For the past 10 days, I have spent my time in Sevierville, Tennessee. My cousins were nice enough to invite me and we had a blast here. I have never been and now I can say that I have and I loved it. We had a big checklist of places to see and things to do and we checked off almost all of them. So many memories were made and it's hard to believe it's been 10 days because it feels like we got here yesterday.

I am sad to be leaving but I am so happy to be able to write about all of the fun things to do here if you've never been! Let's jump right on in:

1. Eat

I had to put this first on the list because it is one of the first things we did, and if you don't know me, one thing you should know is that I enjoy food a lot.

We enjoyed some of the best southern food at the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant. They serve every table a big basket of apple fritters and a fresh cup of their julep. The julep was my favorite. I could've drank my weight in it. Also, the fried okra there is to die for. The sides are served family style and the waiters and waitresses there are very friendly.

2. Dollywood and Splash Country

This would be first on my list if I didn't love food so much. I've learned that you can't visit Tennessee and not go to Dollywood. It really is amazing, with a lot of shops and fun rides. Speaking of rides, my cousins somehow tricked me into going on the Tennessee Tornado. It is Dollywood's fastest roller coaster which reaches 70 mph. So, they got me on it in the dark, and we start to go up. I'm looking at all the mountaintop cabins and look over and see this huge loop. I think to myself, "That can't be the ride we're on, they didn't say anything about going upside down." Guess what, I was wrong. After the first loop I realized what I had got myself into. I don't usually ride rides like that. Afterwards, my cousin Austin looked at me and says, "Uncle Dave would be proud." Our Uncle Dave loved roller coasters. He lived for the thrill. Me, not so much.

3. Go on a hike through the Great Smoky Mountains

I loved the view, but I hated the work. It was so hot and my 19-year-old knees are bad, so hiking isn't exactly my cup of tea. As well as accepting that I could potentially be mauled by a bear, I was really questioning it after I read the sign. However, we made it to the end, and there was a gorgeous waterfall. The water was pretty cold but we had a lot of fun. Afterwards we enjoyed some sandwiches that were very well deserved as my cousin Lisa said. Leg day is just not for everyone, ya know?

4. Visit The Island

The Island was really fun. It's basically just a bunch of shops and cool obstacles/games/fun stuff. It is also where the Margaritaville Hotel is. My cousins Ashton and Austin did this obstacle course where you basically get strapped to a hook and you just walk on ropes and small platforms. Again, not my thing, but they looked like they had fun! We also did bumper cars and took old time photos there. The pictures were hilarious.

Funny story: The girl at the photo place says, "Point your guns towards me," and Austin points it sideways. *laughing emoji*

5. Visit all of the little country stores

We went to so many stores with a bunch of homemade jams, jellies, ciders, you name it. A lot of these stores has woodcarvers outside of them carving bears and wolves etc. We even went to one place that just did carving. My cousin, Rodney, was obsessed with all of them. The guy at one store cut us a deal, if we bought the bear I wanted, he'd throw in the wolf my cousin wanted for free. So we got 'em.

and can we just talk about this Yoda? The craftsmanship, man.

6. Go mini golfing

You can't go on vacation and not go mini golfing, come on.

Here's me looking like a sack of potatoes.

7. Enjoy the great outdoors, but also stay at least 20 feet away.

Yep, we hiked a whole mountain and saw maybe one lizard. We come back to our cabin and boom, hey there lil baby bear!

I named him Mr. Bear-y. He was so cute. I actually don't know if it was a he or she, but it was so cute and I wanted to pet it so bad.

8. Visit the Ripley's Aquarium

Even though the penguins were asleep, the aquarium was still a lot of fun. You can touch stingrays and even go inside a tube to the inside of the penguin sanctuary. It was super cool, they even have a moving platform for lazy people like me!

This guy was my favorite

I will forever remember the amazing time here I spent in Tennessee, one of the best vacations ever. Thank you to Rodney and Lisa for letting me join. If you ever have the chance, please visit Tennessee, you won't regret it.