Fall 2016

We were back in Pigeon Forge on September 24. Back in our RV at Bear Cove RV park. We had a slightly better camping spot this time and very nice neighbors. They were also workcamping – at Dream More Resort- making pizzas!

Ben thought he was going to start his Dollywood workcamper job when we got there – he was scheduled to work the fall festival at the Market Square food court through October 29. But when he reported for work he found out he needed a one day food safety course first. That actually put his scheduled first day of work out until Sept 29. Dollywood provided him with a letter of employment so we could go ahead and take further advantage of the free shows and sights. One of the first places we visited was Parrot Mountain. We had always wondered what it was like and it is very close to Dollywood. We really enjoyed this visit. There were so many beautiful birds as well as a hands-on exhibit. We would definitely pay to go again!

 

We spent some time at Patriot Park and the Island. We hadn’t seen much of the island over the summer as it was just too hot for us to walk around much on concrete. We also went to Dollywood and caught some of the shows and rode a few rides.

Once Ben started work he pretty much worked 32-36 hours a week. October is a very busy time for Dollywood. The first few days he cooked big batches of potatoes, onions, and sausage. Some days he cooked fried green tomatoes. He also helped man one of the outdoor food booths by serving customers. And occasionally he got pulled over to the Ham and Beans restaurant to clear tables and wash dishes. He was also really tired when he got home.  We had an unusually hot fall so there were many days he was hot and tired.

 

 

Ben’s parents came to visit us for a few days the first week in early October. They had a really nice room at the Arbors at Island Landing Hotel. This is an older hotel but it was had extensive renovations. Their room was big and very nice. While they were there we had two picnics- one with grandson Everett and the other with Everett and son Robby and his two sons Lincoln and Kyler. We had a very nice time- the weather wasn’t as hot on these days.

 

Grandson Everett spent four days camping with us during his fall break. We took him picnicking, to play putt-putt, and   shopping at some of the swimwear shops.    He really just wanted to look at their aquariums to see the baby sharks. On the way to take him back we went to the Island and had lunch at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. The next week grandson Jupiter stayed with us for three days. I had a blast shopping with him for new Under Armour clothes as well as the hat store. We went out to eat at TGI Fridays.  We played three different putt-putt courses. On the last one Jupiter won a free game with a nice hole in one at the end.

 

In early October Pigeon Forge was totally packed as well as our campground. We thought it was because of hurricane Matthew in Florida. There were many Florida people around Pigeon Forge and in our campground. On top of that there were families camping during fall break. There was so much traffic and all the campgrounds around us looked full. We heard from locals that fall and Christmas were usually the busiest times for the area. The convention center has been bringing more people to the area as well. For instance, there was a five day convention for quartets the first week in October and the convention center was really packed. Anyway, you do learn to maneuver around the traffic by finding backroads and shortcuts. While Ben was working I had plenty of time to venture out and explore shops and eateries. I took advantage of that!

During our visit Ben and I saw Darren Romeo’s magic show (he trained with Siegfried and Roy) and the Comedy Barn (pretty decent but really a couple of politically incorrect jokes). We had more picnics. We explored the artist community and Gatlinburg further and tried an English Pub. We drove through the mountains into Cherokee, North Carolina to see the fall colors and visit the Cherokee Indian museum. We went to Ober Gatlinburg to check out Octoberfest. The next-to-last night we went back to the Island and show the fountain show after dark. And then the last night we were there we visited Dollywood’s Dream More resort and ate pizza. We were actually sad to leave the area.