A quick getaway before the kids headed back to school
Thursday, Aug. 25 – We left Cincinnati on I-75, taking I-640 and I-40 to U.S. 441 to Gatlinburg. We drove around town looking at the hotels and decided on the Best Western Twin Islands with its playground and pools on two islands in the Pigeon River. After dropping our baggage in our room we walked around town and had lunch. Treasure Quest miniature golf was followed by a trip to the Guinness Museum. The kids had their pictures taken at one of the old-time photo shops. Back at the hotel the kids went to investigate the river and both managed to “accidentally” fall in. After cleaning them up we went window-shopping in town, ate dinner, and took the chairlift up Crockett Mountain.
Friday, Aug. 26 – After breakfast we saw the Gatlinburg Wax Museum. We drove up to icky Pigeon Forge so the kids could get their fill of tacky tourist crud. We played a round of Jurassic Golf and the kids tried out bumper boats but Michelle didn’t like getting soaked so early so the folks there gave them a free ride on the flying dinosaurs. Michelle had never driven bumper cars before and did a great job. We stopped at a western-wear store and Scott spotted another race track next door. The cars there were much faster than the ones at Jurassic Golf. Scott kept crashing and gave up early. We went to the Christmas Place for some off-season shopping.
Back in Gatlinburg we took the incline up the side of the mountain to play Hillbilly Golf, then went swimming at the hotel. We drove all over Gatlinburg trying to find someplace different for dinner, found a spot that sounded perfect, and discovered it was closed for the season already. We walked into town and ate at the first good-looking place we found. Afterwards the kids wanted to go back on the chairlift and they got to ride up and down Crockett Mountain all by themselves despite Lynne’s butterflies. They behaved wonderfully (possibly the longest stretch of their lives without a fight) and got a real thrill from their big adventure. We finished off our day with a little shopping downtown.
Saturday, Aug. 27 – After breakfast we drove on Newfound Gap Road into Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The road to Cades Cove was closed because of flood damage so we continued on Newfound Gap over the crest and down to Cherokee, North Carolina. On the way back we stopped at Clingman’s Dome. We could see the damage done by wild boars rooting alongside the road. We started hiking up to the summit. Lynne and the kids decided it wasn’t worth it part way up but Jim made it to the top where (surprise) the clouds encased the summit and reduced the view to about fifty feet.
We stopped at Newfound Gap briefly but there wasn’t much to see there. We saw no bears although a sign on the Appalachian Trail warned about some campgrounds closed because of their activity. Back in town we played golf at Old Gatlinburg and Lynne got her funnel cake at last. We drove along the Roaring Fork Motor Trail which was uncrowded and very scenic, stopping to walk to the cascades on the Roaring Fork and poking around the Reagan and Bales homesteads before making our way back to town.
Sunday, Aug. 28 – After breakfast in Gatlinburg we had an uneventful return to Cincinnati following the roads we had taken down.
Milestones on this trip: Scott and Michelle got to do something on their own (a ride up Crockett Mountain on the chairlift).
States and provinces we visited: Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina.
Capital cities we saw: None
