While I may have woken up in the same place that I was going to sleep, it doesn’t mean I took a day off of the road. It just means it was a roundtrip journey rather than one way. We actually spent about seven hours in the car and put nearly 500 more miles on it. Destination? Dollywood!
Helen and Keira were my partners in crime for this part of the road trip – in fact it was Keira’s idea to trek out to Dollywood. We had a blast! We headed straight for Aunt Granny’s buffet the second we got there. (Keira, referring to the rather large chicken breasts in the buffet: Maybe these are from special Dolly Parton chickens, grown with especially large breasts.)
We went from roasting (it was in the 90s) to soaking when we went on the first water ride. We couldn’t believe how good the rides were – not for the faint of heart! All of Dollywood was great, including the shopping. There is a whole section of artisans selling their wares, from glassblowers and wood carvers to candlestick makers. Our only disappointment was we couldn’t find any rhinestone bras. Helen has tweeted Dolly to let her know – hopefully those will be there next time.
We threw ourselves completely into Dollywood – from standing in the map to trying to think like Dolly: What Would Dolly Do? was the question of the day. I can’t honestly say it helped that much with any big dilemmas, but maybe the real Dolly would have better answers.
On the ride home, after seeing some of the beautiful Smokey Mountains, we stopped at the Cracker Barrel so I could give the girls a taste of a country dinner – and a cute country store. I know, I know, we shouldn’t have gone to a chain, but after driving that much and it being that late I was too tired to go wandering about back roads to find a (hopefully) incredible mom n pop place. They really enjoyed it, and that’s what matters.
Now we’re off to the Big D & Bubba radio show. They’re on stations across the US, and absolutely hysterical, so tune in people!
Amy's America 
As I sit here at my desk I just heard yall on the show.. Glad you are having a great time on your visit!.. and do make sure and get yourself to a meat and 3 while your here!.. If your downtown in Nashville, try Arnolds for lunch!. you will love it I can assure you. But there are others just ask a few locals cause we are a friendly bunch!..lol..Enjoy the rest of your stay in Music City USA!
Thanks Robert. I will definitely try to get there! And you certainly are a friendly bunch – I love Nashville! Who knows, maybe someday I’ll be a local. We’ll see!
OH! I’ve ALWAYS wanted to go to Dollywood! And Cracker Barrel is always a MUST when my family is traveling… lol
You MUST go – it’s a great place for the whole family. Even my son would like it, even though he wouldn’t realize it until we got there. (The food alone is enough to make any man want to go there.) Just make sure you allow a couple of days for all the other cool things around, which I hope to do in the future.