Gatlinburg Fun....... (Maryville, Greeneville, Ripley: sales, how much, home)

[William Sold]

You know I really don't get to go up to Gatlinburg that much after 30 years living right beside it, and my wife has only been a few times. So we decided to just be cheesy all day today and see what we could get into. Started out with a late brunch at Flipjack's Pancake Cabin, triple stack chocolate chip with the local maple syrup. Mmmmm. Quick round at Hillbilly Golf, where you ride the trolley up the mountain to play. She was of course no competition. Then we browsed the Craftsmen Fair for about 3 hours, which was the last day today. Walked out with a handmade wooden ping ping ball rifle for the lil' brother in law, hand engraved fishing knife for a buddy, locally grown sweet sorghum molasses and smoky mtn honey, 4 cherry pit heat wraps (amazing!), 5 packs of premix habenero salsa, 3 packs of premix summer cheesecake, 2 packs of premix buffalo chicken dip, and a hand carved walking stick. It was great to get to see the local talent, listen to terrible sales pitches, and support some crazy people that take to the road every weekend to sell their craft. Next we went to one of my favorite childhood memories, the Ole Country Candy Kitchen. Walked out of there with 1 lb of vanilla fudge, 1/2 lb chocolate fudge, 1/2 lb peanut butter fudge, big box of smoky mtn taffy, caramel turtles, and praline pecan bites. I think we ate about half on the way home. Next we hit up 21, a local sidewalk eatery and got the lamb gyro's with extra sauce and goat cheese. Yummy. Lastly, we had to hit up the As Seen on Tv Store and pay our tribute to Billy Mays, taking home the Samurai Peeler, Debbie Meyer Green Bags, and the Shamwow! Drove in from Maryville/Townsend/Wears Valley and drove back down Chapman Highway, as we just wanted to avoid the interstate. All in all a pretty fun, relaxed, incredibly random day. I forget how much fun just browsing the local stands and crafts Gatlinburg can be. Traffic was surprisingly calm. Will have to remember to utilize Gburg more often...

[charz]

We were in Gatlinburg this weekend, too. We went to the aquarium on Saturday. Incredible! The kids and I are still talking about walking under sharks and stingrays.

[Pam& Bill]

William,
It is fun to play tourist once in awhile. I did that last year in Pigeon Forge for an afternoon. I didn't go home with quite as large of a haul as you did, but I bought enough stuff to do my part in helping the local economy.
I think more of us locals should play tourist every so often, it is a fun relaxing way to spend a day.
This afternoon Bill and I are exploring Turkey Creek for the first time.I enjoyed reading about your day.
Pam

[46Barb]

Wow, sounds like you had a great time. One day we will make our way over there.

[TNTransplant06]

I work in G-burg, just about everyday, and have never heard of the restaurant "21" you are talking about. Where is it???? GYRO's-----yummy!!!

[JMT]

What a great way to spend a day!! I took some out-of-town guests to Gatlinburg a few weeks ago and had a blast pretending to be a tourist. And we're keeping our vacation dollars local!

[Badbird2000]

I went thru there Saturday. We hit the Roaring Fork Motor Trail and took in some sites. We want to go back during the week and maybe hit Grotto falls, and a few others...
Came in thru Townsend, around past Elkmont and past Sugarlands, wnet back down Chapman highway..

[hiknapster]

We played tourist for our tenth anniversary.

Went to Splash Country. I have decided that I am not a water park person. As far as they go, though, this one seems very good.

Went over to Gatlinburg and it seemed bigger than I remember it. It was a Monday, right after the Fourth of July, but it was still very busy.

I have yet to drive the Arts & Crafts Loop. It sounds like it would be great!

Stopped off at Carino's in Pigeon Forge for the big anniversary dinner. Yuck. That place has REALLY gone down hill. We should have stuck with my original plan and went to Regas, but I didn't feel very good.

I was surprised by how vibrant Gatlinburg is, although of the little that I saw of it, I wish they had higher quality gift shops. But I guess it doesn't cater to that kind of clientele.

Art and craft shows are great, though. I love those!

Went to the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. I had been to one in Niagara Falls, but this one was very small and so not worth the price of admission.

Hillbilly Golf sounds like a hoot, although I am sure that the little one has already been there. She goes on lots of field trips.

We will definitely go back. When I can walk further we will be able to see more.

I would love to know where 21 is, too.

[mbmouse]

Hubby and I like to go to Gatlinburg, mainly just to walk around, window shop, check out any new pieces from Thomas Kincaid (sp?) gallery. We get some lunch at a new place every time, people watch and so forth. Then we head up into the park, walk down a trail for a bit then head over to Cherokee to the casino (not the greatest casino, but still enjoyable) for a few hours, then swing up 19 to 40, through South Greeneville to back home. Makes for a nice Saturday.

[mattbward]

I just gained 10 lbs just reading that, that's a crap load of eating. Unless you were just saying you were looking at all that food....