On to Gatlinburg
/We traveled towards Tennessee on I81 then I40. Following the GPS we exited I40 and started down a road that looked quite adequate. Shortly thereafter I looked at the GPS route and it looked like a slinky that had been pulled apart, turn after turn and the road narrowed with each turn. Kenny’s knuckles began to get white on the steering wheel. Finally the GPS said, “Arriving at destination!” But we looked and the Smokey Bear Campground was not in sight. Visions of being stuck on an ever narrower road ran through both of our minds. About 200 feet further though the sign for our campground was spotted!
The campground was very nice with large sites and the people in the office were friendly. The only problem? NO tv. That made Mr. Pethtal into Mr. Unhappy as he was hoping to watch The Masters golf tournament. He did very well not having a tantrum though, probably better than me if the internet had been down. It would have been ugly, I tell you.
We had a delicious steak dinner that evening on the patio at Alamo Steak House. It made my heart sing to be able to sit outside after the long cold winter months. It smelled and felt like spring! The full bellies canceled out the pain of still not having tv service when we got back to our campsite. Come to find out, a camper leaving that morning forgot to put down their tv antennae and tore out much of the cable for the park.
Sporting the Blue and Gold in Tennessee!
The first full day in Gatlinburg, we drove into town. Just around the bend from the Alamo steakhouse, we ran into lots of traffic. Town was closer than we realized. In the midst of the Smoky Mountains, we came upon a mass of well disguised commercialism. Walking down the main street, we passed shop after shop scattered with spots to get a tasty treat. The town tastefully blended together with the feel of a Mountain Lodge retreat. We had lunch in a small sandwich shop at the top of one of the buildings. We bought a few gifts including a coon skin cap for our granddaughter. We could have easily dropped hundreds of dollars as the options were endless. To round out the afternoon, we stopped in the “Moonshine Distillery” for tasting such flavors as Apple pie and iced tea moonshine.
The following day we decided to see some of the mountain beauty that was all around us. There was a walking trail directly across the road from the campground. We debated walking that trail, but the thought of wandering around lost didn’t appeal to us much so we chose to take a scenic driving tour. The drive to Cade’s Cove was again windy but it was beautiful. Near the entrance to the Cade’s Cove drive there was a lovely picnic area where many people were picnicking and playing around the river. The drive through the loop took us a couple of hours and we didn’t get out and go through the historical buildings. It was well worth the time spent though.
