The Kay Days: Rocky Top

Wade and I took a much needed weekend getway to Gatlinburg the last weekend in October. We took Friday off to be able to enjoy some extra time up there. I truely believe we picked the best weekend to go to enjoy the fall colors at their peak!

We stayed in a sweet little one bedroom cabin called "A Special Place". It had an indoor and outdoor grill and a back porch with a hot tub. It also had a nice living room area and a full kitchen. Next time we come we will probably bring groceries to really enjoy the cabin more.

Wade killed a squirrel on our way down the mountain one day. He was hoping that it died instantly so it "didn't suffer". I razzed him about killing a mama squirrel when all she was trying to do is gather nuts for her babies before the cold winter, and now they are hungry orphans, without a mama, and no food to eat. I felt bad for the squirrel, but it was fun to razz Wade!

We enjoyed a wine tasting and took our picture with a wine vat that was covered in ice. They do this to pull the titrates out of the juice. The titrates will stick to the wall of the vat because of the cold temperature. The wine will be drained, the vat will be cleaned and the vat will be filled again to filter and ferment the wine.

It was a rainy, dreary day on Friday, but we still had a really good time walking up and down the streets of Gatlinburg and doing a little Christmas shopping for friends and family.

Fannie Farkles in the back ground! I went there about 13 years ago when I cam up with my parents. I got a glass of lemonade from there way back when. It is still open and running!

We also enjoyed a moonshine tasting. Woooo-weeeee! One of the samples was 100 proof. Yikes. My chest still is burning. Reminded me of my college days at North Georgia drinking swigs of bootleg moonshine from a mason jar.

They had other flavors that were actually good like grape, apple and hunch punch. They also had 100 proof marchino cherries that had been soaked in moonshine. They say the cherries taste good in a coca cola or on top of an ice cream sundae. No thank you.

That night we went to a show called the Lumberjack Feud. It was really neat. The show was about two families in the Tennessee Mountains that were fighting for their land during the time when Roosevelt deemed the area between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge a National Forrest. The "actors" were ESPN log chopping athletes. Different competitions took place like a log roll, tree climb and axe throw. They even had competitions with dogs!

After the feud, we went to play goofy golf, which was an EPIC fail on my part! We walked past a place that was "circus golf". From the outside it looked like so much fun! I have such a bad gauge for stuff like this.... Wade knew it probably wasn't what I was thinking it would be like.

We paid our way in to play, and BOY was I disappointed. It was dirty, dark, bootleg, looked like a drug deal could be happening around any corner.

We made the best of it, played as quickly as we could and got the heck out of there!

The next morning we got up early to go horse back riding. It was a little chilly, but was so peaceful and wonderful to be able to ride such beautiful creatures and enjoy the beauty of the changing leaves around us.

Wade's horse's name was Dolly, the name of my horse (even though I am confident I was on a mule) was Gizmo.

We took a day trip up to Knoxville on Saturday to go to the USC/UT game. The weather was perfect. We got there a little early to enjoy some snacks and walk around the river front area.

Tennessee has what they call the Vol Nation; boats that park along the river and tailgate. It is really pretty neat.

I love this picture of Wade.

We had great seats under the over hang which protected us from the wind and cold weather.

Carolina Band

Look at the stands and how empty they are! The game was not even over yet. Fair weather friends I guess! I am a strong believer in staying until the bitter end of a football/baseball/basketball game no matter the score to support your team through the good and the bad! It erks both me and Wade to see people leave. In this case, it was the Tennessee fans leaving because Carolina was doing so well!

End of the game. Carolina wins!

It was Halloween weekend, so this guy dressed up as Stephen Garcia. It was pretty funny.

The next day we got up and enjoyed the last little bit of our trip. Wade enjoyed a nice beer sampler with his pizza. Pizza & beer - two of his favorites!

A trip to Gatlinburg would not be complete without some Hillbilly golf. You ride up an incline and play goofy golf down the side of the mountain and ride the incline back down. So much fun and SOOOOO much better than that awful circus golf. Ughh!

Ok - so this was a parking lot/public bathroom combo. I thought the pay thingy in the front of the bathrooms meant you had to pay to use the restroom. Duh! It is for the parking. Hey - some places in Europe you have to pay to potty!