giving Melody someone to play with at times. We had a lot of fun, and I have a lot to share! Here is day one!

Thanksgiving 2022

Thanksgiving 2022

Brittany Payne
Randomness

This year we were able to host Brad’s family for Thanksgiving. Between all of his traveling the last year, it was really nice to spend time at home with also with family. I love hosting events, so this was a lot of fun for me (along with a bit of work). So my brother-in-law, Jeff, and sister-in-law, Rebekah, and my three nieces all stayed at our house. Brad’s parents and grandparents opted to stay in a nearby hotel. We did have the space for everyone, but it was going to be hard on his grandparents getting up and down the stairs.

Till and Harvest

Till and Harvest

Brittany Payne
Vacations

While at Dollywood in May, we had lunch at Till and Harvest. A friend of mine had warned us of potential long lines the later you wait in the lunch hour to eat, so we arrived a little before 11. We were all a little queasy from rides, so we needed the food and the break. Not to my surprise, there was no line.

September 2022 Fun

September 2022 Fun

Brittany Payne
Randomness

September was busy as we were back in full force with school and extracurriculars. Brad also traveled some for work, and Melody got to experience her first field trip at school. I am so happy at all the “normal” things coming back to this school year. She was even able to have her grandparents come eat lunch with her for grandparents day too. What I assume is due to COVID happening in 2020, they have also implemented several “e-learning” days. It was actually really nice, and I look forward to the next one. I hosted a bridal shower for my cousin, and Melody got to try on some flower girl dresses for the wedding coming up in November. We also got down most of our Halloween decor, so Melody is having a blast trying to scare us with fake spiders! October is setting up to also be a highly busy month. Stay tuned!

Aubrey's Restaurant

Aubrey's Restaurant

Brittany Payne
Vacations

When we went to Dollywood earlier this summer, we stayed in Sevierville, TN in a beautiful cabin. I did some research into some restaurants in the Sevierville area for us to grab dinner at after our days at Dollywood. We really didn’t want to deal with the crowds in Pigeon Forge proper every night if we could avoid it. One of the places I read about was a placed called Aubrey’s Restaurant. So that was a place we kept in our back pocket for when we needed it.

Load More