We had our two play days in Chattanooga and it was time to regroup before moving on. Since we were not prepared for our Gatlinburg area stay, we took today to pull some loose ends together.
The laundry basket was overflowing, so we went to the campground laundry and took along our computers. This is a bustling campground, probably the fullest one we have been in during our whole trip. Maybe people winter here, or as we found out, live in their campers while working in the area (met two of these folks). The laundry was big, so we loaded six washers and logged on to our computers to work on the blog and catch up on bills from home. We also researched and selected our next campground, then Don wrote up directions to get us there.
One man was doing his laundry and told us about a great place to get BBQ pork, "Sugar's Ribs." After our chores, we went to Sugar's for a combo late lunch/early dinner. The restaurant was perched on a hillside and looked down over Chattanooga, a true million dollar view. Don had a pulled pork sandwich, his favorite, and I had BBQ chicken. The owners told us not to leave without seeing their hillside lawnmowers, the goats. This is the second time we have seen goats or a reference to goats on this trip. The first was in the courtyard of a restaurant on Beale Street in Memphis. What's with goats in Tennessee? We got our banana pudding to go for a bedtime snack.
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| View from Sugar's Ribs |
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| One of the cute lawn mowers. |
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| Beale Street sign in courtyard, "Irish Diving Goats." We did not see them dive. |
Returning to the campground, Don emptied the tanks for an early exit in the morning. Pleasant day, but nothing too exciting, except for maybe the BBQ and banana pudding.
Monday, November 8th: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
It was an easy, short ride to Pigeon Forge until the last ten or fifteen minutes, due to some major road construction. It is so nice to get to the campground early, a little after 1:00. We took a few minutes to pick out our site on the Little Pigeon River. The river is little, not wide, and there was the back of a big motel on the far bank. We chose our site at the end of the motel with the sound of the rippling brook cascading over the rocks. After setting up the camper, we sat outside for a bit to enjoy the river and peruse the area attraction brochures we got at the Information Center.
Tuesday, November 9th: Winterfest in Pigeon Forge
A touch of background information about the area: Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains. For those of you who have never been here, these mountains are incredible! Pigeon Forge's main drag looks like one long strip mall, with every tourist attraction you possibly could think of - the Titanic Museum, Comedy Barn, Dixie Stampede, Magic Mansion, NASCAR go-carts, mini-golf, ziplines, bungee jumping, etc. Gatlinburg seemed a little more upscale with Ober Gatlinburg (an amusement park), Ripley's #1 rated Aquarium (haven't we heard the #1 aquarium claim before?), Cooter's Museum (Dukes of Hazard Museum, including the orange car, the General Lee, a Dodge Charger) and so much more. Doesn't sound more upscale, does it?
The three local towns are somewhat connected when it come to the Christmas season. Sevierville (pronounced "severe-ville"), Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge all celebrate Winterfest with an unacknowledged competition for the biggest and best display of Christmas lights. A few years ago all three towns turned on their holiday lights simultaneously and blew electrical power for the whole area. On Monday, Sevierville had their big to-do to light the lights. Tuesday was Pigeon Forge's turn and Wednesday was Gatlinburg's. We decided to attend Pigeon Forge's kick-off, even though Christmas seemed months away to us.
We took a trolley from the campground to Patriot Park, as they had a trolley stop a few trailers down from us. Yes, another trolley town, but these trolleys had regular fueled bus motors, unlike the quiet electric buses in Chattanooga and electric overhead powered ones in Memphis. For fifty cents each to ride, it seemed easier than driving and finding a parking place near the park. One of the park attendants told us they flip on the lights around 6:30, more or less. On stage, a bluegrass trio from Dollywood, entertained the crowd with some cool, unusual Christmas music. We had a piece of pizza and some warmed cider and listened to the tunes. Then we got in a looooong line for the free trolley tour of Pigeon Forge's Christmas lights. After tonight we were told it is $5.00 to do this and it was pretty well sold out for the next few nights. Tonight was our golden opportunity, as long as we didn't mind the wait and the cold. In the foothills of the Smokies, the days are beautifully warm as long as the sun is out. Put the sun away and the temps drop like a snowball.
We chatted with folks around us while we waited in line. Around 7:15 the promised lights finally came on at Patriot Park and the Christmas Trollies started rolling. We had a comedian bus driver and the atmosphere on the bus was lively and festive. The Christmas lights around town were truly great and we felt the line wait paid off in fun. Okay, we definitely now have the Christmas spirit!
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