Three Days in Dollywood

Firemen Coaster Ride

32 Ford - the Little Deuce Coupe

Last Thursday - Lulu and I were thinking - what could we do for our anniversary. She said Dollywood. Within an hour - she had planes tickets - a hotel reservation - and rental car. It would be a 3 night - Friday to Monday event. Friday we flew to Knoxville on Delta. We arrive late and drove the last 40 miles to our Black Fox Lodge in Pigeon Forge. 

Saturday morning we went into the amusement park. We bought a 2 day passes for $110. It included a visited to Splash Country - a water amusement park. Being the first Saturday of the summer - it was quite busy - but not Disney busy. We did line up for a big coaster - that took an hour - for a 5 minute ride - and 2 upset stomachs. We enjoyed the music shows in very nice venues - with no lines and plenty of good seats. The 50s and 60s rock and roll show was the best for me. It was noticeable that they had worker shortages in the food service. It must be really hard to get seasonal workers. 

Sunday - we decided to drive our car thru the Smoky Mountain National Park. We rented a Toyota Camry which is a really nice car. It had an 8 speed transmission and plenty of pep. The steering - brakes - and suspension - were superb. The roads in the mountain were in excellent shape - much smoother than I expected - with all the snow and ice in winter. 

It started to rain and ruined our time in Gatlinburg. It was very touristy and had lots of visitors. Parking was at a premium. On Sunday night at 9 pm - we went to the Dream More Lodge - Dolly's very own hotel. It is high on a hill - overlooking the park - a nice place to see the fireworks and drone show. 

Monday morning - perfect weather - and all the crowds disappeared. We went to Splash Country - and enjoyed the different water attractions. On a dare from Sally - I went on the giant slide. It made me realize how much I missed my bidet hose from back home. It is not scary - and over in a couple seconds. You do get a little feeling of weightlessness. 

After that - we went back to Dollywood - to use our second day pass. We loved walking around and seeing the historic Dolly Parton home - and seeing more music shows. Before we knew it it was time to head to the airport. 

CRISIS - It would not be right telling the story without mishaps. For years I carried my credit cards in a slot on my iPhone. It was nice with just one thing to carry - but it a made my iPhone fat. I decided to try a small aluminum card carrier. In it were my drivers license - ATM card - and 2 credit cards. On Saturday - I reached into my pocket in the park and the aluminum wallet was not there. I panicked - certain my accounts would be drained. I would not be able to get on the jet home. All weekend I fretted about my loss. We used lulu's cards and cash. 

On Monday - while packing to go home - after calling the TSA to see if I could fly - I reached in my backpack - in a special zipper pocket for my cars keys - I found the credit card wallet! What a happy ending!

Our 2 flights home went well - if you don't count the extra one hour layover in Atlanta. The airlines are hurting for lack of employees. They have plenty of planes but no one to fly them. We arrived home on Tuesday at 1 am - an hour late.

It was a great 52nd anniversary. On to the next adventure. No one will mention projectile vomiting after a firemen coaster ride. 

Our hotel lobby 

Plenty of thrill rides

Lots of replica buildings

that ride went upside down

We waited an hour for this ride

We did not do the Eagle

I loved the mill chutes

Pretty flowers all over

In the Smokys

Airstream used as food vendor

Model T Ford

Car ride

Great rock and roll show here

Dolly Parton Motor Coach

Highest point in TN

Appalachian Trail

Mountain Lookout

Smokys

Redord covers

Dream More Lodge at park

Black Fox Lodge - our hotel

Splash Country

Replica of Dolly's home

Water wheels impress me - free power

Dolly Parton owns 50% of the park. Forbes has her net worth at $440 million. $130 million of that is her song book - the ones she wrote. I love her motor home - that is another story. She is truly one of the greatest American women success stories. This is a family park - a little corny - but I really liked it. I got to spend it with my best girl on our anniversary.