Great Smoky Mountains

DAY ONE - Sat, Jul 18th

We left after Brennan got his run in and drove to New Orleans (8.5 hrs). We aimed to get local cuisine in each state, so we stopped at Popeye's. It was HORRIBLE. Mold on the ceiling with dripping condensation, dirty bathroom, horrible side dishes, and too much breading on the chicken. The only thing we liked were the seasoned, crinkle-cut fries. 

We got checked into our downtown hotel (they gave away our larger room, so they gave us two instead!) just in time to watch the 3rd place World Cup Game (France & England). While we watched, Ryan and Collin trekked over to Bourbon St. to listen to jazz. Ryan got pulled into a street performer's show, and they had a great time.

We met up for dinner at Legacy Restaurant. Aiming for local food again, Kate and I shared chicken & waffles (fantastic!), and Ryan and Collin got gumbo (flavorless). Brennan got a seasoned shrimp dish (delicious), and Ethan got smothered brisket tots that we all shared (super good). 

To walk off the calories, we ventured down to to their riverwalk. 

One of our room had a boardroom table and dry erase board, so we borrowed a dry erase marker from the lobby staff and played cards, keeping score on the wall. Fun memory! We also learned to played Imposter (cell phone game), which we continued through the whole trip. 

DAY TWO: New Orleans - Sun, Jul 19th

We woke up early to beat the crowds and walked to Café du Monde for beignets (cash only). On the way, we passed this cute castle as we wandered through the French Quarter. I was also able to snag a pic to represent my 44th state.

There were some fun street performers as we puffed powdered sugar all over ourselves, the table, and the ground. After the deliciousness, we walked along the river back to the hotel again. I was super excited about these Mississippi River paddleboats. 

After checking out of the hotel, we started our drive to Chattanooga (7 hrs). Mississippi was my 45th state...

...Alabama was my 46th...

and Tennessee (our destination!) clocked in as my 47th state! 

We stayed the night in Chattanooga and wished we still had two rooms! Haha.

DAY THREE: Chattanooga & Sevierville - Mon, Jul 20th

We chose a stop in Chattanooga in order to visit Ruby Falls. It was a guided tour starting with a trip down an elevator to a 90-min walk to an underground waterfall. It was pretty touristy for our usual destinations, but it was still neat. 

Afterwards, we found a riverwalk park to wander around. Ryan and the boys threw around the Frisbee, and Katelyn and I watched the paddleboarders on the river. 

We grabbed some delicious ice cream at Crumpie's, and then hopped back on the road to our final destnation, Gatlinburg (1 hr)

On the way, we stopped in Sevierville for lunch (after the Popeye's catastrophe we played it safe with trusty Panda Express). Katelyn has having all kinds of foot pain, so we had ordered insoles for her tennis shoes for Amazon locker drop-off at the Ross Dress for Less. Unfornately, they hadn't delivered yet, so we just bought her new shoes. Next, we stopped at Walmart for a curbside pickup of groceries for the cabin.

We finally made it to our DARLING cabin and got settled in. Ryan and I took the master on the main floor. Katelyn had the pull-out bed in the living room. The boys shared the upstairs master. The upstairs also had a pool table and arcade game in the loft.

We decided to check out the neighborhood amenities before bed. We even played a little pickleball before bed.

DAY FOUR: Gatlinburg - Tue, Jul 21st

Fearing a lack of parking, we were up by 6am to drive to the Grotto Falls trailhead. We got the last parking spot at 7:10 am! It was 2.6 miles with 585 feet of elevation gain. The destination was this beautiful waterfall with a path that went behind it. The boys even hiked up around off-trail to the top, which they thought was awesome.

After exploring the Roaring Fork Motor Trail, we headed back to the cabin for lunch.

Ryan and Brennan ran the mountain (HILLY!), and we got washed up to check out the town of Gatlinburg. 

We wandered the main strip, and we got some souvenirs. We had dinner at Best Italian. They had a cute outdoor patio along a little creek. They are known for their garlic rolls, which we hated (dinner rolls with mounds of minced garlic on top). I got some delicious lasagna, and Ethan & Katelyn shared a yummy supreme pizza. Ryan & Collin enjoyed chicken fetticini alfredo, but Brennan got this lemon shrimp fetticini, and it was HORRIBLE. Anyway, you win some, and you lose some. 

DAY FIVE: Gatlinburg - Wed, Jul 22nd

Another early morning for a parking spot... which we didn't get. We had to park down the road and hike back to get to the trailhead for Alum Cave. It was 4.6 miles with 1145 feet of elevation gain. It was a little rough for this old lady, but we all made it! It used to be a Confederate gunpowder mining site.

When we got to the top, we had hoped to get a cell signal to reserve Collin's senior parking spot (they opened at a certain time), but we failed. The whole speedy walk down we all searched for a signal, then drove to our next destination, still searching for a signal.

At the Clingman's Dome trailhead parking lot (lots of spots!), we finally got the websites to load (an hour late), and he got a spot near by his friends but not in the same strip. Sigh. Can't win them all.

Clingman's Dome was COLD and FOGGY. It is a 1 mile paved walkway with CRAZY incline (350 feet of elevation gain). There is an outlook at the top. I was excited to go to the Visitor's Center, but it was just another gift shop. 

After BOTH hikes, we were hungry. We talked to the kids into trying lunch at Reggae Jam. Jamaican food! I got the jerk chicken, mac & cheese, and dirty rice, and OH MY GOODNESS - Heaven on a plate. I love Carribbean food! 

After heading back to the cabin and resting, we played pickleball as a family and swam. More game playing before bed! 

DAY SIX: Gatlinburg - Thu, Jul 23rd

The day we had been waiting for - our whitewater rafting day with Raft Outdoor Adventures in Hartford. The location was in part of the hardest hit areas of Hurricane Helene two years ago (2024), so the 1-hr drive there was full of construction. 

It rained the whole way there, stopped for our trip, and started again when we were done. Tender Mercy! The water was running fast and bumpy, and we had a GREAT time. The guide was impressed with our paddling, so he took us through some rougher sections too. Awesome! 

Afterwards, we changed clothes and grabbed lunch at Greasy Spoon - sometimes burgers, fries, onion rings, and milkshakes really hit the spot! 

Getting back to the cabin, we rested and headed to the gym to run/lift and play some more pickleball.

DAY SEVEN: Memphis - Fri, Jul 24th

We got all packed up and on the road to Nashville (4 hr drive). We had lunch downtown at Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, and wandered down Broadway and listened to the music pouring out of all the bars. 

We saw some more riverboats along their waterfront, and then headed back to the car. Onward to Memphis (3 more hrs)! We started our sightseeing at the Pyramid Bass Pro Shop. Then we checked into our downtown hotel. After Ryan & Brennan ran on the treadmills, we headed to Beale Street for dinner. We ate at Blue City Diner for dinner - catfish, ribs, and fried shrimp. Perfection! 

After dinner, we went through the metal detectors and had our IDs scanned in order to listen to some blues. We really liked Beale St (better than NO's Bourbon St & Nashville's Broadway), but we left before dark. Collin loves all music, but Ethan really got into all the saxphones.

We grabbed some ice cream on the way back to the hotel and fell into bed. 

DAY EIGHT - Sat, Jul 25th

Ryan and Brennan ran the 6-miles round-trip to the Big River Crossing (free one-mile pedestrian bridge over the Mississippi River). 

The rest of us walked to the Tom Lee River Park (2 miles). Memphis had a great riverfront too! 

After hotel breakfast and showers, we started our 7-hour drive to Frisco. We checked into our hotel, and then met up with Megan & Chris at Hutchin's BBQ - best in Texas IMO. Afterwards, we played cards at their house before returning to our hotel to sleep.

DAY NIGHT - Sun, Jul 26th

Finally headed home! We were more than ready to make the final trek home (5 hrs). We were happy to face the least nasty traffic we've ever experienced on this stretch and made it home at 1 o'clock. Hooray! 

* * *

Tennessee is beautiful. Smoke Mountains are gorgeous. We super overate good and bad food. I think this may have been our last family road trip, which is just about killing me. Yay for family games and hiking and memories! 

Spring 2026

Annual Ice Storm

Our annual ice storm hit on a Saturday evening this year, so we got Church and Monday's school canceled. We had a great time playing in the ice the last weekend in January.

Elementary Dance Party

The PTO hosted a fun dance party for Valentine's Day weekend. Katelyn had a great time with friends, and I volunteered and helped with the pizza distribution. 

Collin's Last Piano Recital

After 12 years of piano lessons, Collin gave his last recital on Feb 17th. He was the grand finale again and did a wonderful job playing the Military Polonaise by Chopin. He will still play for fun and compose when he has time, but he won't be taking formal lessons for his senior year. Bittersweet.

Collin's Robotics Team

One of the reasons that Collin is stepping away from piano lessons is because robotics takes so much of his time. He was the captain of programming again this year, and the team made it to the State Competition! They haven't made it to States since he was still in middle school. They were so many long nights, early mornings, and weekends away. One more year! Go Coll!

Ethan's Band Concerts

Ethan tried out and made the District All-Star Band. He had to keep up with the regular 6th grade band requirements, as well as the extra songs and practices for this special group. He had a bunch of songs to learn and just as many concerts. He loves the saxaphone and plans to continue playing. Go Eefie! 

Katelyn's Choir Concerts

Katelyn sang in the school choir again this year. They sang the national anthem at the Spurs game on March 6, as well as lots of other District and school-wide concerts. She has really enjoyed it!

Brennan's Track Meets

This year was Brennan's first year in high school track. He ran a mixture of long distances for the JV team. He'd run either the one mile or the 800 meter and the 2 mile or the 400 m. The most exciting part was that he won the District 800m! Lightning feet. Go B!

Mom's GATE Showcase

My students did their annual showcase of projects on April 30th. The older students (Katelyn included) studied ancient civilizations and modern infrastructure and created utopian destinations, and the younger kids studied animal adaptations and created their own animal. The parents were pleased with their work, so that's a win for me.

Project Hail Mary Premiere

Last Thanksgiving we listened to the book Project Hail Mary while driving to and from St. George. We were so excited to go together to see the movie priemere on Fri, Mar 20th. Unfortunately, we had a group of obnoxious women in the row behind us, but we bought it later to stream it as often as we want!  

Easter Walk

Sigh. Thankfully, another Easter Walk is behind us. Last year I delegated the work and basically skipped the whole thing. This year I felt guilty and pretty much did the whole thing, with the supreme assistance of Ryan and the kids. It was held on Fri, Apr 3rd (Good Friday), and we spent Thursday evening and Friday evening at the church. Next year will be my last year as RS President, so then we can skip the whole nightmare.

SAFC soccer game

We went as a family to a minor-league soccer game here in San Antonio on Fri, Apr 11th. We had second row seats right behind the goal, and we had the best time! Unfortunately, the game ended 0-0.

Ethan's Soccer Season

Ethan played Rec soccer this season. He even earned the Golden Glove Award on Sat, May 9th, given to the goalie with the most saves in the season. Go E!  

Katelyn's Club Soccer

Katelyn played Club soccer again this season. She's the star center defender, just like her momma was. In May, she tried out for this coming year, and it was a TON of drama. Since she has a late Aug birthday, they wanted to move her down to the U11 A Team. The main reason was that she doesn't play on Sundays. The coaches hate having to find subs for her for those games. Anyway, then we found out her bestie's little sister was on that team, so we begged for a spot on the U12 B Team, so at least she was with girls in her grade, albeit with a lower skill lever. Then a player declined her spot on the U12 A Team, and they offered the spot to her! In the end, she is on the same team with all the same friends. What a tender mercy! Way to go, Kate! 

Collin's AP Research Presentation

Collin took an AP class this year where he researched and presented about a topic of his choice. Of course, he learned about the history of some programming languages, and then created his own on Mon, Apr 27th. The final score was 25% presentation and 75 % research paper, and he got a 5! Go C!

Ryan's Master's 2.0 Graduation 

Ryan graduated... again! This time he got a masters in data analytics for Texas Tech's business school. The program was all online in the evenings, and he worked his tail off the last two years. He and I took off work and drove up to Lubbock on Thu, May 14th. It was fun to celebrate just the two of us. We drove home the next day. Go Ry!

Katelyn's 5th grade Track Meet, Party & Graduation

Katelyn had a great last week of elementary school. The Saturday before, we went together to get our nails done. Tuesday was the Track Meet at the high school. She had a lot of fun. Wednesday was the party, complete with water slides, foam dancing, and pizza and paletas. Thursday was the graduation. She got to sing with the choir. Yay Katelyn! And that's a wrap on elementary school for the Williams! 

Bring on summer!