Gatlinburg in May

citcat · Post by **citcat** » May 9, 2005 1:09 pm

I'M SO JEALOUS!! You get to see Matt Hall!!! AND Tall Paul! He sometimes plays at the Smoky Mountain Brewery in Gatlinburg, we saw him there the last time we were in da mountains.

riddle: What do you get when you put Matt Hall and Tall Paul together?

Banana Hammocks!!!

I bet you thought I was gonna say Mall Haul or something like that!
Banana Hammocks is the name of their combined selves and bands

Bob Roberts · Post by **Bob Roberts** » May 9, 2005 5:07 pm

They were supposed to play at Sundown in the City at Market Square last Thursday, but it got cancelled. I was on the way there when I heard it announced on the radio. I was very dissapointed, but hopefully they'll reschedule it and we'll have better weather.

Parrotheadpressgrl · Post by **Parrotheadpressgrl** » May 9, 2005 6:00 pm

Bob Roberts wrote:I live just like 30 minutes away from Gatlinburg. We used to go all the time. I know pretty much everything about it. What exactly are you interested in doing? What kind of things do you all like? Do you like the "touristy" and "gaudy" stuff, or are you into the outdoors? Do you like nice places to eat, or do you prefer the less expensive ones? Are you looking for a place to stay or do you already have one? Do you all enjoy baseball?

I'm about 30 minutes from there too. Dollywood has different stuff to offer....there's some good music shows, definitely some fun rides, and lots of crafts and all that.

As far as more suggestions, they've named most things that I can think of. The Smokies are playing a homestand, if you like baseball. There's lots of good shopping in the area, plenty of outlets in Pigeon Forge. Lots of interesting places in Gatlingburg too. You could always go to Cooter's Garage in Gatlinburg too....I've always wanted to pop in there but I haven't yet. There's nice places to go hiking, fishing, lots of outdoors things. Plenty of good places to eat....The Brass Lantern, The Apple Barn, etc. Dixie Stampede is fun too, although I haven't been there in a couple of years. First time I went there when I was little, I had to chase chickens in the arena. lol.

Anyway, hope you have a wonderful time and definitely have fun!

mrmiata · Post by **mrmiata** » May 14, 2005 11:36 am

There is a grouping of 3 restaurants all owned by the Connor family that are all very good. They are Calhoun's, The Cherokee Grill, and Smoky Mountain Brewery.

Bzzzttt... The Connors own the Connor Concepts group of restaurants. The Copper Cellar/Calhouns restaurant chain is owned by The Copper Cellar Corporation, of whom Mike Chase is the president. Both chains are pretty good food, though I prefer the Copper Cellar group over the Connor group.

And Mike Chase is a parrothead, apparently. He actually had a little run in with the local constabulary the last time Jimmy played in Knoxville, according to news reports. He seems to have been tailgating a little too heavily.

Desdamona · Post by **Desdamona** » May 28, 2005 3:27 pm

OK... here's my looooong, boring report.

First I want to thank you guys for all the info. We had a lot of fun, even if
we didn't do a lot of "Gatlinburg stuff".

Westgate was very nice and in a great location. I'm very glad it wasn't in
the middle of "the action". It's hard to imagine what the place will be
like when they finish the other 90% of it!

Our first full day (Saturday) it rained, so we just cozied in all day. A good
rest from the drive the day before. I actually hit a guinea fowl on the road in Georgia...

Sunday, we drove east and then south through the park on gravel roads on
our way to Asheville. It was beautiful. Met our friends at the CIP "on the hill"
above Hooters there and enjoyed a Matt Hall performance. There weren't
many people there, so we tortured him with random requests, like Taxi, and
he even did the theme from Rawhide for us.

Monday was lunch at the Old Mill, goof around, then drive to Knoxville and
hang out in the middle of a bunch of UT students to see Tall Paul. It was
the Monday of finals week...

Paul introduced me to the treasurer of the Smoky Mtn PHClub, so... we got
invited to their Friday night phlocking!

Tuesday was the drive and climb! to the top of Clingman's Dome. You
guys were very right! I had a hard, slow walk up to the top, but it was well
worth it. I just don't understand how the climb up that big spiral ramp up
the observation tower was easier than the paved "trail" to the top.

Wednesday was Aquarium day! That was wonderful. I highly recommend
making a trip inland to see the fishes. It's a great facility and an
outstanding presentation. The weird, unearthly music is great while you
sit in the dark and watch tropicals swirl in front of you. And I believe that's
the first time I've ever seen an actual living coral reeflet.

After the Aquarium we went up to Ober Gatlinburg. The ride was fun, but
all we did up there was watch some people ice skate. It was a nice view
from the gondola, but a bit pricey for just that. We had dinner at Calhoun's
afterward and walked back to the Aquarium wondering about all the junk
for sale and how much money people must spend on stuff they have no
room for.

Thursday rained some more, so we hung around the condo and did laundry.
(Since Mr D's stent placements, we sometimes just take things easy.)

Friday we drove through the woods to Cades Cove which was beautiful. It
was a little rainy, so there weren't many people there yet. We got to watch
the clouds form in front of the mountains and saw some bears! Lots of
deer and turkeys too, and a bluebird. We drove out over the one-way
northbound Rich Mountain Road (also gravel) and lunched at the Back
Porch Cafe. Then it was on to Knoxville for another Tall Paul performance
at the SM PHC phlocking.

If you ever get to party with Stephanie, Joe and the rest of the Smoky
Mountain pholks, go for it! They are GREAT PEOPLE!

Saturday was into Paris via south Nashville and the Last Mango birthday
party. It was wonderful to get back with my Paris family and phamily.
Citcat and I got more "bonding time" this time around, and she and Jill put
together a great shindig.

And the folks at the venue seemed to really like having Jack Mosley playing
for them. Unfortunately for them (but good for me ), he and his wife
are moving back to Florida again!

"Back up in Nashville I never fit in
I tried it once I wont try it again
They told me do this and they told me do that
But I’ve never looked good in a cowboy hat"

That's about all anyone would care to know about our trip, I'm sure.
If you've even read this far, I'm surprised, but I just wanted my "travel
advisors" to know I appreciated their input. We didn't get to Dollywood or
the baseball game like I thought we would, but it was all fun anyway.
THANKS AGAIN!

Bob Roberts · Post by **Bob Roberts** » May 28, 2005 5:27 pm

Hey its great to hear that you had a good time! I wish I could have made it down to O'Chucks on the Strip to see Tall Paul with you, but I've been slammed lately with wedding plans and new house projects! I'm so glad you had a good time and got to experience some of the cool places.