Road Trippin' Adventures with Air bnb

Facing the need to purchase 4 plane tickets for a family vacation, now that our youngest is 3, we decided to road trip somewhere for our spring break vacation this year.  We wanted to find somewhere warmer than the Chicago area, but not SO far away we'd spend the entire time in the car.  After a couple people recommended Dollywood Amusement Park next to the Smoky Mountains in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, we decided to book a sweet looking cabin there.  I'm not necessarily a "fan" of Dolly Parton, not that I'm not a fan, but the Amusement Park in her southern hometown has a rep for being the most friendly amusement park, so it seemed like a fun idea. Plus, the cabin is up on a steep hillside with a beautiful view of the Smoky Mountains, so I liked the idea of a balance between the commercialism heavy Dollywood Amusement park (which I knew my hub & son would love), with an outdoorsy, nature heavy vacation, (which I personally prefer).

To Air bnb or not to Air bnb?

1st: What is Air bnb?  stands for: Air Bed and Breakfast
What is it?  Places to stay, all over the world, sometimes is it a bedroom inside someone's house, but it can also be an entire residence, a huge cabin, a small condo, a yurt, a tree house, an airstream, etc.

website--->  https://www.airbnb.com/

I decided to find a few Air bnb's to stop and stay overnight at, to break up our drive, and also extend our trip a few days. I've been eager to try staying at an Air bnb again, we had one go very wrong last year, but I knew it was a fluke.  I've had a few colleagues tell me about how it works, and I thought it sounded great.   I always assumed it was for couples, or young people backpacking across Europe.  Turns out you can choose if you want to stay in an entire place, versus a bedroom inside someone else's home.  Many are pet and/or kid friendly.  Most of the Air bnb's that I found, actually cost less than area hotels.  You get to meet people who live there, which can mean valuable insider info on where to go/what to do.

Here's our trip:

Chicago ------> 1st stop: Louisville, Kentucky

Dinner here was great!

Louisville

Mammoth Cave Tour, Louisville

                                                                         
                                                                                             
Our first Air bnb stop was staying overnight in the semi-furnished basement of a home in the Upper Highlands neighborhood of Louisville.

The space was comfy, they had some fun, quirky, old fashioned toys for the kids to play with, including a lamp that was made from an old parking meter, you put a coin in to turn it on.  Private entrance, TV/Cable, laundry room, room for 4 to sleep, wet bar and a coffee maker. The owners left us a mini loaf of homemade banana bread. We went for a walk in the morning, loved the area!

Louisville, KY ------> 2nd stop: McKee, KY

Rural Kentucky, next to the Daniel Boone National Forest

We call this 2nd stop the Treehouse cabin, because of the tree deco inside the cabin. This rustic cabin is located next to the homeowners, an incredibly kind, friendly couple who are originally from the East coast.  No TV, no kitchen, just peace & quiet, a few horses, a bunch of nice dogs, a lovely waterfall/garden area, and a lot of great hiking spots just a short drive away.

Hiked nearby at Pike Falls

McKee KY --------> 3rd stop: Knoxville, TN

We stayed in a newly renovated basement/studio that was beautiful & perfect for us! We really enjoyed the shops and restaurants of downtown too.

Fort Knoxville park

Downtown Knoxville

Knoxville, TN -------> Destination: Pigeon Forge, TN (Dollywood Cabin in Smoky Mtns)

Dollywood Cabin w/ view of Smoky Mtns.

Our cabin was beautiful

We opted to drive straight home. Ended up taking us between 8.5 and 9 hours with a couple stops. Overall, a fun adventure!