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Took a road trip to Tennessee to check it out for our retirement years.
Day 1: Sunday, July 12, 2015 - Departed home at 8am and drove to Nashville, TN, rained off and on all the way down there. Stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel and checked into the Roadway Inn, Nashville at 3pm.
Day 2: Monday, July 13, 2015 - It was a travel day again, heading toward Knoxville/Gatlinburg. A late breakfast at the Waffle House in Gordonsville, TN, followed by a stop at a winery in Crossville, TN. We met a guy who worked there who had moved from Michigan to that area - he gave us the lowdown on what it would be like to move that way (taxes, climate, housing, etc.) and painted a pretty good picture for us. No red flags yet. Arrived in Gatlinburg after a quickie ride through Knoxville at rush hour, just about dusk.
Day 3: Tuesday, July 14, 2015. Happy birthday to Chuck. We started with an "owner update" which was supposed to "last about an hour". It actually took all morning. Fortunately for us it was raining like a b***** so it didn't interfere with anything. We bought a small package for extra points plus we got some free and discount tickets for shows. Next was a trip to the grocery store for provisions. Food City was only a few blocks away and right around the corner. That evening we saw a show at the Comedy Barn, a cornball show of music and hillbilly jokes, quite entertaining really, and headed back to dinner at The Alamo Steak House where Chuck got a Bday prime rib dinner that couldn't be beat.
Day 4: Wednesday, July 15, 2015 - We had a day trip up to the Museum of the Appalachias, a collection of relocated and refurbished homes, barns, sawmills, and assorted utility buildings common to the mountain south from 75-125 years old complete with the tools and farm implements used during that period. On the return trip back we ventured around Knoxville a bit, looks to be a pretty clean town, no large rundown areas. Back to Pigeon Forge to see the "Dixie Stampede" dinner show that evening where the custom is to "eat with your hands and clap with your feet". A pretty impressive display of equestrian skills and not too bad a feast.
Day 5: Thursday, July 16, 2015 - We took a day trip to the Smoky Mountains for some hiking and up close seeing of the sights. The first trail has us uphill about a mile and a half, with a pretty cool waterfall at the top. Trail number two looked simple enough, two and a half miles out and two and a half back in a loop. Cheryl opted to take a shorter route, close to the parking lot while Chuck managed to get himself good and lost as daylight was disappearing. This left Cheryl somewhere between calling in the rangers for a search and rescue putting Chuck's head on a platter if he ever returns. He was gone over 2-1/2 hours. Managed to get straightened around, find his way back to the car before it became a total crisis. Favors are still owed to Cheryl for the scare.
Day 6: Friday, July 17, 2015 - Trip home had good weather including an awesome ride through the mountains - back to the flatlands of home. It was a 9 hour drive which included gas and food stops. Arrived home at 8pm.
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