Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show preparing to debut its South Pacific Celebration It seems unbelievable now since decades of dust have piled around the memories and obscured our vision. But for 12 years, a magical, mystical, improbably and fiscally irresponsible place lived in the Smokies. Porpoise Island, it was called. And it brought – quite literally – Polynesian culture and
A List of the Most Iconic Things To Do in Knoxville, According to a Local For as long as I’ve lived in East Tennessee – more than three decades – Knoxville has been the forgotten middle child of Tennessee municipalities. Knoxville lacks the amenities common in larger cities like Nashville and Memphis. And it trails Chattanooga in charm. People go
What are The Sinks? The Guide to one of the Most Beautiful parts of the Park A lifetime ago, we celebrated my high school graduation by taking my grandparents – who would have been in their mid-60s at the time – tubing on the Little River. We put in just below the Wye and began our “leisurely” float. Fast forward
A local’s advice on the top 7 things to do on spring break What does spring break mean to you? If, like me, you’re of a certain generation, it’s living vicariously through MTV’s sun-drenched beach houses while sitting on your couch, waiting for the Midwestern winter to break. Of course, places like Daytona, Cabo and Panama City conjure up ideas
Everything you need to know about the Cherohala Skyway There’s a road running across the mountains connecting Tellico Plains, Tennessee to Robbinsville, North Carolina. And if you catch it on the right day, when the sky is the right blue and fluffy white clouds dot just the right places, it seems like the top of the world. How many miles
Water is coming back to the best ride at Dollywood, here is what we know Dollywood’s beloved, quirky and bizarre dark ride Blazing Fury is about to be restored – at least in part to its former glory. Officials hinted at a major refurbishment for one of the park’s legacy rides last year. This year, it was announced that the Dollywood
A Virtual Tour of a Local’s Favorite Historic Places in the Smoky Mountains Traveling is about a lot of things. It’s about getting away from the daily grind and freeing yourself of the responsibilities that come with work. Additionally, it’s about bonding with friends and family. It’s also about seeing other parts of the country and world and absorbing cultures
This 850-foot-long tunnel was once called the 8th wonder of the world The irony of aging – or one of them – is that it takes time to acquire the wisdom to grasp the depth and breadth of our ignorance. I was a confident young man. Well-read and inquisitive and possessed a certain acumen for retaining and recalling that which
The mountain waterfall trail that reopened after 2 long years but then damaged by Hurricane Helene Catawba Falls is an easy hike with a stunning waterfall in North Carolina, and it’s open to the general public after a long hiatus though flood waters destroyed some improvements. The Appalachian Mountains of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina have a wide range
The little-known story of how the Smoky Mountains nearly had two theme parks, instead of one There are many great figures who shaped the path of the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge over the years. Some are well-known and some mostly forgotten. From Dolly Parton, to the first Ogles who set foot in White Oaks Flats, later known as