Sleepover Envy — Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee

When’s the last time you had a sleepover? You… not your little one. My girlfriends and I talk all the time about taking our monthly Ladies’ Night Out to the next level.

We start the conversation with Vegas or Mexico. As the wine in the bottle disappears, we’re dining in Italy.  The flight never gets booked.

How do you find a location that is affordable, meets everyone’s needs and is within reasonable distance?

These are the roadblocks that stop us from following through with a Girlfriend Getaway.

Over the past year, as you know, I’ve been forcing myself out of my comfort zone and trying new things. Last month I had the opportunity to travel to Sevierville,Tennessee with a small group of fellow bloggers.

Much to my surprise, I became enamored with the city. Who knew Tennessee would be such an amazing place? We’ve considered visiting the Smokies as a family, but I had never considered Sevierville as a place to visit with friends.

The city offers 3 ways to soothe a woman’s soul:

1. Retail Therapy. Ok, so it may be cliché, but let’s admit it… many of us love to shop. Sevierville has an unbelievably huge outlet mall with stores like: Banana Republic, Gymboree, Coach, Nike, the list of stores goes on and on.

2. Fun for the Foodie. The local food was amazing. It ranged from classic Southern cooking to fine dining. My mouth is watering just thinking about the filet mignon and red wine. Nom, nom, nom.

3. Natural Choice for the Nature Lover. The Smokies are gorgeous. As we drove into the park I could literally feel the reduction of my stress level.

What makes Sevierville the perfect location for a Girlfriend Getaway? Below are 5 reasons why I think the city rocks:

1. Accommodates Split Personalities. My friends lovingly call me a tree hugger. Shopping would quickly get old for me. Yet, one of my best friends would despise a National Park vacation. Sevierville allows women with different interests to spend time together doing a variety of things.

2. Amazing Cabins. The truth is, some of the best parts of a trip are “just being together” with your friends. After a day out on the town you can come together to relax fireside. Add a bottle of local wine, beautiful scenery and my three favorite ladies… I am set. Heaven.

Sevierville offers luxury cabins big and small. You can find something to accommodate a range of two to twenty people. I love the idea of organizing a large group of woman with a “choose your own adventure” approach to the trip.

3. Easy to Navigate. Everything we did was within a 45 minute radius of our hotel. I mean everything including: the Tanger Outlet Mall, Foxfire Mountains Adventure zip lining, the helicopter tour, Ripley’s Aquarium and a zillion-and-one restaurants.

4. Centrally Located. Tennessee is a great central location for people from across the nation to come together.

Our blogging group came from a wide variety of places: Melissa from Consumer Queen arrived from Oklahoma, Jill from Baby Rabies flew in from Texas and Susan from 5 Minute for Mom joined us from Vancouver.

5. Reasonably Priced. Everything was reasonably priced, from the food to lodging. Of course, one can be tempted to spend those savings at the outlet mall.

While I had an amazing time with my new found blogging friends, I actually long to take my inner circle of friends back to Sevierville.

As parents, I think one of the best lessons we can teach our children is the importance of maintaining friendships.

Too often, we as women get swept away taking care of everyone else and their needs. So I ask again, when was the last time you had a sleepover? When is the last time you stayed up all night chatting with your friends?

Have you followed through with taking a weekend away with your favorite ladies? I’d love to hear how you as a group of friends made that conversation a reality. Let’s chat in the comments.

Dedication: This post is dedicated to my three Ladies’ Night friends: Tanya, Katie and Nicole.
May we find time to schedule our own adventure soon. XO

PS: I couldn’t help be amused by this rooster at the Rainforest Adventures Zoo. Chicks ONLY.

Photo Credits: Thank you to Jill Krause for the top two black & white images (Group Lunch & Winding Smokie Mountain Road).

The good folk of Sevierville, Tennessee invite me and a few other bloggers down to check out their city. They were gracious host, all travel and activities expenses were covered by the Chamber of Commerce. As always, I am honored to share my adventures with you.
Stay tuned for more updates!