Day 1: Tuesday 8/16/16
After a night of tossing and turning on my sister’s bed (no air conditioner had been put in the window in my room, and that just wasn’t going to work), the day started about 4:30 am. Needless to say, I was a bit concerned, after a night of minimal sleep, how I was going to pull off driving 200+ miles when I arrived in Tennessee.
My flight out of Manchester was scheduled for 7 am, so we probably left mom’s a little after 5. The drive was filled with mom reminding me to keep in touch frequently, and telling me horror stories from the one time she drove through Knoxville (40 years ago...at rush hour), and asking me “you won’t be driving through there right?”. Nah mom…
About this same time we arrived at the airport. I hauled my luggage out of the car, assured mom that I would stay in touch, explained why there was no reason for me to use curbside check in on a Tuesday morning in MANCHESTER, said goodbye to her, and headed inside to find absolutely no one in the check in line.
About a minute after stepping up to the kiosk to check my luggage, I was on an escalator to the only security checkpoint, since my favorite was still under construction. But, it’s Manchester, so the lines always move quickly.
Security was tighter than I had seen at that point since the winter of 2002. Honestly, the only thing missing was the military with the big guns at the checkpoint and the random vehicle searches outside. We all had our hands swabbed while waiting in line for the ID check, and then it appeared that at least one bag from each passenger was being flagged for screening going through the x-ray. So it took awhile to get through, but I appreciate an airport that is actually doing something security like, rather than just waving everyone through.
And since it’s Manchester, I was still gateside within 20 minutes of arriving at the airport. I passed the time texting with dad until boarding. It was a very interesting group in the gate area, with everything from businessmen to families to nuns getting ready to board the plane, and at least 75% complaining that Southwest doesn’t allow seat selection.
Soapbox time. It’s very well publicized that Southwest doesn’t allow seat selection ahead of boarding the plane. We also were flying out of Manchester. Manchester is within a very short distance of multiple other airports with more airlines (and theoretically cheaper prices, but I often have a hard time finding them?). Now, I find Manchester to be the most convenient airport, and I LIKE Southwest, so I fly through Manchester, but...we’re not exactly in an area where you can’t find other options if you don’t like Southwest. So quit taking the good seats from those of us that like the airline, and find another airport or airline to fly!
Boarding began eventually, and moved quickly, because Manchester has rockstar gate agents. I had a pretty short connection in Baltimore, so I was thrilled when we pushed back from the gate a few minutes early.
The flight down to Baltimore was quick and pretty soon I was eating Auntie Annie’s pretzel bites at the next gate waiting for my flight to Nashville.
The flight to Nashville was also quick, and also arrived early! 2 for 2! After walking about 10 miles, I collected my suitcase, and then started on a 5 mile hike to the rental car facility. Thankfully, my information had been straightened out in the Dollar Express system, so my name was on their screen with a car assignment, and within minutes, I had my GPS set, and was pointing the Sonata towards the Eastern timezone, and settling in for a 3 ½ hour drive.
Minus a crazy pop up rainstorm, where it took me longer than I wanted to figure out the wipers (wipers should be universal use just like blinkers!), it was an uneventful drive across eastern TN. Despite my mom’s concerns, the Knoxville area was a breeze (though it was NOT rush hour when I tried to drive through there), and Cumberland County, as a whole, was quite a bit like driving in NH, just with more tractor trailers.
By 3:30 I made it to the Gatlinburg visitors’ center. I took a few minutes to pick up brochures and get myself oriented, and then I headed for the national park. Since it was sunny, and the forecast seemed pretty indecisive, it seemed like a good idea to do as much scenic stuff as possible ASAP.
When I reached the park, I took a few minutes to check out the Sugarlands visitor center, and then I headed deeper into the park, stopping for MANY pictures along the way.
After about 45 minutes of navigating hairpin turns and crazy hills, I reached the Newfound Gap overlook. This turned out to be a great place for scenery. Here you also have the opportunity to stand on the North Carolina/Tennessee state lines.
Once I’d had my fill of picture taking here, I decided since I was so close, I should go to Clingmans Dome. It was about another 15 minutes up the road. The hike from the parking lot to the top was breathtaking, both in terms of views and physically. I tried to mask how out of shape I was by stopping regularly to take pictures.
Clingmans Dome is kinda interesting. You climb an incredibly steep paved walking trail for about a mile to reach the highest elevation point in the park (6,643 feet in elevation). Once you reach that point, there is an observation tower that is beyond ugly, but at the same time, my father would probably consider it an “engineering masterpiece”. Regardless of whether it’s a masterpiece or ridiculously ugly, it affords some awesome views, even on a hazy sunny day, once you finally stop sucking wind enough from your climb to enjoy the views. As an added bonus it was 30 degrees cooler there than in town. 67 degrees instead of 98 makes a big difference!
Once I’d had my fill of picture taking from the tower, I headed back down the hill, stopping for a few more pictures.
This walk was easier on the lungs, but I was starting to notice my foot. Those who read my Walking Wounded trip report will find this particularly interesting. The same foot that I rolled right before the Nov 2016 Food and Wine Festival weekend had been injured just a few months before...namely about 3 weeks prior to this trip to Tennessee. Because i worked summer school, I was the SLP tagged to evaluate students transitioning from Early Supports and Services to preschool prior to their 3rd birthday. This meant I went to a daycare to test an almost 3 year old. This turned out to be a daycare center out of my nightmares, with toys and art supplies stacked EVERYWHERE. As you can imagine, the 2 year old was active, and when he was DONE with testing, he started crawling around. This resulted in a giant roll of drawing paper crashing down on my foot. The foot was basically better before I headed to TN, but this slope was definitely putting it to the test. Good news? It’s not my driving foot.
Just before the parking lot, I paid a visit to the little store. Ended up picking up an ornament. Figured since that was the only “hike” I’d be doing this trip, the ornament from this trip should represent my survival:)
It was now after 5 pm, and a couple granola bars and 100 calorie packs of cashews don’t really count as a meal, so it was time to head back toward town. I mostly just drove, but I did stop to take a picture of one of the countless tunnels along the way.
Once back in town, I found my hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn Gatlinburg.
Check in was easy, and pretty soon I was ditching my stuff in my room on the 5th floor, and heading for a late dinner at Bennett’s Pit BBQ.
It took me no time at all to realize that this hotel was VERY conveniently located. Bennett’s was about a 3 minute walk from the hotel. I was seated immediately. Dinner was a pulled chicken sandwich. Honestly? It was just ok. The flavor was great but the chicken was super dry. However, dessert totally made up for this. The blackberry cobbler was out of this world!
After dinner, I headed straight back to the hotel. It had been a LONG (but really fun) day. I took a few pictures around the room (no, the fireplace did not need to be used on this trip!), and then crashed for the night.
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