Spring Break Part I

I never participated in spring break when I was younger because I didn't have the time, money or inclination to take a vacation during the late winter/early spring. However a couple of years ago we did a quick two week trip to Florida and enjoyed the break from the cold. So we decided to do it again this year. Our first stop on the way to Florida was Pigeon Forge Tennessee. It is at the foot of the Smokey Mountains and is the main vacation spot for this area. It is a weird place though. On one hand you have the Smokey Mountains and all the hiking, fishing, river rafting and all the outdoor activities that you would expect in this type of environment. Then you have to main towns of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinsburg whose main streets contain an array of tacky gift shops, mini golf, amusement parks, dinner shows and any kind of restaurant you want. It's kind of like Wildwood's main street and boardwalk only without the beach part. Then there are the hotels and cabins that dot the hills around the town. About 17 year ago we stopped off here on our way back from Nashville and found it good place to relax for a couple of days. The cabins are very reasonable and have a lot of cool amenities.  

We rented a cabin a few miles from town and spent a couple of days relaxing and in the cabin and see a couple of sights. One the first day we spent a few hours driving around the Smokey mountains. These mountains are known for a blue mist that hangs over them however today was a clear day with no haze. However they had a small snow storm a day before which left a coating of snow on the  pine trees at the top which really highlighted the contours of the mountains. 

After our scenic drive we had dinner at a restaurant of a famous chief serving southern food, family style. The food was really good. I  have never had better mash potatoes. They were creamy and smooth and melted in your mouth. The pot roast was equally as good. And because it was family style they keep bringing it until you say stop. I definitely over indulged but is was just too good to not gorge yourself. This chief's favorite ingredient is butter so I won't be checking my cholesterol anytime soon. 

The next day we headed to Parrot Mountain which can best be described as a open air zoo for birds. There are literally over 50 birds in a garden that you can feed and play with. 

The garden has a bunch of perches with various parrots, macaws and a few other small birds. You buy some sunflower seeds and go up to a bird and they walk on your arm or shoulder and eat the seeds out of you hands. 

I have been in aviaries and other bird exhibits but never one that let you interact with them like we did here. Beside the parrot garden there was a lorikeet section where you could feed them. There were also a house where they had baby birds you could interact with. It was noisy with all the birds chirping but it was fun to have them walking on my arms and hands. 

We spend a couple of hours playing with the birds. It was a lot of fun and hopefully I hope I can find more places like this. After playing with the birds we headed back to the cabin to relax a while 

 

As I said at the beginning of the post the cabins in Pigeon Forge have some cool amenities. Ours had an indoor pool as well as a hot tub so it was a good place to hang out for a couple of days. Our next stop is the panhandle of Florida for a few days on the beach.