Frugal Fun

Stunning views
Waterfalls around every corner

lots of cool old tunnels

Always something new to see

As promised I will share with you some of the ways we save money on our yearly Anniversary trip. The biggest savings by far is on the cabin, we rent from http://patriotgetaways.com/ when they run a 50% off sale. We have had great luck with this company, the cabins are always clean and well appointed, the staff are over the top customer friendly and at 50% off you can't beat the value. If your looking to take a vacation in the Smokey's you should check them out, by the way I am NOT an advertiser for the company!!! The cost per person/couple for our 4 day stay was $170.00 each, can't beat that price.

We also take along the majority of our food from home, I just dig around in the freezer and pantry to come up with meals and snacks we will all enjoy that won't put a ton of work on me. I do the baking and cooking the day before we leave so all I have to do once we arrive is warm up meals, other than breakfast which is a no brainer I don't spend much time in the kitchen other than to eat of course! We do stop at the grocery store on the way in to pick up milk, eggs, butter and ice, everything else comes from home. Traveling on bikes in the mountains we never know when the urge to get off and take in the sights or stretch our legs might hit so we make sure and have coolers on a few of the bikes, once again I bring drinks from home that I pick up on sale with coupons.

The parks in the Smokey's are all free, some have donation boxes to help cover the costs of preservation which we always donate too but it is not a requirement. There are a ton of museum's and attractions that are also free, this year we hit the "Bushes Beans" factory for a tour, sounds odd but it really was fun. In the past we have taken a few cave tours that were interesting but creepy to me. Heck just hanging out in the cabin is a vacation in itself.

We do have a few junk food joints we like to hit while there, if the "Hot Donuts Now" sign is on hubby can't pass it up so Krispy Kreme is one stop, we both grew up on Krystal hamburgers that we can't get at home (thank goodness) so we are sure to grab a few to quench our youthful cravings and in the past A&W was where we ate our Anniversary dinner, unfortunately it has gone out of business this year so no frosty mug for us :( When we were first married a real treat for us was to meet friends on Tuesday night for the coney dog special, 2 coney dogs for $1.00 and free refills of root beer. We couldn't afford to go each week (yes we were that poor) but we would save up and meet everyone at least once a month.

The cost of our trip was under $300.00 not including the Christmas shopping we did. I'd say that's a pretty good deal that anyone can afford if your willing to cook your own food and put back just a little money during the year. If your a camper the cost would be much lower, they have a ton of free national campgrounds, I AM NOT a tent camper but I'm sure it would be a lovely trip for the woodsy crowd.

Hubby is home for a few more days, we are off for breakfast to meet up with some friends then back home for some garage organization. Hubby won't let me in the garage without close supervision, he is afraid I might pitch some of his little treasures (smart man)