This is proving to be a very interesting Region and we are learning more about it each day here. It is truly a vacation destination - besides being Dolly Parton's hometown. Yes, Dollywood is located here too. On day 2 we took a morning drive down Highway 441 traveling from our location at River Plantation RV Park through Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg. What an amazing drive. As we drove down through Pigeon Forge, we started noticing the cars. For over 2 miles driving through the main drag of Pigeon Forge Old, Classic, Antique, you name it cars were lined up at just about every business.......
At one point we passed the Clampetts old heap driving down the road, complete with the chairs up top for Granny and Ellie Mae. Couldn't be sure if it was Jethro driving....... And then we were through Pigeon Forge and on our way to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park and Gatlinburg.
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| Parking at the Welcome Center |
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| Downtown Gatlinburg- what a beautiful town and area |
This next picture has a story associated with it......
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| Parkway Liquor Store |
And here goes the story. When we arrived at Sevierville, we noted that we needed to replenish our supply of wine (for the Happy Hours, of course). So off to Walmart we went. Not. Grocery stores in Tennessee only sell Beer and mixers. No wine, no liquor. So, we did what we would normally do - pull out the iphone and google package stores in Sevierville. Guess what? The NEAREST package store(the only stores that sell liquor and wine) was in Gatlinburg - 10 miles away. Must be a religion thing. So, off to Gatlinburg, to find the Package Store. And just as I/We suspected, the same wine we bought at Walmart in every other state was all of a sudden $5.00 per container more. At this point we weren't sure if it was about religion or about the money. Anyways, we got our stuff, paid and were back on our way. Gatlinburg BTW is really a nice looking town - touristy like Pigeon Forge, but still nice. Try to imagine Disney World and you'll get the idea. Sadly to say, we didn't make it to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co for lunch.
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| Note the houses and condo's on hillside. Was like this all around this area. |
With our business done in Gatlinburg, we headed back towards Pigeon Forge. While stopped at the Gatlinburg Welcome Center, I spoke with one of the Rangers and he asked if we were in the area for the car show. I replied no, and asked him about the show. He said this was one of 3 major car shows held. People and cars come from everywhere for it. What we saw coming through today(thursday) was nothing - on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we 'd be lucky to even get through Pigeon Forge - constant parades of cars going up and down the street. And we saw more when we went back through.......
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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Main drag- Pigeon Forge Car Show
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For almost 2 miles - on both sides of the 4 lane divided highway road there were nothing but cars. Old cars, classic cars, trucks, you name it. It is a 3 day + show. Cars are bought, sold, traded along with parts associated with restoring an old car. It is definitely an event.
Previously I likened the area to Disney World. I don't think that I was far off the mark......
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| Upside down house...along 441 south of Sevierville |
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| Hatfields & McCoys Dinner Show. And yes, we were taking all these pics as we drove down the road. |
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Yes, that is a gorilla.
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Oh, yes. We were down here for the SKP Rally.
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| Mobile Suites Units on display. We were ready to take the Tri-Axle home with us(it had a room off of the living room all set up for at least 2 sewing machines). |
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| Happy Hour Thursday afternoon. Amazing the stories that you hear. The couple facing us just got finished telling us story of how they got locked INSIDE their Coach. |
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| After breakfast Friday morning |
The breakfast Friday morning was provided by SkyMed - part of the price they pay for being able to put on a presentation. When the presentation was done, they had a drawing for 10 - 1 week vacations. And guess who won one? We never win anything, but today we apparently did. So now we have to look up the details and see how much this free vacation is going to cost us.
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| A selfie? |
Most of the people we've met here are from the East(East half of the US). We sat with a couple from Missouri, a couple from Hickory, NC and another from Florida. Interesting mix. Did meet up with Cynthia - the one I met in Tucson and who suggested we come to this event. Also volunteered to help out Jim and Lisa Koca with the Smartweigh Program weighing vehicles on Tuesday.
All in all, it has been fun so far. This is really a nice park, the group seems nice(like all SKP's are), and last night I got a hold of a sticker that I have been looking for:
Home is Where You Park It. Also picked up an SKPACRE shirt for my collection.
The rainy, cloudy weather has been hanging in there. Hopefully it breaks before we leave. Would really be nice to see the sun again.
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