A Solo Trip to Pigeon Forge

Since the summer is almost over, at least in so much as Anna has to go back to work next week, I took this opportunity to go on a drive for a couple of days. So, I set out yesterday morning at 7:00 for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg, and Pigeon Forge.

I had a wonderful drive up, even if I did miss my family some of the time. I made it to the Oconaluftee Welcome Center at around 11:00, bought a T-shirt, and drove to Clingman's Dome--which was very, very busy. I made the whole walk to the observation tower (there are some pictures below), which is no mean feat for a guy in my shape. (I need to work on getting in better shape so I can do that walk with my kids someday, hopefully in two or three years.)

After that, I drove north through GSMNP to Gatlinburg, which was insanely busy. I had thought I might stop, but the number of cars and people and shops all crammed into a relatively small space filled me with anxiety, so I kept going towards Pigeon Forge.

Pigeon Forge was also busy, but is more stretched out and has a four-lane road, so it doesn't seem nearly as crowded. Still, I didn't stop anywhere except a place called Book Warehouse.

I did stop at the Books-A-Million in Seveirville, where I bought Robert A. Heinlein's The Star Beast, a novel I read thirty years ago and remember loving. I've been looking for it for a while, actually.

I spent the night at the Quality Inn in Clayton, Georgia, which is where I am right now as I type this. Since I need to check out in 20 minutes, I'll end here, with the addition of 15 pictures I took yesterday:

Elyse Coloring, July 16, 2013

Here are four pictures of just what the title says, Elyse coloring:

Posted with Blogsy

Mommy and Elyse in Minnesota

Today Mommy and Elyse returned from their week-long visit to Minnesota. They had a good time, but are glad to be back home, and Jessica and I are glad to have them back.

Here are some pictures from their adventure:

First, a couple of pictures of Elyse with two of her cousins:

Elyse riding a tricycle in Gramma and Grampa's driveway:

Elyse again with two of her cousins (though one of the cousins is different in this picture):

Elyse helping Aunt Theresa feed Baby Addy:

Self Portrait, July 7, 2013

Not the most flattering picture of me, but this is what I look like, wearing my blue Stone Mountain T-shirt and sitting in the rocking chair in front of the blinds.

Zoo Atlanta

Saturday, while Mommy and Elyse were still in Minnesota (they'll be back Tuesday), Jessica and I went to Zoo Atlanta. We only stayed a couple of hours because it started to rain (this whole week has been plagued by rain), but we had a good time anyway.

Fernbank with Jessica

Today, while Mommy was at the second day of her IB workshop downtown, Jessica and I took Elyse to Granny and Pa's house and then went to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History for a wonderful day together. We stayed there for four hours, looking at all the exhibits and galleries (except for a couple that were too scary). Jessica loved it! So did I.

Here are a few pictures from our day:

The T. Rex skeleton on the ground floor atrium:

The brontosaurus (I think) skeleton:

Jessica exploring what may have been a giant armadillo shell in the Extreme Mammals exhibit (we didn't always read the signs, so aren't sure what everything is):

An American Alligator--a real one, but a real small one--in a tank in the NatureQuest interactive explore/play area:

Jessica clowning around in a dugout canoe in NatureQuest:

Entering the burrow in NatureQuest:

Dancing with her tri-colored shadow in the Sensing Nature interactive exhibit:

Finally, resting with a turtle friend (not real, though) in NatureQuest, which we returned to for a while after lunch in Fernbank's cafe:

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Twelve years ago today, Anna and I got married!

Babyland General and Helen, GA

Today we went on a one-day road trip to take the girls to Babyland General in Cleveland, Georgia--home of the Cabbage Patch Dolls. While we were out, since it's less than ten miles up the road, we also went to Helen for a couple of hours. Here are ten pictures from our trip:

A Cabbage Patch baby waiting to be born:

Elyse checking out the Cabbage Patch babies:

Babyland General from the outside:

(I added a little drama to the sky, which I've since decided doesn't look that good, but I don't feel strongly enough about it to go back and change it.)

Helen:

Some random people tubing on the Chattahoochee, which Anna is trying to convice Jessica they need to do sometime soon:

Enjoying a funnel cake at Granny's:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park -- A One-Day Road Trip

This week Anna and Jessica and Elyse are spending most of their days at the Girl Scout Camp in Lilburn, so I took advantage of my free time to go on a one-day road trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Anna and I went through GSMNP on our way to Gatlinburg thirteen years ago, and I remember loving it and wanting to return. On Tuesday I did.

It's every bit as wonderful as I remembered, as is the trip up through north Georgia and North Carolina. I headed out at about 8:00 Tuesday morning, about the same time the girls left for Girl Scout Camp. I made a quick stop at the library in Flowery Branch, which is right on the way and is also the closest place I could locate the book I wanted (The Gay Talese Reader; in a strange dream I had over the weekend, it was suddenly very important that I read Talese's 1966 Esquire profile, "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold.") After that, I didn't stop for about 100 miles, which is unusual for me, but I wanted to make sure I actually made it to the Smoky Mountains instead of spending the whole day wandering around small towns along 441.

I did stop for lunch in North Carolina. First, I browsed for a few minutes in City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC, but didn't buy anything, then, deciding I really wanted some barbecue, I went back into Dillsboro. The lunch I had at the Dillsboro Smokehouse was great--very good barbecue and macaroni and cheese, and excellent onion rings. Tea that wasn't nearly as sweet as I'm used to in the south, but good anyway. As I ate I read the first few pages of the Talese article. After I was done, I got back in my car and didn't stop until I made it to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center at the southern entrance to the park on U.S. 441.

I spent about two hours in the park, walking, driving, taking lots of pictures. After spending about half an hour walking around at the mid-point, Newfound Gap, where you can, among other things, straddle the North Carolina/Tennessee border, get on the Appalachian Trail, and read about the Rockefeller Foundation's $5 million donation to help complete the park, I turned around and went back to the entrance and, after driving by a couple of large elk who had stopped traffic in the other direction, got on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Someday I plan to drive the whole thing; Tuesday I only drove about 15 miles of it.

After that I just meandered slowly in the general direction of home, resisting the temptation to stop in any of the shops in Cherokee, NC, but stopping at a few other places. I had dinner at a Chick-Fil-A in Demorest, GA, and spent the night at a Quality Inn in Oakwood, GA. I finished reading "Frank Sinatra Has a Cold" before I came home Wednesday morning. It's really good. You should read it.

Here are a dozen pictures from my trip, starting with one of the cabins in the Mountain Farm Museum at Oconaluftee:

Detail of the floor of the cabin's porch--I find great beauty in such utilitarian details:

Detail of a wagon wheel, which was leaning against another building:

The buildings are all roofed with wooden shingles:

Detail of the gears on a piece of farm equipment:

Xx:

I have no idea what these are, but I love the texture of the wood:

Pitcher and basin inside one of the cabins:

This is the Rockefeller Memorial at Newfound Gap, halfway through the park:

Another view of Rockefeller Memorial; it looks like these two women are taking pictures of each other, but they're really not:

A panoramic view from Newfound Gap:

And another; in this one, you can see one of the park roads winding around a mountain: