Gatlinburg or other ideas?

jettagurl

I really need to get away....with DH of course. ?I'd like to go somewhere for July 4th, which is our annversary weekend. ?I kinda am interested, just not sure 6 hrs in the car each way is what I want (I'll be about 24wk pg with twins then)...nor am I really that comfortable be that far away should something happen. ?We went to Louisville two years ago and to Cincinnati last year for the 4th, so not really interested in those. ?

I really want some place with maybe some nice shops, semi-inexpensive entertainment, and not much walking as I'm not interested in that right now either! ?

Any ideas? ?Maybe spend $350-ish total for 2 nights and activities... TIA!?

earthmuffin

Hmmm..

St.Louis is 4 hours away and has lots of inexpensive/free stuff (Arch, the zoo, great shopping, ball games, museums, etc).

Chicago is about 3 hours away and has all kinds of stuff...

Brown County is about an hour away and is very chill and romantic and springlike right now!

 Not sure if it's further but Memphis is about 5 or so hours away and has a lot of fun and random stuff.

 I hope this helps. If you want STL or Memphis suggestions let me know.

PUBoilerBride

STL, Chicago, Brown Co., Madison, Evansville, Madison WI, Nashville, Columbus OH; Cleveland...

Let me know if you want me to see if I can get you one of those stupid timeshare presentations for a free stay in Gaitlinburg/Pigeon Forge. You can always play the pregnant card when they start getting really obnoxious :P

FormerCityGirl

SW Michigan.  There's Saugatuck, St. Joe, South Haven, New Buffalo, and Bridgman.  There great beaches, a casino, fireworks on the lake, shopping, and you can usually find a festival.  Dining ranges from very casual comfort food to resort fine dining (Clementine's and Pump House are both excellent local place but similar to Fridays in price and menu).  I'm sure you could find a decent hotel for cheap.  Look for Red Arrow Highway or near to stay closer to the water.  You may want to check out B&B's too.  www.whiterabbitinn.com is one that is on Red Arrow right in between St. Joe and New Buffalo.  It always looked busy when we lived near it, but we never stayed since our house was 10 minutes away.  We had relatives stay at www.southcliffinn.com and it was immaculate when we inspected it for them.  Stevensville also has a lot of hotels and is near a very the secluded free Lincoln Township Beach and Grand Mere State Park.  St. Joe probably does the best fireworks over Silver Beach since Whirlpool almost always sponsors them.

PinkPiano

I was also going to suggest SW MI.  We're going to Saugatuck/Holland for a trip this summer.  I think it's about 3 1/2-4 hours from Indy.  I've been to South Haven before and really liked it. 

FormerCityGirl-I'm going to check out those restaurant suggestions!

 

kellyjo4.16.04

I agree that SW MI is a great idea- I especially think that it would be good for a woman pregnant with twins to enjoy putting your toes in the sand on a beach!  However, if you want to stay a little closer, you could always do French Lick.  It's only about 2.5 hours away and it's like another world down there.  The hotel/resort is a bit pricey for lodging, but there are a few bed and breakfasts and a few newer lower dollar hotels, like Comfort Suites, that have opened up recently.  There are a ton of fun and low dollarish things to do, like historic tours of the resort properties (both West Baden and the Resort), boating on nearby Patoka Lake, gambling on the penny slots or taking an old fashioned train ride.  (i would also recommend horseback riding or hiking in Spring Mill forest or going for a wine tasting at the French Lick Winery... but being preggers, those might not work for ya!)