One of our favorite places to go on vacation has always been the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area. In the early to mid '90's, we went as many as two or three times a year, mostly camping or cabin rentals. Since getting heavily involved in horses, moving to the farm, and with the ever increasing demands of B's sports, our visits have been few and far between at best. It has been a couple of years since we have been, even though we have Timeshare property there. This past week we decided to bite the bullet and make the trip. It was great! B took a friend which kept her boredom factor to a minimum. The visit to Dollywood for the first time in quite a few years was super. Lots of park additions since we were there last. The traditional (for us) visit to Granny Ogle's in the park for ham-n-beans, greens and cornbread was good, as always. With schools being in session and the fall colors not yet near peak, the traffic/crowds were as sparse as we have ever seen it. Virtually no waiting for rides and the parkway backups normally seen, were non-existant. Part of any trip to the Smokies is the culinary delights. Dinner on Monday at Johnny Carino's and lunch on Thursday at The Old Mill Restaurant were tops. Not to mention the fact that we walked straight into the Old Mill at noon with no waiting. Unheard of.... Our mandatory trip to Cades Cove yielded minimal traffic, a bear sighting, the always present deer and wild turkey as well as two obnoxious bikers. As always, we hated to leave and could have stayed forever. I think we have promised ourselves it won't be nearly so long before we are back again.
