Quick weekend trip

   One of the good things about living in Trussville, Alabama is the close proximity of places for a quick weekend get away. We are 4 hours going north to Gatlinburg and The Great Smoky Mountains (a favorite get away of ours), 4 hours going south to the gulf beaches, 2 hours east to catch a Braves baseball game, or 4 1/2 hours southwest to Biloxi for some gaming and good eats at Mary Mahoney’s ( one of our favorite restaurants).

   The first weekend in November, my wife, Darlene and I got a quick anniversary trip in. We went to Gatlinburg and the Smokies. We have been here many times over the years, but enjoying the mountain scenery never gets old. Since the weather has been really mild in the south so far this fall, the leaves and changing colors, are still peak until you get really higher up.

   The trip would only be a couple of days but we still like to plan to get the most enjoyment out of our trip. Darlene and I started planning about a week out.We looked through the VRBO and liked several, however after searching our old reliable Expedia, we chose a hotel. We selected The Park Vista. We had never stayed here but knew where it was and the reviews were good. It is near the center of town, but far enough out to avoid some of the traffic if you know your way around or can follow a map or GPS. The drive is short so no flights or rental cars to book like our recent summer vacation trips. We would leave early Saturday morning and come back on Monday afternoon.

   We left and drove a little more than halfway before stopping at Lola Beans in Cleveland, Tennessee. This coffee house is much like Seven Brew in that it is drive through only. We got our coffee of choice and were back on the road. The route we usually take is exit 407 ( the more scenic route) through Lenoir City and Maryville, Tennessee. We take highway 321 leaving Maryville into Townsend and across to Wears Valley. This trip we wanted to take The Foothills Parkway from Townsend to Pigeon Forge. We had never been on this newer route. The Parkway may be a bit longer than staying on the highway, but what some gorgeous views of The Smokey Mountains

   We exited the parkway between Weras Valley and Pigeon Forge. Pigeon Forge is nice and a lot of people love it. My wife loves The Christmas Place and we both like eating at J T Hannah’s, however it is just too touristy for us as we prefer the more mountainous Gatlinburg. We arrived and were just a little ahead of check in time at The Park Vista. The hotel staff was great, our room was ready and we were allowed to check in early. We had chosen the king bedroom with a view of the mountains. This was our first time staying here, but it will not be our last. The room was spacious with two king beds and a balcony view just as advertised. The room was a tad dated but very clean and comfortable.

We freshened up and went downstairs to the lounge for a drink and catch some of the football games on their three TVS. We decided we would spend the rest of the afternoon driving the Roading Fork Motor Trail.

   We have been on this trail many times and we always enjoy the scenery. Over the years we have seen bears and deer. Back a few years ago when we traveled with our kids, we would hike some of the trails and visit the waterfalls. I highly recommend taking this free trail anytime you are in Gatlinburg. It takes about an hour and a half if you drive through and only stop at some of the pull outs to enjoy the scenery. There are also a couple of old homes and cabins to stop and learn about and enjoy. It takes longer if you do any hiking and now you need a parking pass if you are doing that.

   We finished the loop around Roaring Fork and were ready to get something to eat. We had never been to Jason Aldean’s Kitchen and Rooftop Bar, so that was our choice for Saturday night. The trolley runs in front of the Park Vista, but we were out and just chose to pay to park close and take the short walk. The restaurant is right on the strip between Anakeesta and Sky Park. It is a three story building that has a first floor gift shop on the ground floor, restaurant on the second and a bar with live music on the third floor. Saturday night so we knew any restaurant would be crowded and have a wait. This place is big and seats a lot of people. We only had about a twenty five minute wait. It is a sports fans dream with at least twenty TVS showing football games. We were seated and ordered. Darlene ordered the pulled pork sandwich that comes with fries and onion straws. I had the southern meatloaf ( beef and pork mixed) with bbq glaze, mashed potatoes and onion straws. Both of our meals was good and very reasonably priced. Afterwards we walked around town just a bit and then returned to the hotel for the night.

   Upon returning to The Park Vista, there has been a little excitement. When you check in, you are warned to make sure there is no thrash, groceries, or food in your vehicle. Why? They warn you they have bears up this high and they have an excellent sense of smell. Well, always someone, right. A black bear had gotten into the cab of a pick up truck after food. He tore that truck up.

   Sunday morning and we got up and went to one of the many pancake houses in the area. We picked one we gave been to several times and waited about thirty minutes and then sat down and ate. After breakfast we decided to do the Arts and Crafts Loop. We enjoy seeing the different and unique crafts and gifts in this area.

   We decided we would head up into the National Park and see some more colors and scenery. Apparently everyone leaving town had the same idea. Traffic was not just slow but barely moving. We had just entered The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, so we nixed this idea and took the bypass back out. We went into Pigeon Forge and looked around there for a while. We stopped for refreshments at Smokey Mountain Brewery and watched parts of NFL games. They must have NFL ticket, because every game was on at least one TV. This location was in a little village that had some shops. We looked around them. The most interesting one was called Coal Miner’s Daughter. Darlene has a friend that loves Loretta Lynn, so she figured a good place to get her friend a gift with something Loretta on it. Wrong. The rude girl behind the counter said our store has nothing to do with Loretta Lynn. She said her daddy was a coal miner, hence the name. Then told Darlene this is Dolly country. I guess you don’t mind using Loretta’s signature song to draw people to your store though, do you?

   It was now getting dark since the time change the previous night. We drove back to Gatlinburg looking forward to our favorite restaurant in the area, The Peddler. We were disappointed to find while they still don’t take reservations per say, you can call and get your name on the wait list. That started early in the afternoon. We could have waited until 9, but no thanks we will try a different restaurant. We chose The Park Grill and had only about a twenty minute wait. The salad bar was just a big and as many items as The Peddler and just as good. We both got a New York Strip and Sauteed Rainbow Trout, baked potatoes, and rolls. Maybe not quite as good as our favorite place but not as pricey either. The meal was good and we had enough left for a roll with steak in the morning.

   Monday morning and going home day. We decided since we missed out yesterday, we would drive into the National Park today. We headed up to Newfound Gap. We noticed the higher up we went, the mountains were really smoking. Fog had it socked in. We also noticed the trees were not as colorful and many gas lost their leaves.

   We decided we would just go on from here into Cherokee, North Carolina. We did see some Elk coming into town. They are such magnificent beast. We took the scenic drive through the Nantahala National Forest on our way to Chattanooga, Tennessee. We got to another one of our favorite restaurants, The Boathouse. Many times we have driven the two hours from home to here just to eat. It is that good and Mondays are half priced oysters. The view is a plus as it sits right on the Tennessee River. Darlene had a dozen raw Oysters, Grilled Halibut and grilled Asparagus, while I had a dozen and a half raw, fried Catfish, french fries, and slaw. Absolutely delicious.

   We then drove home from an outstanding quick trip to some of our favorite places. I highly recommend this type trip to anyone close enough to make it. That is all until our next travel experience. Thanks for keeping up with us on this blog.