Hello again y’all!
Welcome to perhaps the shortest post of the trip! Let’s take a break from history, and do a bit more sightseeing around the Great Smoky Mountains, shall we?
First, let’s do some more hiking in the National Park!
You would not believe the mist that was coming from the waterfall… thus revealing one of the downsides of wearing glasses.
Although I imagine the view stretches much farther on a less foggy (or smoky) day, it does add a bit of mystic quality to the landscape… who know’s what’s out there, waiting to be discovered?
After finishing our tour of the National Park, we retreated north to Pigeon Forge, which like Gatlinburg is a resort city filled with many sorts of attractions, amusement parks, malls… you name it.
It’s certainly a tourist destination comparable to Las Vegas or even Disney World, with its most famous attraction being “Dollywood”, country singer Dolly Parton’s theme park. Though not typically my cup of tea, we did decide to dabble a bit in this destination.
First we saw the largest Titanic Museum in the world!
It’s called the “Titanic Museum at Pigeon Forge”. Didn’t see that one coming.
Unfortunately, because the exhibits in there are under Federal Copyright Law, I was not able to take any photos inside… so contrary to my last post, i’m afraid I’m unable to show you anything here. I’ll try to describe it to the best of my ability.
When you walk in, you’re given a card telling you the name of a particular passenger of the Titanic, their background, and their goals or aspirations for when they would get to New York City. The museum takes you through various exhibits designed like the interior rooms of the ship, including the second and first-class levels, the Grand Staircase, and the bow of the ship. With audio wands, you’re able to punch in particular numbers to listen to more informations, as you weave throughout the rooms viewing the various artifacts (some extremely rare, including photos, a letter written on the Titanic stationary, and the violin of the lead band-member who’s band went down with the ship, playing to the last.
At the end of the museum, you enter the memorial room, where you learn if your passenger survived, or perished during the sinking. It’s quite a personal, but very engaging experience. I certainly recommend it.
You’ll find many entertainment venues and dinner shows in Pigeon Forge. Being in Eastern Tennessee, the most appropriate of these was the Hatfield & McCoys Dinner Feud, hosting regular shows with “all-you-can-eat” southern food.
With fried chicken, pulled pork, corn-on-the-cob, mashed potatoes, and a marvelous creamy stew, we had a great time laughing our heads off at the ongoing clashes between the two feuding families, featuring musical numbers, special-effects, and hilarious comedy.
So it seems that that was our day! It was a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of history sites… But we’re right back in next time, as we visit the James K. Polk Museum in Columbia, before arriving in Nashville!
To think that only three more blog posts remain to cover this trip… either way, hope to see you next time!
Mark's Historical Roadtrips! 