The recap of our week at The Ridge began with taking Anna to the airport on Tuesday (Dec 27th) and then heading to Gatlinburg around 2:00 pm and would be the last to arrive. Greg and Renee had left Evansville, IN around 7:00 am and Grandmother and Pa Pa Neal were on their way from Gatlinburg and both groups would reach Gatlinburg before us. Heavy traffic and wrecks on the interstate delayed the arrival of Grandmother and Pa Pa Neal and then we got the call from Greg. They had broken down near exit 407 on I-40 just before the exit. After making some calls to USAA and Volunteer Chevrolet in Sevierville, TN, Greg and Renee were towed to Sevierville. Grandmother and Pa Pa Neal were about one (1) hour away when we first learned of the breakdown, so they were able to stop in Sevierville and pick up Greg and Renee.
Meanwhile, we kept on driving with no problems and arrived at The Ridge first around 5:15 pm and waited to hear from Pa Pa Neal. The group finally arrived around 6:30 pm and we were all thankful.
The next day went went exploring the Glades area around Gatlinburg where the artists and craftsmen have relocated. We went to several shops and galleries but did not make any major purchases. We had obtained Grandmother and Pa Pa Neal's Christmas present from a local artist several weeks before. We did stop by that gallery and they did remember Brent.
On Thursday, December 29th, Greg had is 28th birthday. We started the morning off by heading into Sevierville to make the thrift store circuit. Greg was dropped off at Volunteer Chevrolet to pick up his vehicle and he declined to continue on the quest to seek treasures with Grandmother, Jo Lynn and Brent. Nothing major was obtained on this quest but we did find many small "bargains" and returned later that afternoon to The Ridge to start the birthday celebration feast.
On Friday, Brent, Jo Lynn, Grandmother and Pa Pa Neal headed into to the park to see some sights and also stop by Townsend, TN and quench Pa Pa Neal's desire for broasted chicken. Greg, Renee and the girls were left to piddle around town and be on standby for a possible trip to the Knoxville hospital to visit Greg's best friend from college, in case his pregnant wife had to have an emergency "c" section. Luckily, there was no emergency and they did not have to make the trip to Knoxville, so they celebrated at Wall-Mart and Starbucks.
Meanwhile back in the park, the group made there way to Elkmont and eventually into Townsend to dine on broasted chicken. After turning his nose up at Subway, and insisting of only eating broasted chicken, Pa Pa arrived at the only place he ever gets broasted chicken and..............yes it was closed for the season. With a small amount of sadness we ventured back to Subway and he ordered a footlong "crow" sub with extra black olives. Later that afternoon Brent picked up his 4x4 truck which was being repaired.
Saturday morning, Greg and Renee left early morning to the Raleigh area to attend an afternoon wedding and visit with her folks. Later that morning, Brent and Pa Pa Neal jumped in the 4x4 truck and headed to the high country in the mountains. Crossing over Newfound gap and making their way into western NC, the two (2) just happened to arrived in Dillsboro, NC, about 12:30 pm to dine at the Jarrett House for lunch. You guessed it. It was closed for the season. Disappointed but not deterred, the pair made their way into Sylva, NC and found a local cafe downtown. Hooper's turned out to be a real find with excellent food and a return trip has been put on the books.
Brent and Pa Pa Neal continued onto the "high" country and after several detours by the GPSs (there were two (2) in the truck) the "wild" side of the Great Smoky National Park was reached. With he warm weather there was no snow, but on the narrow unpaved road, the four (4) wheel drive was required in several places.
The two (2) returned to The Ridge safe and sound in the early afternoon, just in time for Brent to get Jennifer and Jessica and head to downtown Gatlinburg to ring in 2012 as shown on a previous post.
Sunday morning saw the departure of Grandmother and Pa Pa Neal as they were headed back to Birmingham, AL for an overnight pit stop before continuing on home to Baton Rouge, LA.
Brent, Jo Lynn and the girls went down for the Sunday services at First Baptist Gatlinburg and then spent the remainder of the day napping.
After a late wake-up on Monday, we packed our items, shutdown the heat and hot water heater and left Blackbearry Ridge till next weekend. We were in a race against the on coming storm and several hours after crossing Newfound Gap, the park closed the highway due to snow and ice.
As planned, Brent did not do any work during our time at Blackbearry Ridge this time, but work will continue on Friday. Everyone made it home safely.
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| Jessica and Jennifer prepare to paint the town "orange" on Wednesday night. Behind them is Karmelkorn which was the infamous location of Brent's "Vanilla? I hate vanilla!" scream to a stunned server over 30 years ago. |
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| Jessica, Renee, Greg and Jennifer are investigating the scene of a break in by a hungry bear earlier in the fall of 2011. |
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| Jessica, Jennifer, Greg and Renee check out a new attraction in downtown Gatlinburg. |
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| Our family is well acquainted with this stop. |
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| Bargains galore at the Sevierville Salvation Army Store. |
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| Greg gets ready to blow out the candles on his birthday pie as Renee wonders why is Jo Lynn is singing "Annie get your guns"? |
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| Grandmother, Brent and Pa Pa Neal on the bridge at Elkmont. |
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| Jo Lynn and Pa Pa Neal stand at the entrance to the Elkmont Cemetery. This was the first time anyone in our group had discovered this place. |
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| Jo Lynn and Pa Pa Neal are inspecting the well kept grave sites at Elkmont. |
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| Jo Lynn and Pa Pa Neal stop to read the information of the Wonderland Hotel at Elkmont. |
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| All that remains of the once grand Wonderland Hotel. What a shame to let that historic building disappear. |
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| During our visit a brick or two happened to disappeared from the old fireplace of the Wonderland Hotel that is still standing. |
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| One of the camps on the back side of the Elkmont Campground. I sure hope the park does not continue to let historic landmarks disappear like the injustice done to the Wonderland Hotel. |
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| Pa Pa Neal at Meigs Falls. On his way to Townsend with the thought of eating broasted chicken dancing in his head. |
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| Pa Pa Neal stands in parking lot on our ill fated trip for broasted chicken in Townsend, TN. If he tried hard, he could inhale deeply and get a faint hint of broasted chicken in the air. |
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| Jessica winning tickets at an arcade in Pigeon Forge. I tnink with the $10 spent we got about 50 cents worth of prizes. |
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| Pa Pa Neal looking at a display at Sugarland Visitors Center in GSNP. He said the same display was here when he first visited the park in 1948 with Ma Ma and Pa Pa Conley. |
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| Because the Jarrett House was closed we happened upon Hooper's in downtown Sylva, NC. It was a great place to eat and had very reasonable prices. We will stop there again. |
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| The road in the "wild" portion of the GSNP. |
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| Pa Pa Neal performs a daredevil act over the creek. |
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| I sure hope no one is coming in the opposite direction. |
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| Pa Pa Neal looking at Mt. Cammerer and remembers hiking the trail with Brent, Jo Lynn, Kathy and Len over 30 years ago. |
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| Happy New Year 2012 from downtown Gatlinburg. |
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| Pa Pa Neal packs the car on Sunday morning to head back home. |
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| Grandmother is wrapped in a blanket while Pa Pa Neal leaves The Ridge and heads down the mountain. |
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| Hey. One of our rocks is missing. I think someone stole one of our rocks!!! |
