With two days left to go, before more of our friends join
us, we have much left to see! This morning we grabbed the trolley from the
campground and headed into the Old Mill area of Pigeon Forge. We wanted a quick
and quiet ride into the depot …. We got the quick part, just not the quiet.
There was a male trolley rider who was talking load, to anyone who would listen
and he never stopped talking the whole ride into Patriot Park. He talked like
he was a Hillary lover, big UT fan and an all-around guy who knows it all! We
talked about matching him up with “chatty Cathy” we rode on the trolley with
the other day … what a pair they would make!
At the depot we purchased our “trolley jewelry” as Pattye
likes to refer to our all-day trolley ride wristbands! We hopped the Fun Time
Trolley to the Gatlinburg Welcome Center. At the Gatlinburg Welcome Center, we
caught the Gatlinburg Trolley. We rode the North Parkway Spur / Welcome Center
Trolley, also known as the Purple line. This trolley took us to the Mass Transit
Center near the Aquarium in downtown Gatlinburg. We wanted to walk the downtown
streets, so we exited the trolley. The first stop Bully wanted was Donut Friar.
As you can tell by the name, it is a donut shop. But, as Pattye said it is the
best cake donuts anywhere! We could smell the aromas of freshly made donuts,
cinnamon bread, and pastries drifting from this shop. I guess they are
impossible to resist! After coffee and donuts were enjoyed, Pattye and I went
to the Sock Shop to look for Christmas Socks for the day we volunteer at Camp
Boggy Creek, for their Annual Christmas Party, aka the BEST PARTY ON EARTH! Oh,
I digress … back to the topic … The Sock Shop. It has a huge variety of fun,
crazy and cool socks, toe socks, over the knee socks, dress socks, leg warmers,
wool socks, sexy socks, cashmere socks, socks, socks, socks … they have thousands
of them. We wanted Christmas socks and we were not disappointed!
Both of these businesses are located in The Village Shops, adjacent
to the Pancake Pantry. Here you will find 27 unique shops and eateries set in a
quaint European village atmosphere. The brick pathways, abundant landscaping
and bubbling fountains provide a tranquil escape from Parkway traffic. Tucked
away in this quaint haven are gift and specialty shops, clothiers, galleries and
eateries that break away from the cookie cutter variety of retailers. Whether
you're looking for a remembrance of your visit or something refreshing to eat
or drink, you can find it here. You know I am always interested in the history.
How did someone in Gatlinburg, come up with the idea for The Village Shops? In
1965, two families purchased the property on which The Village Shops now
stands. They did not want to make any hasty decisions about the property's
future, they traveled in search of ideas for the property. Over a three-year
period they compiled hundreds of pictures with unique architectural and
cultural ideas and consulted with architects to plan the design for a unique
shopping complex. In order to create the development in a style true to the
faraway places that inspired the concept, they now began the search for architecturally
appropriate building materials. Their search for old homes, churches and
buildings that were being demolished yielded numerous unique items they could
use for construction. They acquired thick roofing slates, heavy carved doors,
antique trim moldings and gas lighting fixtures and handmade bricks to complete
a sense of the Old World. Construction began 1968, and the first 18 shops were
completed in 1970. The remaining 9 shops were added in 1982 to complete it.
We ducked in and out of shops as we moved along the main
drag in Gatlinburg. After you have walked a while, all of the stores start to
look like they contain the same items. We decided to cross the street. Pattye
kept telling Bully, she wanted to go to where they sat in the chairs and
listened to the music. On the other side of the street was Ole’ Smoky Moonshine.
This is where the rocking chairs were and they played music, too.
Today, we arrived
about 15 minutes before Monroeville started to play. Monroeville is a blue grass band, so Charlie was in heaven! Monroeville was named the 2012 International Bluegrass Music Association Momentum Band of the Year. We sat, rocked and listened to their entire first set!
It was a crowed day on the sidewalks and the road! But, it was warm and we really enjoyed our walking tour!
We went back to The Island. We enjoyed it there so much last
night. When we were there last night, there was an entertainer, so the water fountain
light show did not play.
Tonight, we get to see that show. It plays every 30
minutes, from 10am to midnight. But the views are more spectacular after dark!
Two songs are played and the water jets create lighted designs to the music. The
Island offers 200 rocking chairs for visitors, but we brought our fold-up
chairs again. I had to research the mechanics behind the water show.
This is a
state-of-the-art, multi-tiered show fountain features a stunning presentation
of water, dance and light, all perfectly choreographed to 14 different pieces
of music. There are more than 89 vertical nozzles used to create lively
movement and set the show’s pace, six motion based nozzles create graceful
water sprays that swirl to the music.
Seemingly competing for attention, a
geyser nozzle shoots powerful bursts of water 60 feet in the air, creating more
drama and flair.
While we were there, we visited the new Paula Deen Family
Kitchen Store, which is located below Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen. This is one
of her only two restaurants in the country. We did not see her, but we are told
that Paula Deen can often be seen on The Island, visiting her restaurant and
shopping. The most exciting item we found in her store was the purple cookware
set. If my kitchen was a purple theme, I would have purchased them in a minute!
Our second favorite item was a T-shirt with the saying “this is my eating shirt”
… it was pre-stained … so, when you spilled your dinner, it does not matter!
We stayed at The Island until after 10 pm, so we caught
about 7 water fountain light shows. Each was choreographed to two different
songs. All the shows were awesome! Again, words do not do this justice,
pictures do!
Naturally, it was another trolley ride back to the campground. At least this trolley ride was uneventful. We did have a driver that used to drive a city bus in Clearwater Florida, so he got us to where we were going on time!
On Sunday morning, we wanted to venture to the Great Smokies Flea Market, along I-40. It's claim to fame, it is the largest flea market in Tennessee. How did this huge flea market get its start? Charles Atchley owned a few small eateries in a Sevier county mall. The mall generated high traffic but at the expense of a high overhead was too much. He wanted to produce this same customer traffic without this huge overhead. Then it hit him, “An indoor Flea Market – a cross between a mall and a flea market!”
Although inside flea markets were rare in the early 1990s, Atchley charged ahead with the idea. The overhead for vendors would be just a small percentage compared to that at the malls. It would have to be located close to a busy interstate and a strong destination draw. Atchley found 27 plus acres of farmland in Kodak close to one of the busiest interstates in the country at exit 407 off I-40. This exit 407 leads hundreds of thousands of visitors straight to the Great Smokies National Park. The farmland was the perfect location. Originally, the market had 240 inside booths and maybe ten outside spaces. But, The first year or so, was very lean, there were probably 60 booths empty. Back then, the market had one restaurant, one restroom for women and one for men. In the early days the market averaged about 1000 shoppers a week-end. Today the market enjoys a yearly average of 15,000 shoppers per week-end. We can attest to that, we were there on a Sunday morning and it was very busy! The outside booths now number into the hundreds!
After we walked the largest Flea Market in Tennessee, we headed to the Tanger Outlet Mall in Sevierville. Well, I should say that Pattye and I walked the mall and Charlie & Bully held down the bench near the Nike store. Pattye and I walked the entire mall, we were looking for specific stores and wandered into a few others. We both purchased Sketchers and dreamed about purchasing much more! Did you know that the Tanger brand outlets began in 1981, with one outlet in Burlington, North Carolina. Today there are 43 outlet centers in 21 states coast-to-coast and in Canada. Before we went to the outlet, we decided that we would dine at Olive Garden, after we were done. So, Pattye and I wound our way back around to where we left the men sitting. We climbed into the car and headed across the seat to Olive Garden. We all enjoyed a leisurely late lunch. After two bowls of salad and entrees, we were all ready to head home with our leftovers and take a nap. 
We do need to rest, because tomorrow is the day, we pack up and move to another temporary home. It is a big move ... we have to travel 5.4 miles ... it will take us about 15 minutes with traffic! Stay tuned to read more about our adventures!
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