Greetings from Gatlinburg!

vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Here's why I annoy me:

I fell madly in love with Rapid City and Cody. The west is just so breathtaking and spectacular, and there's this laid back vibe. Westerners take zero chit and if you, say, are an obnoxious reporter, they will happily set you down.

Then I fell in love with Florida, Panama City Beach in particular. What's not to like about drinking frozen cocktails right on the beach? Sunset over the Gulf, little beach towns, biking through the parks, live in swimsuit and sandals.

Well, I forgot how much I love Gatlinburg. The Smokies are incredible - you just feel glad to be alive. Pigeon Forge and Sevierville are tourist crap, which is fun but too kitschy to want to have that be your life. But Gatlinburg...ahhhhh....this cute little mountain town with a shopping village and tourist area, but nicely done and not tacky or gaudy. Our campground is adorable. Small, only like 20 sites, with the amenities we want - pool, laundry, great bath houses - and nothing we don't (like a bunch of kid crap). We're nestled in the mountains, maybe 3 miles from downtown Gburg.

So why I annoy me is that...I'm trying to be faithful to PCB. I'm trying to keep it my one true love. But it's so hard! There are so many great places out there. I travel with an eye toward settling down and living somewhere permanent some day, and at this rate I'll never be able to decide.
 
Monello

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
Our campground, Camp LeConte, rents out tree houses. They also have safari tents and a couple of retro trailers for rent. It's a nice, compact place nestled between a cliff and the land that houses the local high school. We are a short hop to downtown Gatlinburg. Right out front of the campground is 1 of the local trolley stops. It could not be any more convenient. Temperatures are decent. The saltwater pool is heated. We had a nice soak this afternoon. There has been some bear activity in the area. A few bugs/gnats but we're in the woods. They have had some severe windstorms in this area recently. So the campground lost a few trees. They had damage to 2 of their safari tents. The season is just getting underway. Not much going on this week, they pick back up on Friday. So it looks like we will have a few quiet days before the place fills up.


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Monello

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
Driving the RV to the campground was a challenge. Getting from Nashville wasn't the problem. It was once I got on the local roads the GPS sent me on some winding roads. But 40 minutes later I pulled in. We now have our set up & breakdown routines autopiloted, setting up was a snap.

Continuation of the above post about our first night in town.

We hit G'burg for dinner. With so many places to choose from it's difficult to pic. I was wore out from the drive and just wanted to eat. First place we stopped at was very typical. Dogs, sandwiches, cheesesteaks. I begged off and we went further down the road. Passed a BBQ joint and I was asked if that was OK. I delayed in my response and once I agreed, we were past the point of no return. We got into town proper and the issue was finding a parking spot. So after driving around we end up on a road heading out of town. We saw a lot of burned out structures. Then I realized they had a forest fire last year. Till that moment I forgot about it.

So we backtracked to the BBQ place. We picked up an hour when we crossed over the time zone and as we pull up they are closing for the night. The only option is to get food to go. Since they had outside dining, we got dinners then enjoyed them outside. Then we were offered a free to go order that was called in but never picked up. A bunch of sandwiches and sides.

We chatted up with the workers. We got the scoop on the fire. 14 people died because of it. It was started by 2 teens. They were charged with arson but the records are sealed so nobody knows what punishment they got. We got an idea of how close it was when it was pointed out what had burned locally. Even next to the table where we ate was a wooden fence that burned down. Most of the rubble has been removed and a few burned out foundations remain.

This evening we went back downtown. Normally we don't venture out in the evening. I was glad we did. Vrai needed some coffee and what better place to get some gourmet coffee. We moseyed around and people watched. We stopped in a biker bar to listen to some terrible karaoke. Yes, you rocket man singer. Our balcony looked out over the main drag. Lots of people milling about. There's no shortage of things to spend your money on. Especially if taffy, caramel apples or fudge is high on your list.

Gatlinburg is 1 of the locations that invigorates us as we roll down the road. We aren't shy about touristy places. It's good, clean family fun even though we don't do the miniature golf or nostalgic photo pictures. They have lots of shopping and 1 of the side streets is a mix of Bavarian and Swiss style buildings that house all these neat, trendy shops selling everything from donuts to doggie treats. I get it that this place isn't for everyone but what's not to like about a place that is scenic and offers just about something for everyone.

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S

SandieGarry

Well-Known Member
We love Gatlinburg. If you have time, drive out of town towards Cade's Cove. It's a good hour drive but so worth it.

Enjoy
 
RareBreed

RareBreed

Throwing the deuces
We haven't gone to that area in several years but it's great for kids. Dollywood, Titanic Museum, Ripley's Museums, NASCAR go karts, and skylifts.
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
RareBreed said:
We haven't gone to that area in several years but it's great for kids. Dollywood, Titanic Museum, Ripley's Museums, NASCAR go karts, and skylifts.
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Those are the parts we avoid. :lol:

Although I went to the Titanic museum in Branson and it was pretty cool.
 
RareBreed

RareBreed

Throwing the deuces
vraiblonde said:
Those are the parts we avoid. :lol:

Although I went to the Titanic museum in Branson and it was pretty cool.
Click to expand...

Yes, very congested and touristy. But you can't complain there's nothing to do or see there. We have also gone to Cades Cove. Saw the biggest elk ever! Of course, it was the only elk I've ever seen but there were cars lined up along the road taking pictures of it so we weren't the only ones impressed by its size.

I also remember seeing a bear standing up on back legs looking into a garbage can. My bright idea was to get out of the car and use the car as something between me and the bear to take a picture. Husband thought it was funny to start driving off.
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
Today I needed to go to Target and pick up a few things - uh, the closest one was 40 miles away in Maryville. I could have gone to Walmart or Walgreens for what I needed, but...eh...road trip!

The way the GPS took us was dumb and boring, but we took a different way back - Rt. 321, which goes through a bunch of little towns and cute commercial areas, winding through the mountains. Much better. Then we found this:

http://friendlyfalls.com/

We were looking for a good little beer shack, and as we came up on this place, we saw motorcycles parked out front. Bikers typically = good bar, so we stopped. OMG!!! SO cute!

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It's a little beer and food shack tucked away on a back road, with a stream out back and small falls.

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Out back is what the owner calls her "Magic Garden", filled with all sorts of neat tchotchkes and hippie graffiti.

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You order inside at the counter:

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We loves these amazing finds!
 
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