08/30/2006
Gatlinburg-Dollywood
North America
» United States
When we were in the Tennessee area, one of my favorite stops was to Dollywood. I had actually thought beforehand that it would be kind of hokey and probably something to laugh about later, but I ended up having a really good time. Even if you?re not into the whole Dolly Pardon thing and country music, this is a great place to visit.
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those years we would travel to visit her at least once a year. A few times we made the trip twice a year, so we were able to experience this great city in both the summer and the winter. During the winter, about the only way I can describe it is like a winter wonderland. I?ve watched snow fall on Christmas Eve and Christmas day from her dining room window more times than I can count. 
Our visit with Oregon was filled with a lot of interesting activities and experiences. Just a few:
We ate at the Red Star Tavern and Roast House and I have to say that the food was just to die for. Their specialty is their wood stove smoked meat. They serve a lot of their dishes with what they call smashers, which is garlic mashed potatoes. Also really good.
When we visited Pittsburgh while visiting some friends who had moved out of state I didn?t expect to find a lot of things to do outside of just visiting with our friends. It just never seemed like the kind of city that had a lot of things to do. We had a great time at Kennywood; however. 
When we first visited Tampa, I really wasn?t that excited. There were other places in Florida that sounded a lot more interesting and entertaining and I couldn?t imagine that I would find much in Tampa to appeal to me at all. I was surprised by what I found; however.
I?m not sure why, but I really did not have a clear idea of just how far the Florida Keys extend until we actually drove through them. Somehow, in my mind, I imagined that they were much closer together. Still, despite the fact that I was obviously wrong about their geographical perspective, nothing can really prepare you for the sheer beauty of the Keys. 
When we were in Florida a couple of years ago we made a trip through Everglades National Park and I must say that I?m really glad that we did. A lot of this portion of Florida seems to get a lot of press because of the beaches and resort type areas but the Everglades park reminds of what Florida must have looked like before the state was settled in the prime of historic wilderness. 
Yellowstone had been high on our to-do list for awhile. Kind of a must do, actually. My favorite part of the whole trip was getting to see all of the various wildlife in the park. This is really a treat if you don?t get to see a lot of different types of wildlife in your home environment; which is the case for us. 
I had wanted to visit colonial Williamsburg for a long time so when we finally got there I had a hard time containing myself and deciding on everything that I wanted to do. Of course, Williamsburg is a great place to visit if you?re a history buff. If you?re not, I would imagine that it would be fairly boring and not very interesting. This is a great place for seeing re-creations and getting an idea of how early Americans lived. 
A few years ago, a friend of mine visited Park City for a business conference and when she came back I don?t think she stopped talking about it for six months, maybe more. I really think that if she could have convinced her husband to do it, she would have moved there. So, when we had the opportunity, I knew I had to see it for myself and find out what she was raving about.