My Gatlinburg Trip

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Kelli & I really enjoyed ourselves. The leaves were beautiful, the people were friendly and the traffic was horrific. No wonder Sheila says she stays clear of Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge in Oct!! Gat. was not too bad but PF , oh my, and I had to go there every day.yikes!!

On Fri the 13th stopped in Cherokee to try my luck at the casino. Since I don't win when it's not Fri the 13th, I thought maybe my luck would change. Yeah, right, naw, still lost After the machines ate my $50 I left to hike my one and only waterfall, Mingo Falls. If I had know I would have to go up 150+ steps, I'd never try it. Boy, am I not as young as I used to be

After stopping at many overlooks I finally made it. Laurel Point is an older resort and was well maintained except for the carpeting which had holes in it from the fireplace. The only other thing I wished was for a washer/dryer in the condo. The road to the resort is very, very curvy and you turn into the resort on a dime in the sharpest curve imaginable. I did find out that if you follow the road all the way up it ends at Ober Gatlinburg. ( No big deal, it is getting dilapadated.)

We stopped at Smokey Mtn Wings & BBQ for dinner and it was out of this world!! I had the beef brisket and it was melt in your mouth good. The potato salad was almost as good as mine.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Was Tennesse playing football at home while you were there? That really adds to the traffic.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Shaggy,

Too bad that you didn't win gambling..... However, it sounds like you had a great time. You got some great 'leaf peeping' in.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

That was just the first day!! Wait , more to come!! I do think there was a game, but it was the day I was leaving. shaggy

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Gatlinburg/ The rest of the Story!!

Sat: Tonight we had tix to Country Tonight. We were waiting on Kelli's friend Billy to come and by the time he got here he was worn out from the traffic so left him at the ts to eat my homemade spaghetti sauce.

This morning I went to the craft show at the convention center (I'm addicted to them) Kellli hit the strip and came back with a tale of the deal this man wanted to make. It was a Betty Boop jacket that had been $250 and she could have it for $109 . She suckered me into it, but it was pretty. Black jacket with Motorcyle Betty on the back and pink leather sleeves with a nice design. Told her that was her xmas present ( yeah right)

Country Tonight was ver good and very energetic. Waitied afterwards to get pics with the performers. I had seen it b4 and also it is available in other places so probably won't go see it again.

Oh yeah, this morning we ate at the Applewood Farm Rest which was my very fav. Orange mimosas, apple fritters and just plain good food. My very fav. breakfast place. Shaggy

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Sun: Cooters!!

Today we went to Cooters Place ( not Cooties) This was Billy's main reason for coming as he is the biggest Fan of Dukes of Hazzard that I know. I took tons of pics of he and Kelli around all the props. He dropped over $200 on junk, said he better buy it now because he'd probably never make it back. I got my days mixed up. Today we saw Country 2night and last night Kelli & I saw the American Juke Box. They were both good but I liked the jukebox better as I sang to all the songs. Like I said, I felt sorry for the folks around me.

After I finally got everybody out we drove to the Apple Barn in Sevierville. I was really upset to find out it was the very same menu as the Applewood right down the street from the resort. My disappointment was changed when Kelli ran into Aaron Tippon on the way to the bathroom. She said you are ah;, ah, ah, ah, he said yepper Aaron Tippon. He was just a couple of tables over from us and was so nice and down to earth. I asked him if he would mind taking a pic with Kelli after you finished eating. He said, and I quote, why shucks, we ain't eatin yet come on over. He took pics with the both of us and he took over the camera and took pics of us with his family. He said, you know I've got a new CD out , which I said yes, I already have it, now & then . We talked for awhile and when we left he and Thea and the kids yelled out by, nice meeting you!! He was just there on vacation. What a great down to earth guy!!

We still had time before we went to the show so went to the Old Mill and walked around the shops. My fav is the Smokey Mtn cat house!! I have to be careful or I'll drop a ton of money.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Mon: Shaggy squawks and wins!!

Today was the morning gettogether in the lounge. They had all kinds of entertainers here hawking their shows so we all checked them out. Since it was Oct there weren't many kids here so the lady from Dixie Stampede gave Kelli a plastic cup stuffed with a horse just cause she was so darn cute. A lady was there to tell about Parrott Mtn and the first person to sound like a bird won a free ticket. I let out the loudest squawk (double squawk) so I won. Kelli just shook her head and considered the source. I love to embarres her. I also won tix to the Murder Mystery Theater and Sweet Fanny Adams . If I had known I wouldn't have prearrainged so many shows.

The gals behind the desk were so nice!@! I had already made all my plans but they switched out my tic from the Murder Mystery and gave me Fixin to Rain with James Rogers ( my very fav entertainer in that area) When I found out he also had a Wed night xmas show I did major changing. Billy got upset when I switched the Dixie Stampede from Wed to Thurs. I figured he;d get over it. NOT!!! More later

Tonight we went to the Comedy Barn . It was one of the first places there. I absolutely loved it. They had 2 tranquilitist and were both great. I highly recommend it if you want to laugh. I was almost on the floor. It was good clean fun. Again we stayed to get pics with the entertainers.

[arlene22 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close arlene22]

A lady was there to tell about Parrott Mtn and the first person to sound like a bird won a free ticket. I let out the loudest squawk (double squawk) so I won. Kelli just shook her head and considered the source. I love to embarres her.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Patty Wiezack, Parrott Mtn /Dollywood/Fixin to Rain

This morning the kids wanted to hang around the place. Billy said he was tired of being on the go all the time and to go without him. He couldn't hang with the old gal (me!) I got up early and went to the Patty Wiezack show as I had a ticket for $6. I think she plays every instrument there is as was really really good. I was the youngest person in there. Her mother had died from alzheimers and she had written a song called , Mother, please remember me which put me to tears. Afterwards I told her about my mom and she said on the off season she goes to nursing homes and I've made arraingements for her to come to Oakdale Heights where mother stays. I took the cd and played it for the folks in the alzheimers unit & also my mom. She used to be a choir director and all of a sudden a miracle happened. Mom started conducting to the music and the others started singing and clapping. Oh my, what an amazing scene. I can't wait to see her again and I am so happy she is coming .

Afterwards I took some backroads /shortcut to the Craft Community Loop but I got lost!! It was worth it. I saw some great scenery and got some great pics. Once I found the place I went back to the condo to pick up Kelli to go to Dollywood. If you go in at 3 you get the next day free.

As usual I'm screwed up again. We went to Parrott Mtn yesterday and had a great time. It is near Dollywood and I got tons of great shots, Billy even liked it. He said if he had $1500 he would have bought one.

Now back on track. Went to get Kelli and Billy stayed home so when we got to Dollywood we hit the rides, the coasters were fun. The Tenn. tornado was awesome but I could only ride it once . We had our pic made, because it was so silly I bought the thing and had it put in a key chain.Once we were out of there we made a mad dash to Fixin to Rain. Are y'all tired yet?
Fixin to Rain is like Noah's Ark meets the Smokey Mtns. James Rogers, my very very fav, was the narrator but he also does his normal comedy routine b4 the show starts. I raised my hand, Kelli sinks down in the seat, James looks like he's going to kill me and I say is Fwuff (Fluff) still in the dwyer? (dryer) He started laughing and said yes, Fwuff was still in the dwyer. (It's part of his routine) Anyway, after the show I told him how much I loved his show when it was at Music Mansion and told him we'd see him tomorrow at Dollywood. We got our usual photos and I bought a couple of his cd's. He has a xmas one with singing done by Baby Duck which is really funny. He is also instrumental in saving the eagles and does a lot for the veterans. If you have a chance to see him please do. You won't regret it.

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Wed:/ Dollywood & the Xmas show

Today was Dollywood day!! The Harvest crafters and the Southen Gospel was going on and since Billy loves Southern gospel he was in heaven. We headed straight for the 11:00 show of James Rogers and grabbed a front row seat. It was as good as usual and all of a sudden he went into Fwuff in the dwyer. I was so happy and I was laughing my arse off. After the show he told me he added it in just for me. He said he saw me on the front row and thought I'd get a kick out of it. I did and I thanked him again. I told him not to be scared of me!! I'm really not a stalker, evern if I am seeing you 4 times in 2 days. Kelli & Billy went to the southern gospel show while I hung around for the 2nd James Roger show. I almost didn't get back in. The line was way down the park.

I met up with the kids and saw the Isaccs. Afterwards I took pics with them. Of course Billy was all smiles when he got around Sonja. I like the Mom. He bought every single one of their cd's and he did the same for the other group. He 's crazy. Have you not heard of the internet? Anyway I figure between Cooters and Dollywood he spent over $600.

Dollywood has great customer service. I told a lady I wasn't happy with my pic in the keychain because with all the junk around our pic you couldn't see our faces. She turned me over to a manager /security guard. He called the park mgr and told him he had a "quest opportunity" Mgr said take care of her. He talked me into walking back to the coaster (clear on the other side) and had the lady fix the pic and he kept saying we'd ride it again. I told him that was fine and he had done enuff and we really really didn't have to ride it again. Yeah, right, he wouldn't take no for an answer. We got on it together and of course they took another pic and he had it blown up and gave it to me. It's not DisneyWorld but they are a class act.

After Dollywood we high taled it to James Rogers xmas show. It was great as usual. I thought things were going well with Kelli & billy but all of a sudden I noticed they were sitting a few seats apart and looked like they were goinig to kill each other. Seems like Kelli wanted to go buy a cd and he needed something for a headache so I thought I'd kill to birds at one time by going to Walmart but it really got ugly and he was not acting nice. Both kids have quick tempers and I was ready to kill them both.

Sometime in the middle of the night Billy left for home (without saying goodbye) It started somewhere when I changed Dixie Stampede from Wed to Thurs so I could go to the xmas show. He had bought us the stampede tix as a present for staying with us. When will I ever learn not to take along others. He has had such a bad life and upbringing that I thought I was helping!! shaggy

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Cades Cove/Dixie Stampede/Billy goes AWOL

When I first got up I didn't realize Billy had left for good. Called his cell phone to let him know we were up and did he want to get breakfast. Kelli said all his stuff was gone and when she opened the fridge and saw the Dr Peppers were gone we knew he was gone! I was truly pissed. He could have left me a note or let me know!!

Kelli & I went to Cades Cove. It took us almost 4 hours to get thru due to the traffic. Everybody kept saying they saw bears but I don't count a little black spec way over yonder a sighting. I did enjoy watching a couple of deers frolicking thru a meadow. I also got some good pics. We went thru the Roaring Fork Nature Trail as well. My pics are almost ready to view.

That night we went to Dixie Stampede and I was able to get Billy a refund on his part of the ticket. As anyone knows who has gone to the Stampede they have a preshow. I was pulled out of the audience to come up on stage. I had to imitate a zebra to Old McDonald Had a Farm, so I go ZZZZZ, ZZZZ, ZZZz, etc. Kelli was dying again and praying I wouldn't do anything to crazy. I then had to play the washboard. Luckily the other girl got the spoons. She knew how to do them so we made quite a site!! I enjoyed the stampede but don't think I would do it again.

We went home to pack up and leave Friday. Boo Hoo!!! Went back over the mtn through Cherokee and back to reality.

Hope you enjoyed my little trip. Y'all tell us about yours!! shaggy

[vlariano Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close vlariano]

Wow! What a fun trip, thanks for the review. I was there several years ago, but Dollywood wasn't open. Went shopping in Pigeon Forge, up to Obergatlinburg, saw some of the park, and hoped for snow since I was there in February. My birthday is February 15 so some friends and myself booked a timeshare there and little did we know that the town would be FILLED with couples either getting married or celebrating their anniversary. I had no idea that Gatlinburg was the wedding capitol of that area, since I live near Las Vegas, that is the only wedding capitol that I was familiar with. LIve and learn -- I will pick another week if I go back again.