Knoxville was basically a stopping off point on the way to Birmingham. But, when I arrived at the hotel, I noticed brochures for Pigeon Forge, TN. There are a few shows that take place there and are similar (or even identical in some cases) to the ones in Branson, Missouri which I visited last fall. I decided to check out Pigeon Forge for the day.
I think Pigeon Forge is more like a tourist trap. There is far more shopping and other tourist type businesses than actual shows. I think at most there are twelve shows and most are not available in the afternoon. Branson, on the other hand, has around fifty shows, many of which offer an afternoon showing in addition to a dinner show. Branson is all about shows and while they might have limited shopping and tourist trap type things, the emphasis is on family friendly shows. Branson is condensed into a very small area (due to the Ozark Mountains) while Pigeon Forge is spread out.
As I worked my way south towards Birmingham, I saw some incredible views along I-24 near Chattanooga, TN. At one point I-24 ran along a beautiful lake on one side with mountains on the other side. The mountain views in the area were gorgeous.
From I-24 I had to take I-59 south. A small portion of it cut across the northwest part of Georgia. I officially stopped for something (irrelevant) in Georgia...I bought gas. So, I can include Georgia as a visited state on this trip.
Getting into Alabama, I was glad I bought gas in Georgia. I=59 between the Georgia line and Birmingham is basically desolate. There were very few exits in nearly two hours' worth of driving. There was a great deal of construction, bringing things down to one lane for both the northern and southern routes on I-59. Once I got to the right exit, the GPS goofed up in getting me to my hotel. But, after driving a bit I finally noticed the sign.
I met my friend Dan at the hotel. He is from the Troy area and is on his own cross country trip and we both planned to go to the televised Mass at EWTN (Eternal Word Television Network) and be in the audience on their Life on the Rock show on Thursday, April 8th. But, since I got a free hotel night (as I have all this week) I invited him to share the room.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment