Category Archives: Travel

All Aboard

Posted on by

I like to take vintage train rides when I get a chance and my sister said she took a nice train ride while visiting Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. I’ve searched but the only one I can locate is actually part of Dollywood. Known as the Dollywood Express, an authentic 110 ton coal fired steam engine travels 5 miles through the foothills of the Great Smokey Mountains.

rides-ss-dollywoodexpress-hereitcomes

The other train ride I found  That actually  ventures into the Great Smokey Mountains is  a North Carolina train. The Great Smokey Mountain Railroad chugs out of Bryson City, NC. There are several trains but the one that caught my eye is the Nantahala River Gorge Excursion. ” Take a ride along side the beautiful Nantahala River on our Nantahala Gorge Excursion! Departing from Bryson City, this four-and-a-half hour excursion carries you 44 miles to the Nantahala Gorge and back again arriving at our Bryson City depot. “

Nantahala Gorge

Too bad I won’t be in North Carolina this trip.

I checked out Chattanooga too. It’s about 2- 2 1/2 hours from Gatlinburg but even though it’s  famous for the Chattanooga Choo Choo there’s no train ride here. Train history is preserved and you can arrange to stay overnight in a real vintage sleeping car but sadly, no click clack train ride.

So unless someone knows of another scenic/ vintage train ride in the Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg area of the Great Smokey Mountains I think I’ll be limited to the 5 mile adventure on the Dollywood Express.

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

 

It’s not the Bunny Trail

Posted on by

Peter Cottontail hopped down the Bunny Trail and many states have Wine Trails including Massachusetts and Maine but I haven’t heard of too many that have Whiskey Trails. Leave it to Tennessee for that.

petercottontail

W.C. Fields advised people to “Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite… and furthermore always carry a small snake.”

wc-fields

Tennessee makes some of the smoothest, finest “sipping ” whiskey. Two of the most well know and established distilleries are the George Dickel Distillery in Tullahoma and none other than Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg. I’ve never tried George Dickel  Whiskey but Jack Daniels is “mighty fine”, sweet and smooth.

Jack-Daniels

I don’t know if I’ll get that far from Gatlinburg but I won’t have to skip the whiskey sipping unless I want to. There’s a new stop on the parkway called Gatlinburg Barrelhouse. Here’s just one of the reviews from trip advisor:

We visit Gatlinburg at least once a year, but were pleasantly surprised to find the Gatlinburg Barrelhouse on the Parkway. After waiting in line for a tasting of moonshine that you can find in just about any Tennessee liquor store, we were happy to find the Barrelhouse and especially Davy Crockett’s whiskey. They offer quality whiskey in a variety of great flavors, and this is the ONLY location you can find them. (Personally, we think the chocolate and southern pecan varieties are fabulous.) I’m sure it’s soon-to-be just as busy as the moonshine distillery, but in the meantime it’s fun not to have to fight a crowd. The people are nice and we enjoyed the live music. We’ll definitely be back!

davey

I’ve never been to a whiskey tasting. I’ve done several wine tastings. Depending on how many wines you try it is possible to get a bit tipsy. I had read that you swish the wine in your mouth and then spit it out. I’ve never seen that done. In fact at the last tasting I went to I asked. The response was that spitting it out was a waste of good wine.

I would imagine that one would need to take it easy on the whiskey.

Cheers to Gatlinburg

Posted on by

Like I always say I learn so much from my friends and readers. One of the comments on my post in Facebook was from a friend of mine who currently lives in Atlanta , Ga. He’s been a wonderful host when I visited that city and has a wealth of knowledge about many of the southern states.

Here’s his comment : Love the the mtns in spring. Gatlin now has moonshine and whisky tasting stores too

I saw the listing for the moonshine and whiskey distilleries.  Let’s start with the Moonshine Distillery . They aren’t backwoods hillbillies anymore. They have a web page.

OLE SMOKY DISTILLERY

The Ole Smoky Moonshine Distillery, “The Holler”, is America’s most visited distillery and  produces all of our signature flavors. 

os_getAJar

A visit to Ole Smoky Distillery is the true moonshine experience. As you approach the 
 entrance, the distinct smell of cooking and fermenting grains takes over your senses. Here, you’ll see authentic-working moonshine stills and take in the entire process – from beginning to end. Our distillers like to visit with folks. They’ll be glad to answer your   questions about the history and lore of moonshining in East Tennessee.

os_distilleryImage

After you see, smell and hear about the process, treat yourself to a free taste of our   homegrown shine!

Choose from samples of our Original Unaged Corn Whiskey, White Lightnin’, Moonshine Cherries,   Blackberry, Our World famous “Apple Pie”, Strawberry, Peach and Lemon drop.   We also offer seasonal and special flavors that aren’t available in package stores. You’ll be able   to buy plenty of moonshine and Ole Smoky merchandise to take home with you.

Moooshine1

I remember my dad making home brew when I was a kid. After the beer he always made some root beer for us underage drinkers. I loved the smell of all that fermenting. I bet I’ll like the smell of the distillery too and I doubt a small taste will hurt me.

What’s In Gatlinburg?

Posted on by

A similar question came up when we went to South Dakota and that turned out to be a great vacation. So I am hopeful that this will be the same. Sandy has been to the Great Smokey Mountains and the first thing she said when I told her I’d decided on Tennessee was to be sure to visit Dollywood.

dollywood

I admit, Dollywood wasn’t on the top of my “to do” list and I reluctantly said ok, if it’s close enough. Well it sure is close enough. Located in Pigeon Forge it’s less than 10 miles from Gatlinburg.

dreamland_1

Dollywood isn’t open year round so I was still thinking I might get a reprieve if it wasn’t open for the season but that didn’t work out either. According to the website it’s opening on March 22 so even if they were to delay the opening for some reason it’s still sure to be up and running by May.

th71762GFL

But here’s where it gets interesting. I was dragging my feet because I don’t like amusement parks. 6 Flags is a waste of money for me and I only go to Canobie Lake Park in New Hampshire on occasion to take pictures. But Dolly stresses that her park is a “family adventure” (don’t call it an amusement park”).

th1PHMFFFR

My sister says this is the cleanest park she has even seen! Although there are more than 30 rides there are also musical shows, restaurants and arts and crafts shops where  wood carving, glassblowing and quilting are demonstrated.

dollywood_07-x600

Although Dollywood had to bear the brunt of a number of jokes when it first opened it now hosts 2.5 million guests in a typical season. No longer a laughing matter, Dollywood is a major employer for the region. As of 2010, the park was the biggest “ticketed” tourist attraction in Tennessee each year for more than a decade.

thTLJNYSAB

So I have had a change of heart and moved Dollywood from a reluctant location on my itinerary to one of the “must see” stops. They say the Ferris wheel is  60 ft. high. Imagine the pictures I can get from up there!

Time is Running Out

Posted on by

I was taking a leisurely stroll through my timeshare options until I got to Maryland.  As you can tell, I fell in love with that option. I was so enamored that I attempted to book a week, any week only to find that it was completely sold out. A big  NO VACANCY sign.

LED_NO_VACANCY_SIGN

That was a “wake up ” call for me. I may not have a decision to make if I continue to drag my feet. The last time I ended up having to take the “left overs” it worked out great. I ended up in Sedona  for my first visit. I liked it so much that I went back to the same resort a few years later. Still I’d rather make a decision than have it made for me. With that in mind I ran through the remaining exchanges to see if they were even available. Most weren’t.

100_0041

Of my 17 unvisited states with timeshares exchanges only 6 still have vacancies! One of them is just too expensive (The points are too high).

I think I’m going to go with Tennessee. Colorado has weeks available but not my first choices. Missouri just didn’t send my heart pitter patting although located in Branson Southwest should be able to find it now.

Michigan was way too many points! Shockingly high.

New Mexico ~ Located in Santa Fe , New Mexico..I’ve thought  about New Mexico a lot. There’the Balloon Festival in Albuquerque and the massive Carlsbad Caverns. There are several nature preserves too but the only times available as well as the long distances between the places I want to see, is summer. It would be very hot. It’s desert after all.

encantado-resort-spa-santa-fe-new-mexico-L-6llq2V

Tennessee has 5 choices , most in Gatlinburg. With 5 resorts to pick from there’s bound to be some open reservations.

2631759-Bent-Creek-Golf-Village-Hotel-Exterior-1-DEF

I chose to enter a time range and not select a resort. Sure enough I had lots to chose from and since I’m traveling alone I only need about 3500 points for a week. I grabbed a week in May. Spring time in the Great Smokey Mountains is supposed to be nice.

Now I just have to see if work approved the vacation time! May is considered part of our busy season.