Mini Adventures: Pigeon Forge, Local Breweries, SkyFly & Charlotte Hornets

Not every good trip needs a hotel reservation, a cruise ship, or a week away from home. These five smaller outings took place across a little more than three months, and each one gave us a different reason to get out of the house: mountain scenery, local drinks, food we had never tried, family attractions, golf, and live basketball.

October 25–26: A fall Pigeon Forge weekend

We started the Pigeon Forge trip with breakfast at The Old Mill. It is the kind of place that fits a fall morning in the Smokies—traditional food, a historic setting, and plenty to explore nearby once breakfast is finished.

The Old Mill area made it easy to turn one meal into several stops. We visited Old Forge Distillery and Mill Bridge Hard Cider Company, trying local flavors without driving across town between every tasting. Later, we spent time around the Junction 35 area. The kid rode the train, and we picked up tea from one of the nearby tea shops.

We ate at Local Goat, then used the next part of the trip for golf at Gatlinburg Golf Course. The fall colors and mountain views did as much for the experience as the golf itself. This short trip ended up having a little of everything we enjoy in Pigeon Forge: familiar food, local tastings, something for the kid, and an activity that let us slow down and enjoy the scenery.

November 9: From Virginia cider to Johnson City

The first tasting day began at Squabble State Hard Cider & Spirits near Bristol. The property, mountain setting, and cider made it feel more like a destination than a quick taproom stop.

From there, we continued through the region with Gypsy Circus Cider Company and Bays Mountain Brewing Company. Flights let us sample several styles without ordering a full pour at every location, and food along the route helped keep the day from becoming one long line of tasting rooms.

The later stops shifted from cider and beer toward spirits. King City Distillery and Tennessee Hills Distillery each added something different before we ended around Johnson City Brewing Company. The best part of the route was the variety: cider, beer, spirits, pizza, and food spread across several places rather than repeating the same experience all day.

December 21: Another brewery afternoon

In December, we returned to Tennessee Hills and continued through a few Johnson City-area breweries. This trip was less about building a strict checklist and more about trying flights, sharing food, and seeing how the atmosphere changed from one taproom to the next.

That relaxed approach worked well. A shorter list with time to sit down, eat, and talk made the day more enjoyable than rushing to squeeze in every brewery in the area.

January 31: SkyFly and a parade of pizza

Our next Pigeon Forge outing centered on The Island. We tried SkyFly: Soar America, an indoor flying-theater attraction that combines a suspended ride system with a large screen, motion, wind, mist, and other effects. It delivered the feeling of a much bigger ride without requiring a full theme-park day.

Dinner at Pizza Rio became the other half of the experience. Brazilian-style service meant different pizzas kept arriving at the table, including savory combinations and dessert slices. Instead of committing to one pizza, we could try a wide range of toppings a slice at a time. The unusual varieties made the meal as entertaining as the attraction.

February 7: Birria and basketball in Charlotte

The final mini adventure took us to Charlotte for a Hornets game against the San Antonio Spurs. Before heading into Spectrum Center, we stopped for birria and a quesadilla with consommé—a rich, satisfying game-day meal that immediately earned its place in the story.

Spectrum Center sits in the middle of Uptown, so the walk toward the arena felt connected to the city instead of isolated in a large parking lot. Once inside, we watched warmups, took in the court and scoreboard, and settled in for the full NBA atmosphere. The teal court and Buzz City presentation gave the game a look that felt unmistakably Charlotte.