Since I did not want to make the first post way too long, I broke it up into hopefully just two posts. Tuesday was supposed to be a day spent at Dollywood, which sadly did not happen because it was raining and storming. Instead, we went shopping around Pigeon Forge and then drove up in the mountains to go sightseeing. Our plans were to get to Clingman's Dome and see the mountains even better, but sadly when we got to the top it was so "Smoky" you could not even see past a few trees that were in front of you. I can definitely say the trip up to the Dome was scary but well worth it. One of the pull off's to see the mountains was called Chimney Tops. When getting out of the car, you are not welcomed with fresh mountain air, but more like smoke from a fire. Mother freaked a little when I opened the door because she thought the van was overheating, when actually it was just smoke from the mountains. Which is a good thing, considering there is no cell phone service that high up.
Once, we got back down from the mountains we drove back over to Pigeon Forge to have dinner at Cheddars. We all thought we deserved a more expensive meal after having that drive up the mountains. After dinner, mom dropped my friend and I off uptown Gatlinburg so we can do more shopping. While uptown, we stopped at Davy Crocket Whiskey to taste whiskey and moonshine. I can definitely say straight moonshine is horrible! I am not much of a drinker, so it was definitely a shocker.
Since we could not do Dollywood on Tuesday we were going to do it on Wednesday but sadly it was still kinda raining. Instead, we went to Ripley's Aquarium and drove around to visit the little art and crafts shops. After that, we went back to the hotel and relaxed until we went to Margaritaville at the Island in Pigeon Forge. I can definitely say my new favorite restaurant is Margaritaville. Make sure you have money though, it is not a cheap place to eat at. The restaurant is all decked out in a beach theme and they had a live band playing the night we went. After dinner, my friend and I walked around the Island which was several stores, Ferris wheel, and other things to entertain us. Since it was around 10 p.m. most of the stores were either already closed or were closing, so we did not get to do much.
Thursday morning we got up, packed up the van and checked out of Carr's. On our way out we stopped at Shoney's to have breakfast, went back to the Island, and stopped at couple more stores before leaving town. We arrived back home around 9:30 that night. I miss the mountains more than anything and this trip definitely helped me realize that, Gatlinburg, TN is where I want to move to in the near future.
http://www.margaritavillepigeonforge.com/
http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/chimney.htm
http://www.clingmansdome.com/
http://www.ripleys.com/gatlinburg/
http://www.cheddars.com/
Once, we got back down from the mountains we drove back over to Pigeon Forge to have dinner at Cheddars. We all thought we deserved a more expensive meal after having that drive up the mountains. After dinner, mom dropped my friend and I off uptown Gatlinburg so we can do more shopping. While uptown, we stopped at Davy Crocket Whiskey to taste whiskey and moonshine. I can definitely say straight moonshine is horrible! I am not much of a drinker, so it was definitely a shocker.
Since we could not do Dollywood on Tuesday we were going to do it on Wednesday but sadly it was still kinda raining. Instead, we went to Ripley's Aquarium and drove around to visit the little art and crafts shops. After that, we went back to the hotel and relaxed until we went to Margaritaville at the Island in Pigeon Forge. I can definitely say my new favorite restaurant is Margaritaville. Make sure you have money though, it is not a cheap place to eat at. The restaurant is all decked out in a beach theme and they had a live band playing the night we went. After dinner, my friend and I walked around the Island which was several stores, Ferris wheel, and other things to entertain us. Since it was around 10 p.m. most of the stores were either already closed or were closing, so we did not get to do much.
Thursday morning we got up, packed up the van and checked out of Carr's. On our way out we stopped at Shoney's to have breakfast, went back to the Island, and stopped at couple more stores before leaving town. We arrived back home around 9:30 that night. I miss the mountains more than anything and this trip definitely helped me realize that, Gatlinburg, TN is where I want to move to in the near future.
http://www.margaritavillepigeonforge.com/
http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/chimney.htm
http://www.clingmansdome.com/
http://www.ripleys.com/gatlinburg/
http://www.cheddars.com/