Day 1, Friday, March 20, 2015
We left home around 11:30 A.M.
We left home around 11:30 A.M.
Traveled north on hwy 43 through Lawrenceburg to Columbia to I-65 to 840 east to I-40 through Knoxville, taking hwy 66 at Kodak and 441 to Pigeon Forge.
We stopped at McDonald's, where I ordered an ice cream and a strawberry pie.
My sister ordered a chocolate-covered ice cream with nuts, an apple pie,e and we filled up with gas.
We were stopped at a red light in Pigeon Forge when we both looked to our right and saw a young man dressed as a taco.
He was dancing, trying to attract traffic to stop to buy a taco.
I thought he was funny, he saw that I was laughing, so he put on the show, he was trying to dance backward like Michael Jackson.
I cracked up laughing at him, and the more I laughed, the more he performed.
We arrived at the condo around 6:30 P.M., unloaded our luggage, a nd walked to our room, only to find that our cards would not work.
I stayed with the luggage while my sister went to the condo office to see why our cards would not work. My sister came back laughing, she said there was nothing wrong with the cards, it was us!
We both were trying to unlock the door by putting the card in the slot upside down. LOL!
We rode to the LeConte Center near Island for the annual Mountain Quiltfest from March 18-22.
We arrived after the quilts had been displayed; they were now doing the show-and-tell.
We watched for about thirty minutes, and I took a few pictures.
We walked over to The Island, and we ate dinner at Margaritaville.
 |
| Margaritaville |
Margaritaville has three levels. We sat at the top level. At the bar, it was going to be a 45-minute wait to dine downstairs.
We could hear a local band playing and singing on the second level.
My sister and I split a cheeseburger in Paradise topped with American cheese, lettuce, sliced tomato, pickles, and Paradise Island sauce for $12.99, served with French fries and Iced tea.
Our friends called and said that after we finished at Margaritaville, we should come to their condo.
We walked around the Island, sampling ice cream, popcorn, and chocolate. I took pictures of the Mellow Mushroom, Zoltar the fortune teller, Kryptonite character store, Doc's Magic Shop, The Wheel, and the Arcade.
 |
| Mellow Mushroom |
We walked to the ticket center, where we both purchased tickets to ride The Great Smoky Mountain Wheel, which is 200 feet tall, the tallest attraction in the Southeast. It lights up with pink, green, blue, and red glowing lights as it turns.
 |
| The Wheel |
We were in all-glass gondolas with a magnificent view of the city and a colorful fountain below.
The fountain was filled with many colorful lights as it danced to music.
We took pictures of each other at the Margaritaville fins-up: fins to the left, fins to the right.
We rode to the condo, where we met our friends and talked until midnight.
Day 2, Saturday, March 21, 2015
We slept late the next morning, met with our friends, and we all went to Mel's Diner for breakfast, where everyone ordered pancakes and fried eggs, with either bacon or sausage.
Everyone ordered coffee except me, and I ordered iced tea.
 |
| Mel's Diner |
We rode to Cosby to visit a quilt shop, to the Apple House, where I purchased a jar of blackberry syrup and a pint jar of chow chow.
I took several pictures of the barren apple trees that looked like something one would see in the movie Legend of Sleepy Hollow, starring Johnny Depp.
 |
| Apple Trees |
There were baskets full of apples in several varieties, jars of apple butter, jams, jellies, and chow.
We took the scenic route back to Sevierville and stopped at Red Barn Quilts, where my friend purchased some material with monkeys on it.
We ate dinner at Cheddar's. My sister and I ordered a Santa Fe Country Club sandwich, which was loaded with roast turkey breast and hickory-smoked ham, piled high with bacon, two cheeses, lettuce, tomato, and their signature pepper jam, on toasted bread.
We also ordered Santa Fe Spanish Dip, which is chopped, simmered in sour cream, spices, and seasonings, then blended with four creamy kinds of cheese, and served with fresh salsa and tortilla chips.
Our friends ordered onion rings.
After dinner, we rode back to the quilt show. Our friend had to pick up her quilt, then we rode back to the condo.
We said goodnight and prepared for bed when my sisters said we had not bought our lottery tickets. We were already in our pajamas, so we just put on our sweatshirts over our PJs and went to buy lottery tickets. We stopped at Osh Kosh, where my sister bought her granddaughter some overhauls and a top.
Next, we stopped at Kroger for water and yogurt.
Watched some television and tried to turn it off with the wrong remote.
Finally, we went to bed.
Day 3, Sunday, March 22, 2015
The next day, we slept late again and had to leave the condo by 10:00 A.M.
I ate one of the yogurts for breakfast.
We said goodbye to our friends, cleaned the condo, and were on our way.
We took a different route home, and we made several stops along the way.
Our first stop was Headrick Chapel, established in 1902 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
 |
| Headrick Chapel was established in 1902 |
Behind the church, we saw a cemetery with many graves, an old barn with a red tin roof that barely covered it, and, in the distance, the Smoky Mountains.
We rode past the zip lines, horsehides, cabins, moonshine fixings, the River Rat tubs, and Shuttles.
We were traveling on 321 south near Cedar Creek, and we stopped at a woodworking shop to see all the carved statues on display.
We saw a tree stump full of Eagles, with a nest on top.
We saw dragons, bears with fishing poles, unique birdhouses with green and blue chimneys that looked like ice cream cones for hats.
We saw a life-size statue of an Indian man wearing only feathers in his hair.
We saw a large metal ball with the words Nation Debt plastered across the front.
We saw a bench with at least twelve varieties of dogs sitting on it.
 |
| Bears using the potty |
We saw a male bear relieving himself at a urinal and a female bear sitting on the pot, wearing her house shoes.
We saw signs that said, Psycho Path, Drive Slow Bear Crossing, Don't text and fly, and Life is good and bear production.
In Townsend, we stopped at Apple Valley Country Store, where my sister bought her granddaughter a black bear with a leash. I bought some apple chow.
We looked around Countryy Elegance Home and Gifts, but did not buy anything.
Our next stop was at Maryville College, established in 1819. We rode through, stopping to take a few pictures.
 |
| Maryville College was established in 1819 |
We stopped at Chattanooga's National Cemetery, and I took a few pictures, including one of the Andrews Raiders Monument, erected by the state of Ohio in 1890. It is a bronze replica of "The General, the Civil War-era wood-burning locomotive famous for its great chase of 1862.
 |
| Chattanooga's National Cemetery |
We traveled through Chattanooga onto South Pittsburg, where we stopped to fill up with gas. My sister went inside the store and purchased an Apple fritter and a cinnamon roll.
We stopped to use the restroom at McDonald's, we were going to eat there but the place was packed.
It started raining, and we did not stop until we reached home.
Had a great weekend spending it with friends and family?
