With Summer Celebration in full swing, it’s a bubble battle royale with kids choosing between the Foam Zone and the Gazillion Bubble Show at Dollywood You know you’ve reached a certain point in life when given the option of joining a summer foam and bubble party and your first thoughts are not of bubble-filled mayhem and a cooling, drenching rinse.
A local breaks down what may be the biggest season of change since tourists started flocking to the mountains Turn, turn, turn. Change comes to the mountains faster than the seasons. Governed by the unforgiving judgement of those who vote with their wallets, pocketbooks and – probably – a variety of apps, everything in the Smokies is in a state of
Hulk Hogan is gone but the show goes on A row of flowers – mostly red and yellow – lined the walkway in an out of the way strip mall in Pigeon Forge Sunday. Above the flowers were windows filled larger than life photos of a larger-than-life man. Or maybe it was the larger-than-life man’s alter ego on display. Hulk
Try these can’t miss options when traveling to the “other” side of the Smokies I spend some time kicking around analogies for the East Tennessee – Western North Carolina tourism relationship. I noodled around the idea of a “Beaches” reference, the Bette Midler vehicle famous chiefly for launching the “Wind Beneath my Wings.” But I don’t think the idea that
A mom shares her favorite things to do in Gatlinburg with her family In my experience, I find that those visiting Gatlinburg for the first time are often surprised by the number of attractions competing for their tourist dollar. What seems like a sleepy mountain town can sometimes feel like an array of neon lights and eye-catching, quirky displays. But
Gatlinburg’s main street is a world class tourist destination; here are some things to avoid on your visit For decades, I have been running up and down the strip in Gatlinburg – the stretch of Highway 441 that runs from Ole Red all the way up to Ski Mountain Road. I’ve had some of the best days – and evenings
A showdown for Smoky Mountain seafood supremacy When my grandparents retired to Florida’s Nature Coast back in the early ’90s, I developed a standard for fresh seafood that is hard to replicate. Their next-door neighbor was a professional crabber. He’d return from a day on the Gulf and hand a sack full of claws over to my grandparents for that
How close did the Southern Appalachian Mountains come to hosting the park that would become Disney World? A couple of years ago, we had a little fun on April Fool’s Day. I wrote a story about Disney buying the former Ghost Town in Maggie Valley with the intent of reopening it. It featured all the defunct rides that “super” fans
From exploring the park to dining out to shopping, here are the things you can’t miss in the Smokies The Smokies and surrounding regions are massive. You could spend decades exploring the region and still not see everything. I should know. I’ve been here more than 30 years and keep finding new surprises and places I haven’t yet explored. But
Spout Spring Estates is a surprising, picturesque spot hidden in the mountains of Blaine, TN Even after more than 30 years in and around the mountains, there are things that surprise me. Well-known things that have eluded me, secret spots or stories only known by a few, or places that I just haven’t made it to, yet. The mountains are