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I’ve been eyeing Ancient Lore Village for a couple of years since I saw it on Instagram, and the perfect opportunity came this week! When I first saw it on a reel, I almost thought that it had to be fake! I didn’t think that a place like this existed in the United States. So, I did my own research, and I’ve never been so happy that I was wrong! It was as real as real can be, so I literally put it on my “Dream List”. Fast forward to last week, an opportunity came up at the most PERFECT time with Ancient Lore Village, and we were all stoked to visit! When I first shared with the family, everyone’s reaction was the same. “Wow, is this real?'“
After things got finalized, I did even more research, and this time, I went to Youtube. One video in particular really caught my interest, and it was on the history of this property. The founder says it a lot better than me, so I really encourage you to check it out because it almost brought me to tears when I realized how blessed we were to be able to go to a place so special!
We stayed here in Bokee’s Bungalow, and it sleep 8 people! 2 bedrooms downstairs with a queen bed each. Upstairs has 2 bunk beds (4 twin beds). 2 full bathrooms, and 1 with a tub (not a shower). If you go to their site, you can get a full online tour!
Want the most unique place to stay for your family? A place where you feel like you’re in a fairytale storybook where everyone is so kind and welcoming? A place where you can disconnect from all the “noise” and just reconnect with those you love? This place wasn’t built just out of an idea to “look cute”… It had a deeper purpose. If you watched the YouTube video, the founder says it the best, but he wanted a space where people, even as strangers can come together, unite and bond. He felt that the world was so divided, so instead of complaining about it, he wanted to do something about it! Wow! Love that mentality! An intentional place of stay where you can do just that! There are no TVs here except one in the common room for meetings and gatherings. Our kids even said that they were actually happy that there were no TV’s. During our stay, we could sense even our kids’ minds and hearts quieting down… so much that it even sparked wonderful ideas and vision in them! It’s amazing when you have quietness, you can actually hear the only voice that ever will matter… God’s!
The photos speak for themselves, but we felt like we stepped into a story book… How creative and how adorable this place was inspired me to pay attention to the details and to act on the ideas that God gives us MORE! Our most often asked question for our trips is our itinerary, so I’m trying to be better at logging the info to share with you all! Our stories on Instagram @obristimagery and reels will have so much more! Hope to see you all there!
Below is what we did Day ONE:
4:00pm Check In at Ancient Lore Village
5:00pm Archery / Axe Throwing (You get 30 minutes each! Please note that reservations have to be made.)
6:00pm Field games (These are open to everyone.)
6:30pm Leave for downtown Knoxville
7:00pm Dinner at Knoxville @Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar
*Please note that many restaurants are closed on Mondays in Knoxville!
*This place was amazing. Great food and service, but the street violinist who was NOT good gave us anxiety and made us all really irritated. True story… I wanted to ask him to stop playing, honestly, but I didn’t want to go viral that way. lol The violinist had nothing to do with the restaurant. We chose to eat outside, and he was a street violinist obviously playing outside, and not too far from us, so we could hear everything clearly. hehe We left as fast as we could because of that. LOL!
8:00pm Dessert at @Cruze Farm Dairy (They have vegan vanilla! I didn’t wear the hat because we all agreed that I looked awful with it on. haha)
CUTEST ice cream place I’ve ever, ever been to. As commercial photographers, we were so impressed by how EXCELLENT their marketing was. It gave us so many ideas and got us excited for our next shoot!
9:00pm Return to Ancient Lore Village
Board Games, Deep Convos, “Midnight Snacks” - @Joyride in support of @ryantrahan ’s St. Jude’s project , alone time for everyone…
11:00pm Lights out!
Day 2:
Got to sleep in a bit and spent the day at Anakeesta in Gatlinburg. The day was incredibly fun, but also incredibly HOT! We came back late afternoon to chill and freshen up for dinner reservations that we had at Ancient Lore Village. When we booked, they asked if we had any diet restrictions (which we do!), so it was so nice to just go there on time at 7pm and everything was ready! (Please note that reservations for dinner have to be made.) Salads were already out…. we just had to find our table with our name on it and that was it. It was so time efficient, so I appreciated that very much. My pet peeve at a restaurant is the long wait, so I was happy because I can get “hangry” very quickly. :) It was POURING, so we all had a very memorable walk from our lodge to the main area for dinner. We all laughed about it (thank God), so that’s why we look wet in the photos below. hehe
The food was so clean, healthy, simply good. Everything was seasoned well! We all felt like we had a perfectly balanced meal and left completely satisfied. Being on the road makes it hard to eat healthy, so as a mom especially, I loved seeing the kids eat good food! And, service was EXCELLENT as well. What more could you as for? For the rest of the evening, we got to chill again and just be. We either played board games together or got some alone time… When we are home, it’s always “GO, GO GO!”, so this intentional time of relaxation was so good for our souls!
Day THREE: Check out was at 10am, so we got at 8am to just clean up and pack everything back up in the car. We all slept so well in their comfy beds and have never been so clean thanks to their incredible showers! After checking out, we made a funny reel together that I hope you’d watch. You know a place is great when you feel sad leaving and wishing you could stay longer… We stopped by the front office to express our gratitude and say goodbye, and ya’ll… I just can’t describe the amazing hospitality of this place! How do they make you feel so comfortable and literally like family?? When you can make people feel that way, it’s truly a gift. This was the first time that we got to meet someone we collaborated with in person, so it made this project so personal and special.
Bye, Ancient Lore Village… You’ve been amazing to us, and we can’t wait to come visit you again soon! We are so grateful for this experience and everything that you shared with us. We pray that your business thrives and that you continue to grow as your vision comes alive more and more.
With much love,
Unchong and the Obrist Family :)