No, I'm not joking.
I've also hit two new states this week: North and South Carolina.
Friend H was getting married. So Friend A and I made a little vacation out of it. We started this road trip in South Carolina and made our way to Ashville, North Carolina. Pretty much the cutest little town. We had a whole day to spend sightseeing around the area before Friend H's wedding and gosh darn, we were going to take advantage of it.
Turns out, this area is a great place to hike (which I forced Friend A to do) and it's other claim to fame is that it was one of the filming locations for Dirty Dancing. Who knew? Well, clearly, we had to take advantage of that.
This part of the country is so beautiful. Between the water and the hills, holy cow. There are so many places I've been to in the US, that each time I find somewhere new, it immediately turns into "the most beautiful place." Ashville, and it's surrounding area is definitely a top contender.
After exploring a bit, we found a little diner to eat at. Always ones to make friends with the locals, Friend A and I strike up a conversation with a small boy and his grandmother. Having no idea what each other are saying,but being too polite to ask for clarification, we try and translate accents as best as we could. We learn that the little boy is 8 years old and has multiple girlfriends. They learn that we're in our 30s and not married.
Cue shocked faces.
"Y'all ain't married yet?"
"Nope"
"Why not?"
"Well, if I knew the answer to that, don't you think I would have solved it by now?"
Good times.
Friend H's wedding was so beautiful. Some of the best friends and colleagues I know were at the wedding and it was just an all around good time.
The next day, we went headed right to Pigeon Forge, TN.
Now, I must first give a shoutout to Friend A. Thank goodness she's my friend and thank goodness she is willing to accompany me on weird road trips like this. I like to think we all have a little country inside of us...and if you're looking to draw it out, Pigeon Forge is the place to do it.
We get to the vicinity and immediately get stuck in unmoving traffic. It turns out that we were in town the very same weekend as the (apparently) famous Pigeon Forge Car Show. Imagine Austin traffic, combined with Los Angeles traffic and you'll get Pigeon Forge Car show traffic.
Lots of people were lining the streets with lawn chairs and coolers. I assumed there was a parade.
Well, you know what they sat about assuming things. Cause I sure was wrong.
There was no parade. It was just the locals lining up to watch the traffic come in and out.
For fun.
Maybe everyone has a bit of country in them, but clearly some have more than others.
After finally getting to our hotel, we decide to take in a theatrical dinner show. Entitled, Lumberjack Feud. A story of two families, the Dawsons and the McGraws, are in a terrible fight over which family has rights to the land. All of which started due to shady political decisions made in Washington DC thanks to the up and coming worries about environmental protection.
The two families competed all night long in various lumberjack events. Even the dogs competed (by far the best part).
It was gripping. And pretty darn entertaining. Our family lost (whatever).
We woke up, bright and early Sunday morning to head over to Dollywood (ahhhhh!) and I was super duper excited.
The park was smack dab in the middle of the Smokey Mountains, so it was surrounded by the pretty. There were a few roller coasters, some other small rides and lots of random Dolly memorabilia. A replica of her tour bus was there, along with a museum of her life. There want nearly enough Dolly music being played around the park, but that's besides the point.
We ate corndogs, people watched and rarely had to stand in long lines. My kinda place.
See, dreams coming true every day. When it doubt folks, just ask yourself, what would Dolly do?
