Wednesday 22nd March 2017
We checked out of Nashville and drove along the interstate with the intention of crossing the Smokey Mountains to Asheville to take a look at the Biltmore mansion. However plans changed and we were lured by the Smokey Mountains and all of the cabins in the woods. This is serious black bear country. Anyway it all turned out to be a big mistake. The two towns in the area were Pidgeon Forge and Gatlinburg. This is Dolly Parton country (and yes there is a Dollywood theme park, but we did not go) and everything is really, really trashy and tacky. Driving through Pidgeon Forge was like a horror movie – every business was themed as a fun park!! We took some accommodation and dined in that night. We sat on our balcony that overlooked the creek and the woods. That was a saving grace even though the room was very much something our of the 70’s – huge jacuzzi that dominated the room, mirrors on the ceiling, a large fireplace!!!!
During the day we called into supposedly the largest knife shop in the world!! Anyway it was certainly huge, I lost Geoff. The whole place was themed with scenes of the Smokey Mountains and they had thousands of knives and some guns on display. In fact they even had machine guns available for rent!!!
Wednesday 22nd March 2017
