Sugarlands Visitor Center
Mid May and friends Sheila & Mike from Maryland finally got down our way for a visit. Sheila had booked us a time share for a week in Pigeon Forge so with me as chauffeur, Mike riding shotgun and Sheila and Mary directing us from the aft command post, we headed off for our first full week of vacation together since 1988!
Our route took us through Townsend, Tennessee where we passed a pleasant hour looking through the exhibits in the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center before checking in at the Sunrise Ridge Resort in Pigeon Forge.
Day 2 was spent getting the lay of the land, stocking provisions and just catching up on lives and families. Mary & Sheila went to Nursing School together and have been in contact ever since but it is wonderful to just settle in and talk.
Day 3 found us heading for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Sugarlands Visitor Center where we enjoyed the displays of wildlife and flora to be found in the park. Realizing that it was nearly lunch time and we were heading away from civilization, Sheila raided the limited options at the museum store and we headed off to amble through the park all the way back to Townsend then back on 321 to Pigeon Forge and our condo,
Our 4th day was set aside for Dollywood. We spent most of our day rushing from one show to another and only rode on the old steam train. We looked at the eagles in their massive enclosure and ate lunch at
Granny Ogle’s Ham N’ Beans where cornbread, beans and “Sweet tea” appeared with almost every meal. Of course we needed to wash it down with some Ice Cream just for good measure. We covered as much as we could in a single day (probably about 1/3 of the stuff there) but didn’t feel we could muster the energy to do it again this trip.
On day 5 Mary & I just wandered around the Old Mill section of town looking at pottery, artwork and crafts & shops of all kinds while Sheila & Mike replenished the pantry and prepared themselves for tonight’s Gastro-Entertainment (my word) at the Dixie Stampede – a combination saloon, wild west show and pig-out. If you visit Pigeon Forge or Branson, do this once just for the experience.
Day 6 found us heading back to the GSMP to do the Cades Cove Loop – about 20 miles of one-way one-lane road through one of the last areas to become part of the Park. Many farms, houses and churches remain pretty much as they were and you can get a small glimpse of how life must have been in this remote community in the early 20th century. We enjoyed the old-time music on the porch at the Cades Cove Store and bought an autographed CD of some of the music.
On our last day, we packed for the trip home shared hugs all around. Good friends and good times.
