Gatlinburg and the Doctor

Another beautiful morning to spend together exploring the area. I wanted to check out the Gatlinburg welcome center where the trolley will pick you up and bring you downtown for 50 cents. You don’t have to mess with the road construction (they’re building a wall to keep the mountain off the road – a good idea, I think) where it’s one lane and very slow going and pay for parking (up to $10).

We spent at least 30 minutes talking to a host discovering lots of unadvertised places to see and the best way to get there. We picked up a package of pamphlets that include Day Hikes, Auto Tours, maps and Waterfalls info. I dropped that stuff in the Jeep and we walked over to the little Trolley shelter, where two other couples arrived and we started talking. One couple visits maybe three times a year using her brother’s cabin. They recommended the Ole Smoky Mountain Moonshine Distillery on the Parkway for free samples. Well, Gary had to check that out. The trolley ride was about 10 minutes and at the exit we decided to walk the east side of the parkway through Gatlinburg. We stopped in a few stores and used our Dollywood perks pamphlet to see the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum (curious stuff and fun) and ‘Illusions’ (we do not recommend this).

After we had walked miles (at least it felt like miles) we were needing a boost. And then the Ole Smoky Mountain Moonshine Distillery magically appeared. Gary smiled. Three tiny thimblefuls of white lightning, and his favorite was the one called ‘Apple Pie’. I settled for an iced mocha. Those gave us energy enough to make it back to the trolley stop where we enjoyed a stress-free ride to the Jeep.

At home we refilled the birdfeeder and watched another goldfinch having a snack.

Tuesday was Dr. day. We found the Thompson Cancer Survival Center and met Dr. Grossman. Gary was supposed to have a treatment today, but the order for the Ontak fell through the cracks. We scheduled for the next Tuesday.

We had a little lunch at home, then rode over to Big Lots and the grocery store for some supplies. It was a beautiful day again, but more storms are on the way.
We cleaned up the outside, tucking things away and talking about where we would go if a tornado came our way. Nobody knows anywhere but the toilets. Cinder blocks are the strongest building material around here. I wonder how fast we’d have to run?

Here are some photos of the storms overhead and the concern on the local TV stationTornado watches are on until 2 am. I feel like a storm tracker!

We have a weather radio that will probably go off to warn of severe weather many times tonight. It will NOT be a good sleeping night for sure.

The rest of the week it looks like beautiful weather. We will play tomorrow, but need to report to work on Friday. We'll let you know what we do (unless we're 'not in Kansas anymore...').