The Blue Ridge Mountains are generally a wonderful place to spend the holidays, and celebrating Christmas in Tennessee offers myriad ways to get into the spirit. Of course, the stellar hikes and waterfalls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park get a lot of press in the summertime, as do the water recreation opportunities in Tennessee’s lakes. … Read more
[Updated November 30, 2024] Whether you’re continuing a lifelong Christmas tradition or getting your first ever real tree, picking out a tree from one of the many NC Christmas Tree Farms is truly a magical holiday moment. Especially when you’re doing it among the majestic Blue Ridge mountain overlooks and landscapes of North Carolina. Exploring … Read more
[Updated on November 3, 2024] While NC is renowned for an incredible array of popular natural attractions, come holiday time, you can also find dazzling Christmas Lights in North Carolina. Ther are a ton of things to do for Winter in North Carolina and it’s a fantastic place for enjoying festive activities. The temperatures are chilly … Read more
In 2022, my wife Mary decided to make her 80-year-old dad’s longtime dream of spending Christmas in Asheville NC come true. She planned a terrific trip that included two “bucket list” items– the Biltmore Estate Christmas Candlelight Tour and the Polar Express Christmas Train Ride on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad in Bryson City. … Read more
[Updated October 27, 2024] Visit the Tennessee mountains around the holidays and you might feel like you’re in one of those Christmas towns from a Hallmark movie. In our experience, Tennessee mountain towns tend to feel cozy and quaint all year-round. But when Christmas time comes, the festive decor and old-fashioned charm are really … Read more
Appalachia music is well-known around the U.S. and highly regarded worldwide. This region’s peaks and valleys were instrumental (pun intended!) in forming the foundation of traditional American music as we know it today. The Blue Ridge Mountains and Southwest Virginia are particularly known for bluegrass and old-time music featuring stylistic fiddling and hot finger-picking on … Read more
Tucked in a gap in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, Gatlinburg is a tourist-driven mountain town with two different levels. The heart of Downtown Gatlinburg is chock full of restaurants, shops, and fun attractions. But there are also an array of mountaintop attractions that can be accessed by a short chair lift, gondola, or bus ride. … Read more
Train rides for Christmas chug back into our lives with a payload of nostalgia on board. Railroads come from a historic era before automobiles and airplanes had been invented. Yet they come rumbling in from afar with an odd sense of odd familiarity, even for those who’ve never been on a train ride before. In our … Read more
There’s nothing remotely dull about spending Christmas in Tennessee. In fact, there are literally millions (maybe even billions) of twinkling Christmas lights in Tennessee designed to ensure the holidays are as merry and bright as possible. If shimmering lights help to fuel your holiday spirit, visiting Tennessee in Winter offers endless options to … Read more
My wife, Heather, and I both grew up in the Mennonite community and attended Mennonite churches and schools. If you met us, you’d see that we live a modern (a.k.a. “mainstream”) Mennonite lifestyle. We both drive cars, have college degrees, and dress according to current fashion. But still we have a great appreciation for our … Read more
