Vacation: In July and August of 2019, we took a road trip to Tennessee. Along the way, we also drove through Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan.

We drove 2,355 miles in 10 days (9 nights). We averaged 20.4 mpg (again) and premium gas was approximately $3.50/gallon (again).

Start Here: Click on the Category or Event in the left-hand frame to view the corresponding photos.

Click here to start at the beginning, or click here to view all of the thumbnails on a single page. Scroll down to view videos from the road trip.

To enlarge a photo or thumbnail, click on it. Each photo is named in the following format: YMD-HMS. Hover over a photo to view this information.

Summary: The Abraham Lincoln Museum (and specifically its Holovision theater) is a must-see. The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is larger and more impressive in person than you can imagine.

Gaylord Opryland in Nashville is the 3rd largest hotel in the USA, excluding Las Vegas. Overall it is the 19th largest hotel in the country and the 29th largest hotel in the world. Its indoor/outdoor waterpark is impressive as well.

Smoky Mountains National Park has several distinct regions (Cade's Cove, driving alongside Little River, Clingman's Dome, etc.), and they are all beautiful. Adjacent, Gatlinburg is very much like Wisconsin Dells.

Driving northeast of Nashville into Kentucky on the back roads was very beautiful and fun... Lots of hills and twists and turns and rock formations. Illinois, on the other hand, was boring.

Favorites: My favorite parts of the vacation were the Great Smoky Mountains and going in its Little River, Moonshine Tasting at Sugarlands in Gatlinburg, the Jim Beam Tour, and dressing up at the Memphis Children's Museum.

Rosanne's favorite parts were all of Nashville and Tennessee, the tours of Jack Daniels & Jim Beam, the Moonshine Tasting, and the Riverboat Cruise (Belle of Louisville).

The boys loved the Soundwaves Waterpark at Gaylord Opryland and the black cat at the hat store in Nashville. Elliot also loved the Grand Ole Opry tour, and Ephraim loved doing Madlibs and drawing in his journal (see below).

Other Notes: When we were watching a movie at the Abraham Lincoln Museum, Ephraim shouted "Laaaaaaate" when Lincoln got shot, omg.

We ate at Popeyes for the first time ever (in Tennessee), and boy was it amazing! We have since gone to another Popeyes in Wisconsin, and unfortunately it was not as good.

When we were in the Cade's Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains, we actually did see one Black Bear -- or as the kids referred to it, a Redneck Bear.

Last year, Elliot stepped on a cactus (without shoes on) in Badlands National Park. This year, he accidentally squirted the juice from a jalapeno pepper into his eye at the Jim Beam Distillery bar.

We found every U.S. license plate except Rhode Island and the ever-elusive Hawaii. We also found Washington, D.C., Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and even Aruba!

Cool Rocks: Each day, the boys were tasked with documenting the previous day in a journal. We tried this last year too, but the only the only thing Elliot would write is "We saw cool rocks."

Elliot (12 Pages) - This year, Elliot did much better, writing nearly a full page each day.

Ephraim (12 Pages) - Not yet able to write, Ephraim instead drew pictures of each day's activities.

Daily Videos: Watch home videos from our road trip by clicking on these YouTube links:

July 26	Steam Locomotive Navy Pier Nuclear Energy Museum of Science & Industry	July 31	Great Smoky Mountains Gatlinburg (Moonshine Tasting)
July 27	Gateway Arch	August 1	Gatlinburg, Tennessee Anakeesta
July 28	Children's Museum of Memphis	August 2	Lincoln Birthplace Jim Beam Distillery Churchill Downs Belle of Louisville
July 29	Country Music Hall of Fame Soundwaves Waterpark Gaylord Opryland Hotel	August 3	Louisville Slugger Factory Indianapolis Motor Speedway
July 30	Jack Daniel's Distillery	August 4	Indiana Dunes State Park

Total Running Time: 2 hours, 3 minutes [Playlist]

Destinations Not Filmed: Abraham Lincoln Museum, Grand Ole Opry Tour, Fort Knox

Filmed Destinations:

Swimming:

Soundwaves:

Great Smoky Mountains:

Other Links: