Tennessee / Kentucky Road Trip
Ruby Falls - Dollywood - Lexington
Saturday May 21st - Tuesday May 24th 2011
Click each picture to make it bigger, then back to return here.
First up on the trip was Ruby Falls, located in Chattanooga Tennessee. In the 1st picture is the castle. In the 2nd picture is the history. Pictures 3-6 are inside the cave. The highlight is a water fall. Everyone gets an up close look with time to take pictures. The tour lasts about an hour. Afterwards, everyone can go on top of the castle where a great view of the city can be seen.
Next up, Pizza Palace, located near Knoxville TN. This place has a long history as a drive in for pizza. In pictures 7 &8 is a large with green peppers, onions, meatballs, and onion rings. We took the leftovers with us, put them in a gallon size zip lock bag, and munched on them during the rest of the trip.
http://www.visitpizzapalace.com/
Next up, Dollywood, located in Pigeon Forge TN. We parked the car at Patriot Park, which is located in the Old Mill shopping area. It's free to park, and 50 cents to take a bus to Dollywood. The biggest thrill rides here are Thunder Head, Mystery Mine, and the Tennessee Tornado.
In picture 1 it's me on a giant swing ride waving to the camera. In picture 2 is a Dizzy Disk ride. In picture 3 is the family reunion show. That's Dolly's Uncle Bill singing in the middle. He was the one who discovered Dolly and got her started. In picture 4 is Dolly's old house. In picture's 5 and 6 are the outside of her museum. It's filled with pictures and memorabilia from Dolly's career.
Located in the Old Mill shopping center is the #2 restaurant in all of Pigeon Forge as voted on by Trip Advisor. It's the Old Mill Pottery House Cafe and Grill. Food was great, I had steak, Laurie had Fish. The restaurant is located across the street from the Patriot parking lot.
http://www.oldmillsquare.com/cafe.htm
The great smoky mountains. Free to enter. The entrance is on 441 in Gatlinburg. There's a couple paths to take by car to look out spots. First way is to stay on 441, drive a little ways, then turn around and go back taking the Gatlinburg bypass. There's a couple look out spots along the way. The other path to take is a scenic trail. Take 441 through the city, and make a left at Airport Road. Continue to the park entrance and it leads up into the mountains. Many people park their cars and hike.
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm
Located near the Cincinnati airport is the Creation Museum. What happens here? Both sides of God's word and Reason are presented equally. It is up to the individual to decide what they believe in. Many exhibits and movies to view.
In picture 1 is a time line showing how the bible is no longer taught in school, but rather Human Reason. In picture 2 is the book Farewell to God, written by Charles Templeton. In the 3rd picture is a display of the arc. In the last picture is me petting a duck outside on a patio where people eat food outside. The ducks are not scared of humans.
Next up, was a visit to Lexington Kentucky. Our daughter was at the Alltech Symposium. We visited Parkette Drive Inn. In picture 5 is a chicken salad. In picture six is a Poor Boy with onion rings. Burger was great.
Next up, a carriage ride through the historic section of Lexington. This is Amadeus pulling the carriage. The tour goes for 1 hour, the driver (Dan) gives a bunch of information about the historic buildings, and gives advice on where to eat.
http://www.lexingtonlivery.com/
Dan told us we needed to try a Hot Brown.
So we headed to De Sha's and ordered one to go. What's a Hot Brown?
Sliced Turkey Breast smothered in a rich cream sauce and broiled with cheddar
cheese, crumbled bacon and tomato slices. How did it taste?
Awesome.
http://deshas.weebly.com/deshas-lexington.html
Driving home through Atlanta, we stopped at the Varsity. This is my favorite grub place. The onion rings are the best, don't need any sauce with them. In picture 2 we have a chili cheese burger, rings, peach pie, and an orange whip. Doesn't get any better than this. What'll Ya Have?
Back at home, we returned the rental car and visited Le Tub in Holllywood Florida. This place is voted best burger in the country by Oprah and GQ magazine. In pictures 1-5 are shots of the restaurant. In picture 6 is a Bloody Mary, this is their signature drink, very good, strong pepper kick. In picture 7 is the signature dish everyone comes for. A 13oz cheese burger with fries. What makes it so good? It tastes like a burger you'd get at a picnic. Crunchy outside, juicy inside. There's no special sauce, but they do give you ketchup and mayo to put on the bun. The burger has all the taste you'll need. Le Tub has a "Keys" feel to it, similar to the restaurant called Dockside which we visited in 2007.
So who has the best burger? Le Tub does, but that's a restaurant burger. Who has the best onion rings? The Varsity. In the grub category, the Varsity wins for over all experience. We drove straight through from Lexington to South Florida with a few stops along the way to eat and rest. 1020 miles, 20 hours. We put 2,500 miles on the rental car.
End of Report. Thanks for reading.
Email me at skiguy777@bellsouth.net.