Our Tennesse Adventure

While searching information for our visit to the Pigeon Forge area I was amazed at the number of cabins and cabin rental companies in the area. I personally had never rented a cabin but thought it might be a fun new experience. After hours of searching the endless listings we were finally able to choose the perfect cabin listed with Colonial Properties. With a visitors guide from the local welcome center I had received a Pigeon Forge Value Card which offered a $25 per night discount with Colonial Properties so that made it an even better choice. I made reservations several months in advance so we would be sure to get our chosen cabin. Unfortunately, Mother Nature saw fit to put a damper on our plans, and our perfect cabin turned into an o.k. accommodation. About 2 months before our arrival date I received a call from the company to notify us the well at the cabin we originally rented had gone dry. We were given a list of 4 cabins in the same price range to choose from to replace it. Needless to say none of the 4 were as appealing as the original, but we finally choose one we thought might have a descent view of the mountains. And this is how we came to be in the cabin Happy Days.

Perhaps some of my discontent with Happy Days is due to the disappointment and honestly it was very clean, well stocked, conveniently located and reasonably priced. My chief complaint was the unfinished appearance of the bedroom. No curtains on the windows, the walls were mostly bare, and a partitioned area (were a washer & dryer use to be) was just a gapping hole. These and a few other minor defects left this cabin with an air of just mediocre. About a 5 minute drive from town the location offered access to a back road that helped avoid the heavy traffic on the main street through town. The view of the mountains was nice but nothing spectacular. The back deck had a screened in portion for the hot tub and it was nice not to have to worry about rain or bugs in the evening. A supply of paper products, trash bags, dish liquid, etc. was enough to last for the 6 nights we were in the cabin and none of the supplies I had packed along were needed.

Other than my disappointment with the limited choices to chose from when required to change cabins my experience with Colonial Properties was wonderful. Each time I spoke with the office personnel they were very pleasant and helpful. They were even able to accommodate us at the last minute when we arrived a day early. This cabin company does charge a once per stay cleaning fee of $60. But even with that and the rental fee (minus the Value Card discount) the total cost was about the same as an economy hotel.

The name Blue Moose made this restaurant irresistible to us and we were very glad we gave it a try, as it turned out to be one of the best meals we had in Pigeon Forge. After snapping a photo of the spectacled moose over the door we entered the sports bar and were met by a hostess who seated us immediately. The menu offered numerous flavors of wings and a variety of burgers, most for under $10. A sampler platter of wings for $18.99 was tempting but always afraid of getting something too spicy we opted for burgers. I choose the Junkyard Burger, a beef patty topped with chili and coleslaw, served with french fries for $7.99. This burger was piled so high with the fixin’s the top of the bun wouldn’t even stay on. There was no way to pick it up, it had to be eaten with a fork and it was delicious. My daughter ordered the Mushroom Patty Melt also with fries for the same price. While her burger wasn’t quit as thick as mine it was still a handful and the melted cheese was dripping down the sides. The restaurants décor was a typical sports bar setting with an assortment of moose signs scattered throughout. We had arrived shortly after opening time, 11:00 am, so even thought there were several customers it was not crowded. It was located in a shopping center called Teaster Crossing and can be accessed from Teaster lane or the main roadway through town, the Parkway. The prices were fairly reasonable and the food was outstanding. And I just couldn't resist the Blue Moose souvenir t-shirt sold at the checkout for $18.

Located right at light #8 in downtown Gatlinburg, if nothing else this was a fun restaurant to visit. The décor consisted of items related to the movie Forest Gump and it was enjoyable to view all the memorabilia displayed along the walls. The table tops were printed with phrases from the movie and we had fun reading those while waiting on the meal. We arrived shortly after the normal lunch hour and there were few people in the dining room. The hostess seated us quickly and a waitress arrived immediately. Each table held a stand with 2 license plates attached, one showing “Run Forest Run” the other “Stop Forest Stop”. The waitress explained that at anytime if we needed anything to flip the stop sign up and she would be by to check on us. Otherwise leave the run sign up and she wouldn’t bother us. This was a cute idea and my daughter got a big kick out it, she tried and tried to think of a reason to change that sign. Anyhow then the waitress ask for our drink orders. I had gotten a coupon for a free smoothie from the internet so we inquired about the flavors available. The waitress mumbled a couple of flavors, as if she didn’t know any more than we did, and waited impatiently for us to decide. Our drinks were delivered fairly quickly and we placed our meal orders. As we begin to relax and inspect our surroundings we found a ping pong paddle on the table that turned out to be the drink menu. There was a large selection of drinks, alcoholic and non, in a variety of flavors. Several of them sounded really good including some of the smoothie flavors our waitress didn’t mention. Prices were kind of expensive, even though on a few you did get to keep the glass, but since I had already gotten iced tea I didn’t order anything else. It wasn’t a long wait for our meals and we enjoyed the surroundings while waiting. I had coconut shrimp and French fries which were pretty good, however I didn’t think the 8 or 10 shrimp I had was worth the $15.99 it cost. My daughter ordered shrimp scampi that was served over linguine noodles. She had an enormous bowl of noodles and again maybe 8 shrimp mixed in. The price for it was only a few cents cheaper than mine and it wasn’t very good, in fact she ate very little of it. Some of the desserts sounded good but it had already cost so much and the food along with the waitress hadn’t been that great so we decided to pass. The restaurant itself was fun and I’m glad we gave it a try. However the cost and for no better food than it was I probably wouldn’t go back.

I was not familiar with this chain of restaurants but almost everything I found about it on the internet was positive, and since we both enjoy Italian cuisine decided to give it a tray. The parking lot looked pretty busy but upon entering we were seated immediately. It was quite obvious on the way to our table that the atmosphere was a little more formal than the shorts and t-shirts we were wearing, but I figured it was a little late to try to duck out unnoticed, so we took our seats and made the best of it. It wasn’t suit & tie formal but nice clothes would have been more appropriate. As we began to check out the menu the waiter stopped by for our drink orders. I stuck with the sweet tea while my daughter choose an Italian cherry and vanilla soda. I thought $2.50 was a bit steep on the soda but the waiter informed us the refills were free so I guess not too bad for a specialty soda with the refills. It had a great flavor and made me wish I had chosen one of the other several flavors they offered. Our drinks were accompanied by a small loaf of bread and a warm, seasoned olive oil to dip it in. I’m sure the olive oil concoction has a name and I’m just not sophisticated enough to know what it is but I do know that it was delicious. By this time we had decided on entrees and so placed our orders. Katie thought the Baked Cheese Tortellini for $11.99 sounded good. I had read a review about how wonderful the Bowtie Festival was so I ordered it for $12.99. Each entrée was served with a salad. Being common country girls we never gave a thought to the fact that we were in an Italian restaurant so we ask for guess what…. French dressing, they didn’t have that. They also didn’t have Thousand Island and we learned the dressings offered were very limited so finally just settled for Italian, should have thought of that to began with. Anyhow our food arrived in a short time and smelled delicious. The Tortellini looked very appetizing but for taste was just ok, nothing spectacular. The Bowtie Festival, on the other hand, was even better than the review stated, it was absolutely wonderful. The bowtie pasta and grilled chicken were coated in a creamy asiago cheese sauce that melted in your mouth. This dish was so impressive I searched for the recipe and prepared it myself as soon as we got home. Together this was our favorite meal of the whole trip. While Katie didn’t care much for the Tortellini she loved the Bowtie as much as I did and the serving size was plenty for us to share it. I’m not sure what area of the country Johnny Carino’s are found but I will defiantly stop next time we see one.

Sugarland Visitor Center is located at the intersection of U.S. 441 and Little River Road just inside the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The Center opens at 8 am and depending on the time of year closes between 4:30 and 7 pm. We arrived about 1 pm on a Saturday afternoon and the parking lot was very busy, however inside the crowd didn’t seem too bad. In the main lobby 2 park rangers were more than happy to help with directions and information about the park. Trail guides and information booklets along with park souvenirs were available in the book store for very reasonable prices. We purchased several guides and booklets with the most expensive one being a dollar but most were just 50 cents. A small museum held exhibits of the wildlife and vegetation that can be found throughout the park. Admission to the museum was free, as was admission to a 20 minute film on the park and it’s history. Behind the Visitors Center we took the Fighting Creek Nature trail to Cataract Falls. The trail was a nice easy path and it wasn’t a long walk to the falls. Cataract Falls is one of the smaller waterfalls in the park but it was our first one and we really enjoyed it. A wooden bench on the edge of the trail gave us an opportunity to sit and enjoy the water before heading back

Laurel Falls was the second waterfall on our list to visit. Located about 4 miles west of U.S. 441 on Little River Road the parking areas are on each side of the roadway and fill up quickly, as this is one of the busiest trails in the park. Vehicles were also parked along both sides of the road for some distance on both sides of the parking lots. Luckily as we arrived a vehicle was leaving and we parked fairly close to the trailhead. A pamphlet was available here that gave a short description of areas along the trail marked by numbered sign post, I believe it was $1.00. It was on the honor system, you dropped a dollar in the box and took a pamphlet. It’s a 2.6 mile round trip up to the waterfall and back on a nice paved walk way. The trail is a steady incline so we had to stop and rest several times on the way up. There was only one park bench on the path and it was close to the end of the trail but we were able to find several large rocks along the way to rest on. I read that the waterfall is named after the Mountain Laurel that grows in the area. I believe it was past the peak season for this plant but there was still a lot of it blooming along the trail and it made for a pretty walk. There are actually two levels to Laurel Falls, an upper and lower portion. The trail leads to the upper portion and has a narrow bridge that crosses over in front of it. Once we crossed the bridge we were walking on part of the rocks that form the waterfall. These were damp and pretty slick to walk on. The immediate area to view the falls was fairly small and quit crowded. Children were playing in the pool at the base and everyone was taking turns standing in front for pictures. It was enjoyable to sit and watch everyone’s reaction to the beauty of the water cascading down the mountain. The lower portion of the waterfall appeared to be accessed by climbing down the rocks off the side of the trail. Several people were down there however it looked to be a little dangerous to be climbing down. This is a very popular area so it would probably be better to visit here early in the morning or early evening. We were coming down from the falls about 5 pm and there were still a lot of people going up. But this is a lovely waterfall and well worth the walk to witness it’s beauty.

There were several miniature golf places to choose from but we decided to try Professor Hacker's because of the big wrecked ship at the front of the course. We just thought it looked really cool, oh and I had a dollar off coupon from a discount booklet we had received with a tourist guide from the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism. We paid the entrance fee of $8 each after the dollar coupon which was good for each person in the party. We were then posed next to a statue of the Professor for a photo that would be available to purchase when we finished our game. From there we boarded a small train which circled the course and brought us to the top of the hill to start our game. There were two 18 hole courses to choose from. The silver course had fewer obstacles to putt around than the gold course and since our golfing abilities leave a lot to be desired we choose it. Apparently we weren’t the only ones who took numerous tries to get the ball in the cup because we had to wait a few minutes at each hole. The course wound us back down the hill through a cave, across a bridge and down to the site of the ship wreck, which contained one of the last few holes. After sinking the last ball we went to check out our picture. It turned out really cute and I couldn’t resist buying it. A 5x7 picture framed in a paper souvenir frame, it cost $10 and with the purchase we were given a pass for a free game of golf. We didn’t get a chance to go back but luckily the free pass is good for their locations in several other cities so we will be able to use it in Branson, MO next month. I guess there was nothing super special to set this miniature golf course apart from the others but we enjoyed our game and would have gone back if time had permitted.

We intended to see this show on Saturday night but when we arrived about noon to buy tickets they were sold out, so we purchased the $33 tickets for Sunday night . I believe that worked out great though because our seats were right next to the stage. We arrived just before 6:30 pm thinking the show began at 7:00, several other guest were already waiting in the Private Eye Pub next door. All alcoholic drinks were purchased here before and during the program. They served beer, wine and wine coolers but no hard liquor, several frozen non-alcoholic drinks were also offered. My daughter ordered a mudslide which was really good, even if a little pricey at about $5. The doors for the show opened at 6:30 and we entered through a connecting door in the pub. The assigned seating was banquet style and, as I said, we were at the first table right next to the stage. Now I’m not sure if I misunderstood or if there was a delay in the program that they didn’t explain but the show didn’t get started until 7:30.

When seated we were given a page of word puzzles that would give clues to the name of the murderer, along with a card to fill out with our guesses on the why, how and who of the crime. At the end of the show if you were correct on all the items your name would be entered into a drawing for a free pass. The puzzles gave us something to occupy our time while waiting for an hour. Shortly before the show begin the host, Niles, passed out an additional card to be filled out with our name, a fake stage name and a list of songs from which we were to pick 2 that we could sing. As he passed these out he didn’t explain that they were actually looking for volunteers to sing karaoke on stage. While picking them up I did hear him ask several times if the person would be willing to do this, so I guess that was some fair warning. Also prior to the show starting one of the cast members came around to each table and visited for a few minutes, not really telling anything about the show but kind of eluding to its content.

The show finally begun with the announcement of who in the audience would be participating in the karaoke. Three more audience members were then chosen to be judges, along with 2 cast members, of the talent competition. Shortly into the program a break was taken and we were served a small bowl of creamy vegetable soup and a salad, while the cast wondered through the room visiting. The show resumed, the plot thickened, and the singers performed, hilariously I might add. The next break brought our meal and again the remaining cast members mingling with the audience discussing the unraveling mystery. The meal consisted of a chicken leg quarter, a small slice of roast pork, a teaspoon of mashed potatoes, a few green beans and a slice of cheesecake. Baskets of garlic cheese biscuits were placed along the tables, I assume with one biscuit for each guest. I guess to each his own but I was a little uncomfortable sharing a bread basket with complete strangers. The food left a lot to be desired so I guess the very small portions served, other than the leg quarter, didn’t really matter. The 2 hour show concluded after the meal with the solving of the crime. An announcement of the winner of the talent contest, and a Thank You to the audience participants followed. The whole show was cute but perhaps a little unorganized. I did think each of the actors done a wonderful job. The meal wasn’t much but I was still pleased that we had decided to attend.

I don’t believe I can put into words my feelings about our visit here. I have dreamed of visiting this park for as long as I can remember, so my excitement upon actually arriving is indescribable. A one day ticket is $50.20 but if you go after 3 pm the ticket is good for the next day. We took advantage of this on a Monday afternoon to get in a couple extra hours of fun. The main theme of the park is the pioneer days with craftsman demonstrating the making of everything from horseshoes and wagons to blown glass and candy. A few areas of the park offer a more modern décor such as Jukebox Junction with a 50’s style diner and the Rockin’ Roadway mini classic cars. This is also where we found the interactive museum Chasing Rainbows, dedicated to the life and career of Dolly Parton. One of the most exciting parts of my whole trip was the exhibit of the Coat of Many Colors from her hit song by the same title. As we entered the museum, accompanying pictures along the walls, were notes scribbled out by Dolly to her friend and assistant Judy. I found this very interesting and it took me quit some time to make it into the actual museum. We ended up spending a couple hours the first afternoon viewing the exhibits here. On display outside the museum and new for the 2008 season was Dolly’s tour bus. Unfortunately the line was long and was moving extremely slow so we decided not to wait. We did try back a couple times the second day but the line was long each time and we ended up missing out on it. Our first destination on the second morning was Blazing Fury, an indoor roller coaster. We were excited to give it a try because it appeared to be similar to our favorite ride at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO. We walked straight to the Fury as soon as the park opened at 10 am. After riding twice with no waiting, we started working our way around the park. We rode all the major rides at least twice with almost no waiting in lines. We found 2 big roller coasters near the back of the park. The Tennessee Tornado zipped around twists, loops and a butterfly turn at speeds of 70 mph, it left our hearts pumping, but we were more than happy to go back for a second spin. Then we found the Mystery Mine, it started off a little slow but ended with a vertical climb and 85 foot drop that made for an exciting ride. We had to pass on the wooden coaster as it wasn’t open yet, but it looked like a thrilling ride. The newest ride was the River Battle where riders floated along on boats equipped with soaker guns, powered by cranking a handle, and attempted to shoot targets or guest walking by. Located along the path were more soaker guns so those same guest could shoot back at the boats. This ride was a little disappointing in the thrill department but I’m sure will be a big hit on the hot days of summer as you will defiantly end up wet. To my surprise one of the funnest rides was the motion ride theatre, Thunder Road. As we watched the car chase scene on the screen our seats bumped and jolted around giving the impression of being right there in the car in hot pursuit. By the time we had made our way back to were we began it was time for a bite to eat. We picked Miss Lillian’s BBQ because I really wanted to try the roasted corn-on-the-cob. The BBQ pork sandwich platter came with baked beans and slaw, we ordered one and split the sandwich. I got the corn cob and a refill on a souvenir cup, the total came to almost $20. The food was pretty good and since we planned to get a snack later it was enough for each of us. After lunch the lines for the rides were longer and we had to spend more time waiting. We went around the park a second time, hitting each of the rides again and some that we had missed earlier. By late afternoon the lines were back down to almost no waiting. We didn’t spend much time watching any of the demonstrations. I don’t know if our timing was off or if it was still to early in the season for everything to be going full swing. We watch the blacksmith for awhile and we just caught the end of a candy making session. We dipped our own candles but the ladies in the shop weren’t making anything themselves. Other than food , the candles were about the only things we purchased. Prices were typical amusement park prices, expensive! The park closed at 7 pm and we stayed until the last minute. On our way out my daughter found a purple Dollywood hat for just under $10, which she thought she couldn’t live without and that price wasn’t bad. Oh, and I couldn’t pass up the smashed penny machine. So we took our treasures and headed for the trolley. We left totally exhausted and deliriously happy.

My daughter absolutely loves animals and was looking forward to visiting the Smoky Mountain Deer Farm. We had plans for the afternoon so wanted to get there when they opened. It was located several miles from town on a side road in a semi residential area. The further we drove the more apprehensive I became about what to expect. I was imagining a seedy little carnival side show setup. We finally arrived by a long drive way that circled around a pond where the road was blocked by a flock of geese who weren’t sure they wanted to get up and let us through. Once we had arrived the place didn’t look near as bad as I had begun to fear. We eventually got parked and walked up several steps to the little souvenir shop where we paid the entrance fee and purchased a cup of food. We used one of the $1 off coupons, which were found in every discount booklet we had, to save a little on the $10.95 entrance fee. We also purchased a cup of food, $2.50 for about a 20 oz plastic souvenir cup full. The clerk gave us instructions on feeding the different animals and directed us out the back door. We first came to the pen of goats which we entered through a set of double gates. We had been told to only take a handful of food in or they would knock you down trying to get the cup and I’m sure that was very sound advice. Personally I don’t find goats to be very pretty animals but there was one baby black and white kid that was just as cute as could be. We tried to get around all the others to feed him but he was jumping and bouncing around playing so much we finally gave up and just enjoyed watching him frolic. When we were ready to leave the pen we figured out why it had 2 gates. Before we could get the first gate shut a goat had slipped out. When I tried to get it back in the main pen another one got out. A second attempt to get one of those 2 back in only resulted in a third one getting out, and with that I decided this was not the best approach to our problem. Afraid to even attempt to get out the second gate, for fear of letting them loose on the grounds, we were standing there fretting about what to do when one of the care takers came by and offered to help. Of course she had no problem herding them back in so we could get out. A little embarrassed we moved on to visit the camels, emu, kangaroos, and several other animals. When we made it to the deer pen, which was the only other pen guest were allowed to enter, we were a little leery about going in due to the goat experience. But we decided to give it a go and hope for the best. The deer were not overly friendly unless you were feeding them and it wasn’t like you could just stand and pet them. Katie feed them most of the food we had left while I snapped some pictures and we slipped out of the pen without incident. We followed the path on down to see the Zonkey, a zebra donkey mix. It wasn’t quite what I expected as far as looks. The black and white stripes of a zebra didn’t stand out much from the brown shades of a donkey. One of our favorite sights was the several peacocks that wondered the property including a solid white one which I had never seen but was gorgeous. The park wasn’t that large and it was easy walking the loop back to the entrance. We lingered at some of the pens to watch the animals and ended up being there about 2 hours. We were the first guest of the day and several other families came and left before we finished but it was never crowded. Our first cup of food was enough and we didn’t need the half price refills that were available. Even though the place didn’t have the professional feel of a zoo it appeared to be well maintained. The 15 or so varieties of animals all looked health and well feed. It was a nice place to spend a couple hours and I’m sure most younger children would really enjoy interacting with the animals.

While in Dollywood we had ridden the motion ride theatre attraction "Thunder Road" several times. We both really enjoyed it so when we saw the Movie Rider we thought it would be fun. The tickets were $11.44 each I think that was tax included. I thought we were going to be the only 2 people there and we wondered around the small arcade while we waited. Finally a gentleman showed up with his niece so there was a total of 4 of us when it was our turn to go in. We were led into a full size movie theatre and could take a seat where ever we liked. The seats were rows of bucket type seats on platforms and were equipped with seatbelts and handgrips. We watched four computer animated roller coaster films, each lasting about 3 to 5 minutes. The bucket seats bounced, swayed and jostled around in an effort to make you feel you were actually aboard the roller coaster. The surround sound system played all the clinking and clanking sounds you would typically hear aboard a real coaster and added some to the effect. Non-moving seats in the front were offered for those who didn’t meet the 42 inch height requirement or where medically unable to experience the movements. I’m not sure if it was the computer animation instead of live action or the rough jerking motions of the seats but this ride was very disappointing compared to the Dollywood ride. I know there were several other theatres in the area offering similar rides and I can’t say anything about those but as for this one in the future I’d save my money and just ride for free while visiting the theme park.

With all the shows in town we had a hard time picking which one to see. We finally decided on The Comedy Barn because my daughter had read about the dog act in the program. We called in the morning to reserve tickets for the late show at 8:15 that night. We arrived about 7:30 in hopes of getting a decent parking place, which we did. The front lobby was rather small compared to other music shows I’ve been to. It held not only the concession stand but the rest of the area was dedicated to a souvenir shop. This made for a very crowded area but we finally got to the counter to pick up our tickets. My daughter is a stuffed animal collector and since there were dogs in the show nothing doing but we had to check out the souvenirs in hopes of finding the perfect animal to add to the collect. This was pretty difficult with the concession lines and other shoppers but we eventually made it to the animal section toward the back. I quickly spotted the penny smashing machine in the far back corner so left Katie to her shopping to get my penny souvenir. By the time I made it back she had found the one she couldn’t live without and we headed to the checkout. As we entered the theatre we were stopped in the door way as a picture was taken of each group. These were later offered for sale as assorted size photos and keychains. We did purchase the 2 key chains for $10 but passed on the larger photos. We had fantastic seats for the show, the 4th or 5th row from the front and right on the end of the row which I prefer. The began with the band, all decked out in their overalls and plaid shirts, singing a country tune, and then the laughs began. The whole show was a real riot with corny country jokes, a bumbling magician, a juggler and of course the dog act. The dogs jumped through hoops and walked a tight line. I’m not sure if it was intentional or if one dog just wasn’t fully trained but he kept running off the stage and along the front row or down the isle a short ways but it had to the fun of the whole show. One of the main features of the program was the comedian who along with 3 male members of the audience put on a hilarious skit. The ventriloquist also used a couple people from the audience as his dummies in his portion of the program. During one of the song and dance routines smaller children were brought up on stage to join in and they put on a cute show. The whole show lasted about 2 hours including a 20 minute intermission. Tickets were $24.95 and children 11 years old and under were free. We had a coupon for a couple dollars off which were easy to find in any of the local discount booklets. The program was recorded as we watched and a DVD was available to purchase after the show for about $20. The Comedy Barn provided a wonderful show that was good, clean fun for all ages with a wide range of acts not just limited to singing and dancing.

My opinion of the trolley is kind of divided. We took the trolley from Patriot Park to Dollywood both days we went and it was very convenient and fast. We also took the trolley from the Gatlinburg Welcome Center into Gatlinburg with no problems what so ever. Our attempts to use it for transportation around Pigeon Forge are a whole other story. We first took it from Patriot Park down the Parkway but we weren’t familiar enough with the area so got off too soon and ended up walking some distance to our destination. On the second try I made sure I had a better idea of where to get off and watched out the window for the go-cart track we were headed to. After our first go-cart ride it started to pour down rain and didn‘t look like it would clear up anytime soon. We were lucky in that there was a trolley stop very near the track and we could stand under their awning until it come. I knew when we boarded that the trolley was headed in the wrong direction but didn’t think much about it as I knew it would go on up and turn around. Unfortunately the turn around was along way off and we ended up riding for over 30 minutes before we could get back to our vehicle. I was pretty annoyed by then and swore I wouldn’t ride again. I realize it is my own fault for not being more familiar with the system but in the future I would still limit what I used the trolley for.