CHRISTMAS IN THE SMOKIES

As we move closer to the end of the year, I found myself needing to take one last short trip. The reason that I Needed to take a trip (as if I need a reason) was two fold, first is I had a free hotel night that would expire at the end of the year and two, I needed one more night to level up and maintain my exclusive status for my preferred hotel chain. Maintaining my exclusive status is important as it allows me a longer reservations window and there is absolutely NO blackout dates. It also
affords me a large number of bonus points for each stay in 2018 which in turn allow me to accumulate free nights faster. With several trips planned in 2018, free nights are important.

So with a free hotel, I decided to head down and spend a couple of days in the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee area. It was a great time to visit as the entire area was decked out for Christmas. Plus being just a few days before Christmas, it wasn't that crowded.



I got into town early, I considered visiting the Titanic Museum but with an adult ticket at close to $30, I chose to pass and look something a little less expensive.  Eventually, I ended up at the Hollywood Wax Museum. Why would anyone pay $20 to walk through a bunch of Wax figures who don't take or do anything except just stand there. Well, I thought it was just corny enough to be fun.

After buying my ticket I am escorted to a spot in front of King King where an employee takes my photo and they will try and sell it too me later. After the photo I begin my my walk-thru with some of the biggest stars of Hollywood, including Elvis, John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and of course Dolly Parton.

It took me a little over an hour to walk through the museum, stopping along the way of course to take some selfies with the stars.

After finishing up at the Wax Museum it was time to check into my hotel and get ready for dinner and show at The Dixie Stampede.  Everybody told me that if I ever get to Pigeon Forge, "you just have to do the Dixie Stampede."  So when I first planned this little unexpected trip the first thing I did was buy my ticket online.

My ticket was for the 8:30 show and my hotel was almost directly across the street so I had plenty of time to refresh and relax. Rather than driving I opted to walk the short distance and was promptly admitted and seated.  All I can say is WOW!  Everything was outstanding. The servers were wonderful, the food was out of this world and the Christmas Show was amazing. I opted to leave the camera at home and just enjoy the experience without feeling like I had to take photos. I concur with everyone else, if you are ever in the area the Dixie Stampede is a must.

After a great show and a good nights sleep I made a quick trip up to Gatlinburg and spent an hour or so walking around some to the tourist spots on the main drag. I also made a quick stop at the Sugarland Visitors Center at the entrance to the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.  I wanted to buy my National Park Senior Pass but it is not sold here, so I walked around the small museum before heading back to Pigeon Forge and start the trek toward home.

As I was having breakfast at the hotel, I was talking with a couple of other guests, and they suggested that I visit the Alcatraz East Museum. So on the way out of town I decided to make a quick stop at The Alcatraz East Crime Museum.

Regular Admission was $24.95 but with my "Senior Discount" and an additional discount for being affiliated with law enforcement I was able to get in for just over $15.00.

Again before entering the museum, an employee will take "your mugshot" and will try and sell it too you about midway through the tour.  There are two kinds of tours, a more expensive audio tour or the regular self guided tour.  I opted for the regular self guided tour.

The O. J. Simpson Bronco

Old Smokey
Tennessee Electric Chair

The museum has a mixture of authentic crime and punishment artifacts along with several historic artifact such as one of John Dillinger's death mask, a bullet taken from the body of "Pretty Boy" Floyd when he was killed in 1934 and probably the most popular artifact, 1992 White Ford Bronco driven by Al Cowling in the O. J. Simpson Slow Speed Chase in 1994.

There is a lot to take in here and if you are a reader you can easily spend several hours here. I ended up spending a little over two hours here and really enjoyed the tour. I am glad the people I talked too at breakfast told me about it as I would have never considered it.

After finishing my tour of Alcatraz East it was time to start heading toward home but as I made my way up Interstate 81, I decided to take one final detour over to Greeneville, Tennessee and visit the Andrew Johnson National Historical Site. 

Andrew Johnson became the 17th President of the United States when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865.  President Johnson was born near Raleigh, North Carolina, but ran away as a youth and after several years he made his way to Tennessee where he became a tailor and eventually settle in the small town of Greeneville.

Here in Greeneville he operated a tailor shop and became involved in local politics.  His original tailor shop is the centerpiece of the of the National Park Service Visitors Center. The visitors center is directly across the street from the visitor's center is the Johnson's early home. It was in this house that Johnson and his wife Eliza lived from about 1830 until 1851 when they moved to their new homestead several blocks away.

The Johnson Homestead served as his home for about 24-years. He lived here both before and after his presidency and three generations of Johnson's lived here until they turned it over to the National Park Service who maintains the site today.

President Andrew Johnson was traveling in 1875 and stopped to visit is daughter Mary at her farm near Elizabethton, Tennessee. Another of his daughters, Martha was also visiting and by all accounts the family visit was an enjoyable one.  During the evening of July 28, 1875, President Johnson suffered a stroke. While receiving medical treatment he suffered a second stroke on July 30 and died early the next morning. His funeral was held on August 3, 1875 in Greeneville. His body was wrapped in an American Flag and a copy of the United States Greeneville's Signal Hill and members of his family rest beside him. This site as dedicated as the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in 1906.
Constitution was place under his head. He was buried atop

This was my third visit to the Andrew Johnson National Historical Site. The first time I visited was back in the 1990's when CSPAN was here filming their American Presidents - Life Portraits Series. I came back several years later and spent much of the day touring the site and walking around Greeneville.

Today's visit was a quick one, as I got my National Park Passport Book stamped and visited the museum and walked up town to the Homestead which was closed for renovations.  My final stop was at the monument which marks the final resting place of our 17th President a top Signal Hill.

It was late in the day and darkness comes early this time of year and it was time to make my way up home, ending this little unexpected Holiday Vacation.