Tuesday, we spent the entire day in the Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg area.
We'd originally planned to go on Monday,
but the weather was not cooperating and
the outing was pushed back a day.
Our first stop was at the Titanic Museum.
I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, some of the "attractions" in the
Pigeon Forge / Sevierville area can be a little hokey.
We once went on an "indoor roller coaster ride" in downtown Gatlinburg thatwas nothing more than a roller coaster car in front a big screen TV
that moved slightly from side to side.
So, despite my trepidation, we decided it was worth a visit.
Driving up, the first thing you think is "This is HUGE".
I remember when they built it, and it looks bigger now than it did
whilst under construction.
Once we arrived, we cued up outside, and were given our boarding passes, as well as our boarding time. The line wasn't long at all, and I think we waited about 10 minutes to be shown in.
Speaking of the boarding passes, this is actually when I knew, I was going to love the museum. Each boarding pass has the Titanic information on the front, but on the reverse you're given the information of a real passenger that was aboard Titanic the day it made it into the history books.
My passenger's name was Marian Thayer.
"A rich socialite from Pennsylvania traveling in the prestigious first class".
Brooke also had a first class passenger, Dominick had a 3rd class passenger,
and Dad was given one of the crew members.
(I can't remember who Mom and Di had)
When it's time to board, you're given a brief intro (they also want your money at this point) and let loose into the museum. It's a self guided walking tour, and you're given the option to purchase the audio guide for an additional $10.
I can't go into all of the details of the museum,
but it's impressive and absolutely
entertaining.
Some of the highlights for me were:
- The scale models of the ship.
- The recreation of the rooms in 3rd class.
- The handwritten letters and personal effects.
- And the iceberg room, where you can dip your hands into water chilled to 28 degrees.
At the end of the tour, in the memorial room you can look up the passenger on your boarding pass and find out whether they were one of the few who survived.
Most were not so lucky.
It took us a little over 2 hours to do the walk through,
and I thoroughly enjoyed everything about it!
If you're ever in the area ... GO.
We'd originally planned to go on Monday,
but the weather was not cooperating and
the outing was pushed back a day.
Our first stop was at the Titanic Museum.
I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, some of the "attractions" in the
Pigeon Forge / Sevierville area can be a little hokey.
We once went on an "indoor roller coaster ride" in downtown Gatlinburg thatwas nothing more than a roller coaster car in front a big screen TV
that moved slightly from side to side.
So, despite my trepidation, we decided it was worth a visit.
Driving up, the first thing you think is "This is HUGE".
I remember when they built it, and it looks bigger now than it did
whilst under construction.
Once we arrived, we cued up outside, and were given our boarding passes, as well as our boarding time. The line wasn't long at all, and I think we waited about 10 minutes to be shown in.
Speaking of the boarding passes, this is actually when I knew, I was going to love the museum. Each boarding pass has the Titanic information on the front, but on the reverse you're given the information of a real passenger that was aboard Titanic the day it made it into the history books.
My passenger's name was Marian Thayer.
"A rich socialite from Pennsylvania traveling in the prestigious first class".
Brooke also had a first class passenger, Dominick had a 3rd class passenger,
and Dad was given one of the crew members.
(I can't remember who Mom and Di had)
When it's time to board, you're given a brief intro (they also want your money at this point) and let loose into the museum. It's a self guided walking tour, and you're given the option to purchase the audio guide for an additional $10.
I can't go into all of the details of the museum,
but it's impressive and absolutely
entertaining.
Some of the highlights for me were:
- The scale models of the ship.
- The recreation of the rooms in 3rd class.
- The handwritten letters and personal effects.
- And the iceberg room, where you can dip your hands into water chilled to 28 degrees.
At the end of the tour, in the memorial room you can look up the passenger on your boarding pass and find out whether they were one of the few who survived.
Most were not so lucky.
It took us a little over 2 hours to do the walk through,
and I thoroughly enjoyed everything about it!
If you're ever in the area ... GO.
After the Museum, we had a tre' gourmet lunch at Taco Bell!
(We really know how to do it up here in TN!)
With our bellies filled, we made the beautiful drive from
Pigeon Forge into Gatlinburg.
I've always wanted to take the Aerial Tramway from Gatlinburg proper
to the little ski attraction called Ober Gatlinburg.
(You might remember Ober Gatlinburg from THIS post).
But, Ed is absolutely
opportunity to try it. Well, we have now!!! We waited in line for about 20 mintues and then they packed us in like sardines and UP we went.
I have never, ever thought of myself as being afraid of heights, but each time we passed a tower (holding up the cables) and the gondola dipped in space.... My stomach took on it's own gravitational pull and I gripped Dominick's shirt as though that might in some small way help if we came crashing down to our death's.
At the top, I'd remembered Ober Gatlinburg as being a bit more lively, and I'll blame the horrid ski conditions this winter for the lack luster scene that awaited us. Most of the shops looked closed or uninteresting, but we watched the ice skaters, looked around outside for a few minutes before deciding to take the tram back down. (Plus, Dad was starting to come down with a cold and I could tell he was ready for a rest).
Brooke and Mimi by the ice skating rink.
Here are a few shots from the gondola on the way down:
Once down, we wandered a bit, but decided we'd best head back to Pigeon Forge before the traffic got too bad. We needn't have worried. The traffic was already bad.
A rock slide earlier in the day had traffic stopped. Not crawling, not inching... STOPPED. So for 45 mintues we sat in the Suburban with the windows down (the weather was amazing) and talked and laughed and that was that.
It was an absolutely perfect day.
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