We set our alarm for 6 am for our third day in Gatlinburg. We had plans to wake up early so that Chris could go fishing and we could have a full day of hiking afterward. But as the alarm went off [way too early...], the sound of rain kept us in bed until 8 am.

When we woke up for the second time, the sun was shining, so we got ready for a day of outdoor adventures. But as we drove south to go to Smoky Mountains National Park, Chris noticed that the water was much too high and moving too fast for fly fishing. So, we turned around and decided to switch up our itinerary and visit the Great Smoky Arts  & Crafts Community instead.

One of our first stops was a store that I had been anxiously waiting to visit called Gemstone, a shop that sells silver jewelry and polished stones. I first learned about this shop years ago when my friend, Rachel, gave me a hammered scroll ring from there for Christmas. Then, when I went to Gatlinburg with my mom three years ago, I purchased three dainty hammered stacking rings from the shop. I lost one of the rings a while back, so on this trip I wanted to replace that ring and purchase a couple extras. I was hoping to get gold rings, but the high price of gold has prevented the shop owner from being able to buy and sell the metal. I also noticed that her once packed-to-the-brim-with-jewelry-and-stones shop is now pretty empty and sparse. I ended up purchasing three silver hammered stacking rings from her, and she seemed really pleased with my purchase!

After a picnic lunch [complete  with a fresh sarsaparilla soda from a local soda shop], we drove through the 8-mile loop of arts and crafts shops, stopping whenever something caught our eyes. We only made one other purchase — a seascape print from Seaside Art. The owner of this shop is the kind of gentleman who will talk your ear off if you give him the chance. He told us how hard times are right now for the artists of the community, so we were glad to help them out, at least a little.

When we had our fill of craft shopping, it was still early in the afternoon, so we stopped off at the Greenbrier area of Smoky Mountains National Park to take some photos of the valley and the rushing river.

What I wore: Forever21 Top, Madewell Jeans, Minnetonka Moccasins, Lonchamp Bag

We then hit up the Smoky Mountain Winery for a tasting and got a delicious bottle of their LeConte White, a dry wine made from local vidal grapes. We headed back to our cabin,  and cooked a delicious dinner of bruschetta and chicken.