Tennessee

A big day of driving for us! We passed through South and North Carolina before reaching the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  Little known fact: Gatlinburg used to be called White Oak, named for the beautiful white oak trees in the area. There was a gentleman who was a Union sympathizer and no one liked him so they said that if he left town, they would name it after him. And that is how Gatlinburg came to be.

The museum is one woman's collection. I triple dog dare you to think of something that this collection doesn't have as a salt and/or pepper shaker.

Another little known fact about Gatlinburg: They have a ginormous Christmas parade every year. The date for this year's parade? The day we were passing through. And you'll never believe who showed up for the parade: THE OSCAR MAYER WIENERMOBILE!! There was a local news anchor who apparently thought Halley was trying to get an autograph while she was interviewing a few people. One of her sheets of notes had blown away and Halley was merely trying to return the sheet. We finally got the attention of a cameraman and the day was saved.

Folding chairs saved seats along the main street.

My bologna has a first name...

Llamas dressed for the occasion.

The observation tower for the parade. There were several camera crews there. It was like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade but in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

We managed to tear ourselves away from the main street and continue on toward Chattanooga. We were in the car for only a few minutes when we passed into Pigeon Forge, which is definitely a combination of Wisconsin Dells and Branson, Missouri. A stop at the Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride and another Glow-in-the-Dark Mini Golf Course were needed before the rest of our drive.

This ride was scary.

This course was awesome and Halley came her closest yet to beating Sarah.