Day 6 - Asheville, NC to Knoxville, TN

The Red Roof Inn was not the ghetto.  For the price, I found it to be a great deal.  The new ones are a world better than the ones I remember.  However, there is no free breakfast, so we went to find something tasty.

Apparently we did, because I think half the city was at the same place.

Very quirky place with a quirky sign to match.

Photo of Erin photographing our food.

Erin has a breakfast burrito with cheese grits.  I have two eggs and the most monstrous biscuit and gravy concoction ever invented.  This is not my normal breakfast.  (For your information, my normal breakfast every morning is rolled oats [no sugar] with a tablespoon of flax seeds and sometimes a banana if I'm off to the gym.)  Now you see why this was a very special treat.  It was probably the best biscuits and gravy I've ever had, although it cost $9, compared to the $3 I spent for the same dish in Fort Worth.  I guess you get what you pay for.  Erin said hers was great as well, so this was the best breakfast of the trip so far.

After that breakfast (no, I didn't eat it all) we had to burn it off, so we headed on another hike, but this time to a much different area south of Asheville.

Erin trying not to fall into the forest.

Really narrow trail this time.

Erin proud to reach the summit!

OK, so I'm proud too.  :)

A nice view at the top.

Trail marker.

A nice picture for our life collection.

A parting shot as we headed back.

This hike was mostly above the treeline, which is very rare in the eastern US.  I'm used to it from hiking the Rockies, but the Rockies aren't as green as Mount Pisgah.  I could have hiked a few more miles along the ridgeline, but as always, a busy day awaited.

After getting back to the car, it was time to drive the last miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Our entire trip so far was based around Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway so it will be a little sad to see it go.  We drove essentially the entire route and I can see why it's considered one of the top three scenic drives in the country.  Even after driving it, it's hard to imagine how it was created.  Nearly 500 miles of road twisting along the mountains.  The Appalachian Trail is a similar wonder of the world.  Walking 2,150 miles on a trail from Maine to Georgia is hard to comprehend.

Milepost 469, the last one on the parkway.

After leaving the parkway, we entered the Great Smoky Mountains.

Bad glare, but you only get one chance.

We traveled to the Newfound Gap where we crossed into Tennessee.

Hello Tennessee!

And then we drove down the mountain and the world completely changed.  Goodbye North Carolina trees and hello Tennessee tourism!

Welcome to Gatlinburg!

Gift shops galore.

Candy stores.

Traffic and people.

You can't tell from the pictures, but Gatlinburg was completely overrun with tourists.  The sidewalks were thick with people and the street was lined with all sorts of attractions.  It actually looked like a great place for a family-friendly vacation, but maybe not in the summer when it's so crowded.

Still, we had to join in the fun.  Up first was miniature golf.

Standing in line for one of the many miniature golf locations.

You ride a cart to the top of the hill and play down.

Erin going into the covered wagon.

Not supposed to be a shot of Erin, just a view up the hill we played down.

Heading back down the course!

I am pleased with this result!

Erin is not pleased.  But her day gets better, just wait!

After golf, I wanted to do a mirror maze, but parking was $10 everywhere so I thought up a new idea.

Ober Gatlinburg!

Erin didn't think ice skating was a good idea.

So I put her on a ski lift instead.

The skim lift took us to the top of the alpine slides.  She had never done an alpine slide before, so I thought this was a great opportunity to race!  (I've ridden these once before and have a vivid memory of my dad missing some skin by the time he made it to the bottom.)

Racers from above in the lift.

Sadly, I have no pictures of us since it requires two hands to ride safely.  Erin didn't win the race, but don't worry, she still has the exciting part of her day to come!

Notice we skipped lunch due to our giant breakfast.  This was intentional, but it also meant we were starving for dinner.  We drove to Pigeon Forge where Dolly greeted us.

Welcome to Dollywood!

Although we had to wait, we found a delicious stop.

The Old Mill was worth the wait.

Corn chowder and corn fritters.

Garden salads.

Mahi-mahi, rice, baked sweet potato, green beans.  Creamed corn, glazed carrots, sugared apples, mashed potatoes, squash casserole, and rolls!

Banana pudding?!  (To-go of course.  We're not gluttons, although it may seem that way.)

Blackberry cobbler.

When we made it to the Townplace Suites in Knoxville, I grabbed vanilla ice cream from the market to go with the cobbler.  That was probably the best use of my platinum benefits ever.  I get a free gift every time I check in, so normally I grab a bottle of water or some nuts.  This time I really made it count!

Unfortunately, tomorrow is going to be a long driving day with limited activities.  We have to make it all the way to Commerce, GA.  That was the price of seeing eastern Tennessee.  Tomorrow is also our last day in the mountains.  After Commerce we head into Atlanta and towards the gulf coast to begin the coastal portion of our trip.  Erin is pretty excited about this change.