Tennessee Capitol Building
Sunday - 9 May 2004 - Gatlinburg, Tennessee:
This was a Big Day for us. We drove OVER 400 miles! Who knew
Tennessee was so wide? We woke up, hitched up the Honda, pointed the camper
east on I-40 and didn't stop until we hit Nashville, where we only paused
long enough to visit the Tennessee Capitol Building.
Tennessee State Capitol
Andrew Jackson (Old Hickory) guards the east side of the building
Nashville is crazy for all things Greek. The Tennessee
Capitol Building is in the Greek style and they actually have an exact
replica of the Parthenon downtown. We bypassed The Grand Old Opry, and
continued on our Quest. We stopped once more for diesel (93 gallons, $148),
missed our chance to visit the Fork Lift Museum and the World's Largest
Fireworks Shop to continue on to our destination - Gatlinburg... just up the
road from Pigeon Forge. Pigeon Forge is, of course, the Home of
Dollywood!
After leaving the freeway, we had to travel about 25 miles south to
Gatlinburg. On this road we passed a Tanger Factory Outlet, Dollywood, Dolly
Splash Country, Dolly's Dixie Stampede Dinner Show, Chinese Acrobat Theater,
Ripley's Believe It or Don't Aquarium of the Smoky Mountains (it is filled
with sharks... I guess sharks are a native species of Great Smoky Mountain
National Park?)... The Louise Mandril Theater, Black Bear Jamboree, Country
Tonight Theatre, Wedding Chapels, an Old Mill, a Car Museum, Motels, Mini
golf, a Police Museum, Hotels, fast food, Laser Tag, several amusement
parks, The Super The Wal-Mart and a Krispie Kreme. And that was just the
first mile.
We found a wonderful campsite at the Twin Creek RV Resort in Gatlinburg. Our
site under a ridge, with a lot of trees. There is a pleasant stream running
through the campground and it is well-shaded. Ridges and trees are awful, of
course, for satellite reception, so no satellite internet OR television for
us. Expect spotty updates, as I have to actually take my laptop to the
laundry room at the campground and use a thing called a telephone to connect
to you all!
RV Park:
Twin Creek RV
Resort