Thursday, January 12, 2006
Vacation - Day 4
Now, I'm not a smart man, but I finally figured out why we didn't have to wait in any lines the entire time we were in Gatlinburg. THERE WAS NOBODY THERE!!! We had the entire place to ourselves! It was great!!! But now it's over, and we need to head back to Atlanta, back to the traffic, and back to the long lines. It sure will be good to get home... Mike
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Vacation - Day 3
After a hearty breakfast, we decided to go to Ober Gatlinburg to see some skiing action. Now, in Colorado, everything opens at 9:00 AM. Not in Tennessee. The lifts don't start running until Noon. Bummer. Of course, it was 67 degrees, so what's the rush? All three of the skiers were waiting patiently for the lifts to start running.
Shannon and I decided to drive through the mountains this afternoon, and stumbled on to the old Ogle place. We hiked the trail for a while, but it had rained the night before so decided to head back. It still amazes me how people lived in the early 1900's.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Vacation - Day 2
After a wonderful (and filling) breakfast at Eleanor's, we grabbed a Trolley ride downtown and decided to visit Ripley's Aquarium. I'm sure that it doesn't even compare to Atlanta's Aquarium, but it was a lot of fun. Shannon took a great picture of me swimming with a Tiger Shark, but the photo didn't turn out (I think she still had the lens cover on).
Tuesday Night was "Guest Bartender Night" at the Hard Rock Cafe, and Shannon and I won the chance to fill in! Now, it's been a while since I have been a bartender, but it all came back pretty quickly. Shannon was struggling a little bit, so they just put her in charge of draft beer. What a great and memorable experience!
We had both worked up an appetite and a thirst while at Hard Rock, so we decided to go to dinner at a place recommended by the local folks: The Smoky Mountain Brewery & Restaurant. This place was awesome! Some of the best pizza that have ever passed these lips. And the beers were brewed right downstairs! Shannon preferred the Smoky Mountain Light. I enjoyed them all, but the Smoky Mountain Black Bear Ale was my favorite. Shannon summed up this beer in one sentence: "It tastes like flat Coke". And there you have it... Don't worry, Al. I brought one back for you.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Vacation - Day 1
Monday was a hectic day, but after running errands and meeting with my Marketing Advisor from Tampa, Shannon and I finally got on the road at 7:00 PM. We decided to stop at one of our favorite restaurants, Bonefish Grill, along the way (in Chattanooga, TN). We started out with the Cajun Chicken Eggrolls (my favorite), then split the Mahi Mahi covered in a white wine sauce with crab meat, scallops and capers. I'm getting hungry again just thinking about it. We finally made it to Gatlinburg around 11:45, and the town had already been put to bed. We didn't see a soul!
