Gatlinburg, Tennessee

We took a short road trip yesterday to Gatlinburg, TN. It was Tim's Birthday so instead of working at the farm we all took the day off and headed to Gatlinburg. George and Lisa joined the Birthday boy and I for the day. They had been to Gatlinburg several times. This was the second time I have been to Gatlinburg (TLC Tour) but this was Tim's first time. Lisa and I wanted to go to Gatlinburg to visit the Craftman"s Fall Festival going on at Gatlinburg's Convention Center. It was full of artisans and their beautiful work. We did some shopping but I cannot show you what we got because most of the items are Christmas presents. We did get a couple of really cute decorations for our mail boxes but you will just have to wait and see them when it is time to put them up. Lisa bought Thanksgiving and Christmas so your wait won't be too long to see one of them. After we left the Convention Center we walked around Gatlinburg; it is definately a tourist destination and there is a lot of things to do. We were on a mission, to find a place to eat. Since it was Tim's Birthday he chose to eat at Loco Burro Fresh Mex Cantina. We wanted to sit out on the patio or roof top but it was too long of a wait so we ate at one of the high tops instead. The restaurant was cutely decorated and the chips and salsa were good. We ordered some queso dip and that was really good. The food was good but the service was a little slow and we were in there during a quiet time. After lunch we walked around Gatlinburg and did some shopping. Gatlinburg is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, TN. It's nickname is "Gateway to the Smokey Mountains" because it borders the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Gatlinburg is surrounded by high mountain ridges; Le Conte and Sugarland Mountains to the south, Cove Mountain to the west, Big Ridge to the northeast and Grapeyard Ridge to the east. U.S. Route 441 is the major road running through town and was once the route the Cherokee and early settlers would follow from North Carolina to Tennessee. Gatlinburg was first settled by William Ogle in early 1801 but when he returned home to South Carolina to bring his family back he died of malaria in 1803. His wife and grown children, along with her brother, came to settle in the area in 1806. Some of their ancestors still live in the area today. Gatlinburg was named for Radford Gatlin in 1856 when he established a post office in his general store. Most of the residents hated Gatlin but the name of the town was never changed. Today Gatlinburg is a popular tourist destination and yesterday was no exception. It was busy but that did not stop us from having a good time there. There is still a lot of Gatlinburg we have not seen yet so we will be returning soon; especially during the Christmas season. The town gets decorated with lights and they are everywhere! Tim had a great birthday and I am glad we did something special for him. Today Lisa and I are going to visit our fourth and fifth fall festival. For the past three week ends we have gone to a fall fest but this week end there are two. Depending on how good they are we will either see one today and one tomorrow or both today. Check back and see which way we went!