I just got back from a vacation to Tennessee with my parents and sister-in-law, Erin. We drove down on a Saturday and stayed over in Strasburg, VA. Then on Sunday we continued our journey to Gatlinburg. When we got there we saw a whole string of huge log cabins and a water park at our resort. One of the employees showed us to our room and we had to drive up a winding road all the way up a mountain. Then the guy gave us the news about the black bears that have been known to hang around the mountains, and my mom flipped. She was not happy in the least. Honestly, I think it would be cool to see a bear...from the comfort of my window or a car. I would rather not get my face ripped off for a bag of trash though. After we settled in and my mother yelled a little, we went down to the barbecue restaurant in the main building and then headed to the grocery store to buy some snacks and breakfast for the week. The rooms were nice. We had comfy beds, two shower heads, a jacuzzi tub, plasma TVs and a balcony that overlooked the forest. It was pretty nice, despite the dozen or so centipedes that graced us with their presence every morning and night.
The next day we headed to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg. They had several really cool exhibits and a Plexiglas tunnel where you can view sharks, stingrays and other fish from underneath. There was also a touch tank with horseshoe crabs and stingrays and a penguin playground, which I obviously loved because they are my FAVORITE. I was able to take some really cool pictures of jellyfish and other interesting sea creatures. After the aquarium, we walked around town in Gatlinburg where I had the most delicious donut at the Donut Friar and then made a few stops in Pigeon Forge, including Cici's Pizza which I have seen one to many commercials for.
Tuesday we left for Nashville and started with lunch at Joe's Crab Shack, another spot I see commercials for but haven't seemed to find in NY (Not sure if you are seeing a trend, but I like to eat.). We then took a bus tour of the area learning about recording studios, history, civil war and music. They have a replica of the Parthenon in a park in Nashville. Why? I don't really know, something about a cultural rebirth of the city...I still find it odd. I also took a walk through the Charlie Daniels Museum and I could smell a musty, moldy smell that was probably left over from the huge flood the area suffered from earlier this summer. Attractions have just star
ted opening while we were there and in full force, which I was happy about. I was especially happy that The Wildhorse Saloon was open because that's where we ate, drank and line danced that night. We also listened to live music by someone named Les Richardson and he was really good, but he played a few too many Tom Petty songs. Sorry fans.The next day we took a local's recommendation and took a visit to Cheekwood, a botanical garden that had a visiting Dale Chihuly exhibit. The Chihuly pieces were scattered around the gardens, carefully placed in specific spots to emphasize the shine of the glass or the organic shapes of the artwork. They were massive and amazing. After Cheekwood, we headed over to Belle Meade Plantation and took a tour of the mansion the housed the owner of Bonnie Scotland and Iriquois, the most important and most famous horses, respectively. One of the original owners of the plantation was a racist, but the history of it all was interesting. They also had a winery where the employees were so very nice and offered us a free tasting. We ended up buying bottles of Muscadine, a varietal of grape that is popular in the south and creates a very full, sweet tasting wine. It was very good. After stopping at a Sonic, we headed back
to Gatlinburg and enjoyed dinner at Mel's Diner. A wonderful name for a food establishment, if I do say so myself.On Thursday, we waited for my parents to get sales pitches from the timeshare folks and then we headed to Dollywood. The Mystery Mine and Tennessee Tornado roller coasters were great but the Thunderhead left me with a splitting headache and Blazing Fury was more '80's than neon spandex pants. My parents were very impressed by the live entertainment and the talented performers. I didn't see it, but apparently some musician played the banjo like a champ. Then we headed to the buffet dinner that was complimentary with our online ticket and it was called Aunt Granny's. The staff was very friendly and loved our accents.
Friday was our last full day in Gatlinburg so we headed to a Flapjacks for pancakes since we saw about a dozen of them, tried some wine at the Mountain Winery (it was after noon) and then to Zorb Smoky Mountains. I changed into a bathing suit and some shorts that I purchased and headed to the top of the mountain to get into my wet zorb. I got a running start and Super Manned my way into the zorb. Then Erin got in and the girl told us to lie on our backs with our arms crossed, then she zipped up the side and pushed us down the hill. It was so fun, odd and hysterical. We just sloshed all over in the zorb until we got to the bottom of the hill and swallowed a whole gallon of water. It was one of the craziest things I have ever done and it was awesome. My nutty mother did the dry zorb and got strapped into it and flipped over about 30 times. I would have thrown up but she loved it. We made a few more stops at places we wanted to hit before we left, like Smoky Mountain Brewery, the Donut Friar (again), Mayfield's Ice Cream and a few more souvenir spots to make sure we didn't leave anyone out at home.
On Saturday we got up at dawn and started our long journey home, but at least the drive was picturesque and smooth. Nothing unpleasant about it.
