#42, Tennessee TN (Been There)

Ah, Tennessee. This is one of my top four vacation destinations, the others being South Carolina (Myrtle Beach), Texas (Galveston Beach), and Florida (Orlando and any of the beaches). Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are terrific places to relax as long as you pick the right time of the year. Otherwise it can be crazy busy like the one time we made the mistake of going at spring break. What were we thinking? The drive from Atlanta to Gatlinburg through the forest is delightful as well.

Tennessee, The Volunteer State

Gatlinburg is at the eastern side of the state. Mostly we head to Gatlinburg from Atlanta, park the vehicle, and walk everywhere we need to go. The first time we drove to Gatlinburg the various websites suggested a convoluted way to get there during the summer when it's crazy busy. I didn't believe them and came through Pigeon Forge and found out it would take three hours to make the fifteen mile drive. My bad. Basically we don't go to Pigeon Forge anymore as it's not worth the aggravation. Since we were there that first time we ended up seeing a car show up and down the strip, and took in Dolly Parton's Stampede which I liked a lot because they served great iced tea.

In Gatlinburg we have our favorite restaurants and have taken in a day of the Ober Gatlinburg Chairlift and all the events of the Adventure Park. We've done the Cade's Cove drive, Gatlinburg Bypass, and the Blue Ridge Parkway. I'd love to ride the Tail Of The Dragon but I've yet to convince my wife of that one.

Downtown Gatlinburg

Log cabin off the beaten path

On the west side of Tennessee is Memphis and I have been there a few times. I enjoyed dinner at a couple restaurants for Memphis BBQ and it was amazing. Went by the home of Elvis Presley. Took a tour through the Corvette Museum south of Memphis. 

Graceland, as far as I could go without paying a fortune

While we were in the area around Memphis we took a quick detour to the National Corvette Museum, mainly for me. We happened to get there a month or two after the floor of the yellow building of the museum opened up because of a 60 foot deep sinkhole, that swallowed up eight Corvettes. Most of those cars were irreplaceable classics. They had gotten most of the cars out by this time but I appreciated getting a photo of the sight and the opportunity to get a photo of the hole.

I'm a car guy

The National Corvette Museum

A sinkhole opened up and swallowed eight Corvettes in 2014

You could have your Corvette delivered here for special pickup

In the middle of the state is Nashville and my son and daughter-in-law lived there for many years Since they lived less than four hours from Atlanta we'd see them a few times a year. Then in between Nashville and Gatlinburg is Chattanooga on the southern border of Tennessee. We've been up there a few times and have to drive through there whenever heading to Nashville, or on the way up to Illinois.

Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga

Interestingly enough we've had more reasons to go to Tennessee while living in Georgia, and it's a beautiful state. The drive to Nashville goes up the mountains and then down the other side. There's always something interesting to see.

In Gatlinburg, our favorite shop for salt water taffy makes it in a corner of the store with an old red machine that does its job well. The taffy is stretched many times, then it is gradually formed into a thinner rope of taffy that is sent through the machine, cut into little logs, and then wrapped. People gather together and watch the process when they are working. It’s quite entertaining. The last time we were there they were handing out free samples of this latest batch, which is the freshest you will find it. The crowd was all unwrapping their sample and popping it their mouths to enjoy. My taffy somehow missed my mouth and fell to the floor. People were watching, wondering where a garbage can was for the errant piece. To their horror, I called 5-second rule, picked it up, and popped it into my mouth. I saw a couple people gagging. Priceless.

The Taffy Machine

As a kid I was raised with the mentality to not be afraid of germs. Many was the time that my dad picked up food from the floor and would also pick it up and eat it. Many was the time that he shared the story that went along with it. He said a doctor had told him that it was not the end of the world to eat something off a relatively clean floor. The germs were something that the body would quickly corral and irradicate. In fact, the story was that it was a good thing that germs were allowed access to your innards as they innoculated you against sickness and infections later. I do not know the truth of those statements, but I can tell you that I am in above average shape in that department. Some stories you don’t forget.

Until next time,

Arktander

(aka David Andreasen)