Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN

We decided to book a hotel room during our Great Smoky Mountains road trip. The drive to the park takes more than 3 hours and we didn't want to leave too early, be on the road late or rush to see the park. Because this was a last minute decision, the closest hotel that had employee rate available was in Sevierville which is located about an hour from the park. It was ok because we were able to see more of Tennessee, particularly Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, charming towns popular with the tourists.

We had dinner at Smokies Cuban Cafe in Pigeon Forge on day 1. The fried plantains and flan were my favorite.

After being on the road all day... bed!

We stopped at a few interesting places in Pigeon Forge. This was Wonderworks, an indoor theme park.

This was the Titanic Museum where Neil broke a decorative item at the gift shop that cost $40. He was really shaken and sorry about it. We offered to pay but thankfully, they refused.

More interesting places.

We stopped by the Three Bears General Store, a big store with assorted stuff for sale. And some live bears.

Then we drove to Gatlinburg for lunch at Hungry Bear BBQ.

Around Gatlinburg. Lots to see but we just drove through because we wanted to make sure we had enough time to explore the park. I hope we can come back and explore this mountain resort city.

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