We continued our jaunt through Tennessee the next morning by taking our planned side trip to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. To get to Pigeon Forge you have to pass through Sevierville, and I had to stop and show KR the best knife store in the world. If you are ever in the area, check it out - Smoky Mountain Knife Works. A destination store. The entire Sevierville-Pigeon Forge area has a Bransonish feel to it with many, many tourist-oriented things to do, see, eat at and play in. Of course, Pigeon Forge is also the home of Dolly Parton. Not that we are great fans, but considering the over-the-top way this area has evolved, one has to see it in a check-out-the-car-accident kind of way. There is even a Titanic replica and an inverted haunted house the size of a mall. Dollywood was a pleasant surprise. It was clean, not crowded, the food
was a step above normal theme-park fare, the workers were friendly, and
the park goers were a different demographic than the teenage crowd. It
didn't hurt that there was a huge gospel music festival going on in the
park and most of the people were there for the music. There is an
entire section of the park with very good rides and roller coasters - no
lines whatsoever. KR rode everyone that was open (see the pics - if you
zoom in you will see her with her hair flying). We enjoyed many of the
musical groups, including one consisting of Dolly's relatives. A
very enjoyable place. As we were leaving, we exited through the bakery
and bought a piece of apple pie the size of a shoe box. After a good sleep, we headed to North Carolina via the Great Smoky
Mountains, but not before making two final short stops in Tennessee.
First, we took in the Andrew Johnson NHS in Greeneville. Johnson was the
VP that took over the presidency when Lincoln was assassinated. I have
always had a negative impression of Johnson (Congress attempted to
impeach him), but one always comes away from a person's NHS with a more
favorable impression of the person being depicted (the positive is
always highlighted). This is also true of presidential libraries. So he
went up a few notches in my estimation. But just a few. We found a barn with a painted admonition to see the beautiful Rock City. Well, we saw it and it was very enjoyable. We made a very brief stop at Davy Crockett Birthplace State
Park. They have a replica of the birthplace cabin, but little
else.The tobacco was drying in the barns as we traversed the Great Smokies
into North Carolina. A beautiful day to see some beautiful country.
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