We don’t have very many pictures for you today, since it was another driving day where we didn’t accomplish much. After yesterday, you will not see me complaining. When we got back to the hotel last night I was exhausted and a tad annoyed from missing everything. I just laid down and collapsed on the bed. When I awoke this morning, I felt quite refreshed.
We finally got on the road at 11am after I took most of the morning to lie around and act like a lazy lug. Jasmine wasn’t to pleased with me, but I needed to relax a little after the goings on of yesterday. The drive down to Pigeon Forge was about 3 hours long and full of beautiful scenery. This part of Tennessee is nothing but miles and miles of green forests dotting through the rolling hills. I enjoyed every minute of it!
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is a town with a population of only 5,000 people that hosts over 10 million tourists annually. The reasons for this are that it sits about 7 miles north of the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Dollywood which is Dolly Parton’s theme park. (Shawn Reece and I wanted to go but Jasmine wouldn’t let us!)
When we arrived in town, I couldn’t help but compare the main drag in Pigeon Forge to International Drive in Orlando. The street is lined with all kinds of family activities (tourist traps) aimed at seperating people from their money. I must have seen at least seven go cart tracks, many miniature golf courses and other things like museums, dinner shows and more! It is full of activities. In fact, many of the same companies that operate in Orlando are here. To be honest, Pigeon Forge seems like it doesn’t belong among the beautiful Smoky Mountains that surround it. It is one of those modern day places that takes people away from what they came to see in the first place, nature!
After arriving, we headed straight to the hotel to take it easy. Shawn Reece decided to use the two queen size beds as a large trampoline. He jumped from one bed to the other and vice versa. As much as we tried to calm him down, he had to release his abundant energy. We are learning less destructive ways to do this. After a couple of hours of lounging around (sans bed jumping) we headed out to dinner.
Jasmine and I discussed it for a while, and finally decided on Ruby Tuesday’s for dinner. The meal was pleasant and we enjoyed it. It was too early after dinner to head back to the hotel, so I decided to have a little fun. As I mentioned before, Pigeon Forge has it’s fair share of go kart tracks. After dinner I was determined to drive on one of the many tracks I had seen. I found a coupon in one of the tourist books and we headed over. Fortunately, they had double karts so Shawn Reece was able to drive with me. One of the two tracks that we drove on was called the “Big Woody” “Wild Woody”. It is a three story spiral go kart track made completely of wood. They gave us about ten minutes to circle the track over and over. Shawn Reece and I loved it.
Tomorrow we are camping again. This time in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We also hope to get in a little hiking and waterfall viewing. Jasmine and I have heard about some great waterfalls that can be seen off of some of the hiking trails. It will feel good to be out in nature. The guy at the tourist bereau said that it is not quite at high season yet since some school districts are still in session. I wish that school would stay in session for another month and a half or so, until we are done in the United States, but what can I do. It sure has been nice having these places almost to ourselves! So long from the Smokies!
We want to thank everyone for the comments and emails. Your support is truly appreciated and keeps us going.
The Coomer Family
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HEY MY LITTLE MAN YOU LOOK SO HAPPY!! IT’S SO GOOD TO SEE SUCH A CUTE LOOK ON YOUR FACE. I KNOW YOU ARE ENJOYING YOURSELF AND OF COURSE MOM AND DAD ARE TOO. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR RETURN HERE IN MID JULY, I MISS YOU ALL VERY MUCH. HAVE FUN AND DON’T FORGET GRANDMA LOVES AND MISSES YOU ALL VERY MUCH!! LOVE MOM AND GRANDMA XOXOXOX
Hey Shawn,
I live in Knoxville Tn. and have been to the smoky mountains several times. It is very pretty there and I tend to aggre with you that pigeon forge doesn’t belong there ruining the beautiful scenery that is the smoky mountains. Hope you guys really enjoyed the good southern hospitality. Hope all is well with your family.