Summer Road Trip 2018: Day One

Gatlinburg, Tennessee: School is out for summer and you know what that means, summer road trip.  This years trip was a toss up between a return trip to Gatlinburg/Smoky Mountains or a visit to a city I never been to Pensacola.   But at the last minute, the decision was made to head back to the mountains.

Unfortunately due to circumstances beyond my control, we got a later start on the road.  Instead for leaving at 3am, we didn't get on the road until after 5am which really pushed back my timeline.  I mean I had a 12 hour drive and a 7pm baseball game to make,  not a good combination when facing Atlanta traffic.

But speaking of Atlanta traffic, I've got a new tip to share.  I probably shouldn't but here goes.  The express lane....use it!  What a great thing! As we got closer to Atlanta, we started hitting gridlock.  I saw the express lane and saw that you needed the Georgia Peach Pass to use it because they do not do toll by plate like Florida does.  But before giving up, I googled it and Georgia accepts the Florida Sunpass....score!  That express lane helped negotiate the Atlanta traffic with never going slower than 70 miles per hour.

Once we got north of Atlanta, the mountains began to come into view.  I love being in the mountains so when they start appearing on the horizon, it usually make me very happy. I had a lot on my mind and for the first time, I was feeling homesick so it didn't quite have the same effect.  But I needed to push through it and make this a good trip.

Our drive took us directly though the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the way to the hotel in Gatlinburg, giving us a tease of a week long mountain trip.  I love disappearing in the mountains, enjoying the beauty if nature.

The first stop was to check into our hotel.  At the last minute, we switched our hotel accommodations to the River Edge Motor Lodge which was available at a great price on Expedia and had really good rates.  It almost cut the cost of lodging in half .  The hotel was located right off the parkway in downtown Gatlinburg along a little creek.  The staff was really hospitable at check-in and really made us feel at home.  We took the suitcases to the room.  The room was really nice and large for a hotel room.  It had a balcony over looking the pool and really felt like a home away from home.

After settling in to the hotel, it was time to grab something to eat.  We headed over to Dollywood for dinner at the Song & Hearth, a buffet in the Dreammore Resort at Dollywood.  This buffet has always been a family favorite, good southern style food, all-you-can-eat and a good price, all welcomed after a 12 hour car ride without stopping to eat.  Today's theme was southern picnic.  I don't know if it was my state of mind or actuality, but I was not really blown away by the food.  I actually didn't eat much and had no cookies, shocking everyone with me.  I did try bacon-wrapped meatloaf and smothered pork chops which were good but just not hitting the spot.

When we finished dinner, we headed into Kodak to try and watch a Tennessee Smokies game.  It was a fireworks game and a packed house at Smokies Stadium which led to not even seeing a single pitch before heading back into Gatlinburg for the night.  It wasn't worth the hassles that were ensuing so it was better to just head back into town.

Once back into Gatlinburg, I took a drive through Newfound Gap Road to see some of the twighlit vistas over the Smoky Mountains but the sun had already dipped below the horrizone and it was pretty dark so I headed back to the hotel to retire for the night.

Tomorrow takes us into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park for some exploration and hopefully some fun adventures.