Travel Journal: Gatlinburg, Part 3 (photo heavy)

So, as I was saying a couple of days ago, (sorry for the delay, that whole "real life" thing popped up when I got home), I actually went out and played tourist, not only living to tell the tale, but enjoying myself at the same time!

We started out the day, after breakfast of course, by leaving the Park Vista hotel via the Gatlinburg Trolley System: Winding down off the mountain where the hotel sits, and through the streets of Gatlinburg via trolley

Park Vista Hotel, with trolley approaching

is a beautiful and relaxing way to see the city, (hold on tight though, some of those corners are killer!) not to mention getting you from destination to destination.  You can board the trolleys at over 100 stops throughout the city, so if you get the unlimited pass as we did, you could conceivably ride it from one end of the street to the other.  However, once we got down into the city, we departed from the trolley, and started wandering around on foot.  Everything is quite close to everything else, and with all the stores and attractions opening onto the street, it really has the feeling of one giant carnival.




Now, I wish I could tell you of a brilliant master plan of attack - but in truth, we just walked.  Walked up the street - down the street - into shops - out of shops - stopped to people watch and decide which way to walk next.  Oh, and I took photos.  Lots and lots of photos.  I tend to do that.

 View more of my photos on Flickr





The one "attraction" we visited was the Sky Lift.    Now, one must bear in mind that I am generally scared of heights, but this didn't freak me out the way I thought it might.  Essentially, they sit you in a park bench with a "safety bar" and hoist you 1,800 feet up the side of a mountain, in the process traveling right over a busy street, and a beautiful little creek.    Talk about gorgeous views -  I would go again in a heartbeat, especially if I got the chance to go at night.

Now, one of the best parts of traveling, for me, is finding and eating in different restaurants.  Nowheresville, TN, where I hail from, has fast food - and fast food, pretty much.  So whenever we venture out, we make it a mission to find a place a bit different.  This time, we found The Smoky Mountain Brewery, which features 9 beers brewed on-site, along with a nice little menu of pizza, barbeque, etc.

Sampler of all 9 beers, ranging from light and fruity to OMG, give me some water...

I'm not an expert on beers - I really don't even drink, but it was fun to taste all the different kinds, and actually find a couple I enjoyed.   The food was great, nothing fancy, just good, fresh food cooked well.  Definitely give it a try,whether you're into beer or not.  Oh, and I should mention - there is no Bud Light here, no Heineken, nothing you can find in a store, so don't even ask.  They are a bit touchy about that.

In conclusion, it was a fun, relaxing trip, and I'm glad we were able to go.  Our church is working on plans to turn this into an annual conference, and I hope those plans succeed.  I'm looking forward to visiting Gatlinburg again, because I was right.  Beneath all the glitz, there is a beautiful, friendly town there.


~Zahrah