It is about 4 hours to Gatlinburg with a time change that adds an extra hour. Our cabin was just a few miles outside of Pigeon Forge, but it seemed like the middle of nowhere. The roads were a winding climb up the steep mountain with one sharp turn after the next. After settling into our cabin, we went down to The Island in Pigeon Forge. The Island is an outdoor mall similar to Bridge Street in Huntsville, but without the big chain stores and just an endless stream of curiosity stores, like the Puzzle Store, the Magic Store, and the Hot Sauce Store. I am sure they had more imaginative names, but it is easier to remember them this way.
The highlight of the evening was Paula Deen's Family Kitchen, a restaurant dedicated to all things Southern & Buttery. It was similar to a high class Cracker Barrel. When you entered the restaurant, you started in the store and then went up an escalator to the dining room. The food was served family style; you ordered 3 entrees and 5 sides for the table and got all you can eat. For just Stacy and I it seemed a bit extravagant, and alternatively if you have a large table of picky eaters it might seem a bit constrained. But fear not, it was without a doubt the best Southern food you will ever get from a restaurant. The biscuits were like biting into a fluffy cloud, the pot roast was amazing, and the fried chicken was the second best I have ever tasted, and of course everything was smothered in enough butter to give your doctor a heart attack. The waiter was the talkative sort. The restaurant had only been open a couple months, and he was part of the original staff. He said for training the cook staff fed the waiters for a solid week before opening. This gave the waiters a chance to train on each other and the cooks a chance to learn how to make the food. After his first day, our waiter told his friends that the restaurant would close within a couple months, because the food was horrible. By the end of the week though, the cooks had learned how to make the food and our waiter changed his mind about the viability of his new employer.
The next day was jam-packed with activities. We started with Log Cabin Pancakes in the middle of Gatlinburg, and after walking around the town for a few minutes we went to Gatlinburg Ziplines. Stacy had ziplined as a teenager and had always wanted me to do it as well, so we took the opportunity. This company had a series of 9 ziplines in a forest just outside of town. It was a 5 minute bus ride from their headquarters, and only that long because we had to wait for all the pedestrians wandering around. I didn't realize it at the time, but each zipline was short. Stacy informed me that normally they were much longer. Being blissfully ignorant, I had a great time running and jumping into the air, and then holding onto my zipline for dear life (as if holding it would make me any safer). We had a group of 11 people including 1 little girl who was barely big enough and got stuck once due to her lack of weight. The guides were a lot of fun, cracking jokes the whole time and shaking ziplines when the girls were on them in an attempt to get them to scream.
Once that was over, four of the original group continued on the Tree Trek obstacle course. I enjoyed this part a little more, as we attempted to navigate the tight ropes, the nets, and even a corvette suspended in the air. The most difficult part of the course was hooking the clip on each new cable. Stacy probably spent half the course trying to figure out how to slide the safety clip just right. This guide was more matter of fact than the others, he liked talking about how he would have designed the course differently and what it was like growing up in tourist central.
After a quick lunch, we went to Next To Heaven for their unguided horseback rides. This was several miles outside of Pigeon Forge and we got lost on our way. While we were waiting to get on the horses, it started to rain just a little, so we decided not to take the camera. That was a mistake, because it stopped as soon as we got started. This is the only place I have been on horseback without a guide, and I quickly understood why. The trail was very steep and it was impossible to get the horses to go any faster than a slow walk. If the trail had been level, people would run the horses a lot and exhaust them. The place was owned by Christians and there were Scripture signs throughout the trail. It was a very relaxing a peaceful place. After that, we went back to the cabin for dinner and a game of Stone Age before heading back to Pigeon Forge for the evening entertainment: The Comedy Barn. It was undoubtedly the funniest show I have ever seen. It is completely clean, unlike most comedy routines which usually have a couple of sketchy jokes. They had trained dogs that did some incredible tricks, they had silly jokes, and a ton of audience participation that makes each night different from the rest. Of course you wouldn't be in Pigeon Forge without a heaping helping of Country Bluegrass.
Saturday we drove out to Hartford TN to go Rafting In The Smokies. This was my favorite part of the trip. Neither of us had ever been white water rafting before and I was looking forward to it. We started right at the border of Tennessee and North Carolina and road the river for about 5 miles. We had a great guide who loved telling us about the flora and fauna. The rapids were perfect for people with no experience. It was a fairly calm river punctuated with some great rapids. It is advertised as a class 3 & 4 trip, but the class 4 rapids were very brief. Stacy was nervous about the trip, but once it was over she said it was her favorite part. Our first weekend getaway since Elisabeth was born was over and we had a fantastic time.
No comments:
Post a Comment