Lake Toxaway, Here We Come!

It has been another rainy morning in Pigeon Forge, but it did stop for a while and we were able to break camp, get the truck hitched and get on the road.  Next stop should be Lake Toxaway to visit Bob & Wanda! Bob said it was 65 degrees there yesterday. Sounds a bit cool to me! 

Our Last Day in Pigeon Forge

Monday began with rain, a good day to finish the laundry and get some cleaning done before we leave Tennessee and head for North Carolina. The rain ended by late morning and the afternoon was beautiful. For our last evening in Pigeon Forge we went to Jim's Seafood Buffet for dinner where they serve all-you-eat crab legs. Yes, Ray had crab legs. 

Soul of Motown!!

WOW! This was the best show we've seen! Six very talented people came together only three months ago to create this outstanding tribute to the music of Motown. Every one of them was an excellent entertainer and seemed to enjoy themselves throughout the evening. At one point they asked all the women who were a "Brick House" to join them on stage. Several ladies joined them to dance to the song Brick House originally sung by The Commodores. Everyone in the theater had a good time during the entire show. Many audience members had previously been to this show, so they must agree with us that Soul of Motown is an awesome show!  The young woman in the group was not on stage when I took the pictures below. 

The "Brick House" at center stage is 85 years old. 

Smoky Mountain Opry

Friday was a beautiful day in Pigeon Forge! Since our last trip to the Smoky Mountains, there have been some changes on the parkway. One new entertainment venue is the Smoky Mountain Opry, where we saw an amazing variety show with singing, dancing, acrobatics, juggling, a tribute to Broadway and even feats of magic! The emcee, T.C. Barnette, opens the show riding a motorcycle on stage and the entertainment continues throughout the evening! We recommend you see this show the next time you're in the Smoky Mountains. 

June 13

Tuesday evening we met Roger and Pam for the Tuesday night car show at Bruster's to benefit JDRF.

Wednesday we called a serviceman to check our air conditioners because there was water dripping when they turned off. The problem turned out to be the Beech Bend Family Campground was having trouble with low power, probably due to being nearly full and the temperature reaching 96 degrees. We switched our power to the generator and no more leaking. 

We went to Lost River Cave which was interesting, we learned a little more history. Later we met  Roger and Pam; we went to dinner at Harper's Restaurant in Scottsville where the guys had the all you can eat catfish. I wish I had taken a picture of the plates of catfish the waitress brought them. Neither of them ordered more. 

Today we are on the road, our destination is River Plantation RV Park, Sevierville, TN. We'll stay there through the weekend. 

The Historic Railpark & Train Museum and Dinosaur World

My friend Debbie told me a couple of years ago about her family trip to this area and one place they enjoyed was Dinosaur World, so this morning we went there. As you can see, I was almost dinosaur breakfast and Ray narrowly escaped with his hair.

 

 

Following the excitement at Dinosaur World we headed for the Historic Railpark & Train Museum. We enjoyed a personal tour of RPO #1107, the Railroad Post Office car was built in 1921 is one of the two original 18 L&N RPO cars still in existence; Duncan Hines Dining Car built in 1949 by the Pullman Standard Company; Towering Pines Sleeper Car which was one of 22 luxury sleeper cars built and operated by the Pullman Company in 1953 for the L&N and Presidential Office Car L&N #353, the oldest surviving intact car of the L&N, built in 1911, upgraded in 1942 and used into the 1960s.

 

These tourists had a good day today. I love learning  the history and the L&N was an important part of my family history with my grandfather and uncle both being L&N railroad men. And our 4 year old grandson says he will be an engineer for RJ Corman Railroad when he grows up.

 

 

 

 

Mammoth Cave

Even though Ray and I have lived in Kentucky only 2 hours from Mammoth Cave our entire lives, neither of us had ever been there, until today. We decided to begin our 2013 Summer Adventure at this National Park /  World Heritage Site. The visitor center was bustling with experienced hikers & spelunkers as well as the novices. We chose the Historic Tour,  a 2-mile/2-hour excursion. Stops along the way included the saltpetre mines, which remain as they were left almost 200 years ago, Fat Man's Misery and Tall Man's Misery. I was able to snap a few pictures as we trekked through a portion of the world's longest cave.

The Historic Entrance

Saltpetre Mine

Ray made it through the Fat Man's Misery

and the Tall Man's Misery, too!