My Wanderlust: #13: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Summer 2004, 2005, & 2006

This is a combination blog entry. Growing up, my mom and aunt were not talking to each other, as they had a 7-year-long feud going on. So it was hard for me to get to know my cousins on that side of the family, since I never saw them. The last time I saw them before our multiple year hiatus was when I was 7 or 8 years old. My grandparents wanted their grandkids to get to know each other, so starting in 2004, my grandparents bought an RV and decided to get their grandkids together every summer for a trip, which we called Camp Schilling. (My grandparents' last name is Schilling.) For the first 3 years, we went to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, because there was so much to do there - not just fun for kids, but fun for adults as well.

Like I said, we stayed in an RV, but since there were so many of us, we would park the RV in an RV park, and then some of us would sleep in the RV, while the rest of us slept in a log cabin. Lots of RV parks have log cabins inside the parks, so we always did took advantage of that. I remember my grandparents bought us a tandem bike (a double bike - one with two seats,) and we rode that around the RV park all the time. RV parks also usually have a game room that has things like TVs, air-hocky tables, and pool tables.

There are tons of things to do in Pigeon Forge and in the surrounding area. My family and I loved to go to the Dixie Stampede, which is a rodeo. I'm not crazy about using animals for rodeos, but as long as they are well taken care of and treated with respect, I'm not completely against it. Anyway, as long as it's a cruelty-free zone, it's a neat experience. You can eat dinner while you watch the show. There's also a huge Cabbage Patch Kids store in the area, and it's a wonderland for little kids who like dolls. Dollywood was always a fun theme park to go to. That is owned by Dolly Parton and has all kinds of fun, country-themed rides, like roller coasters, water rides, swings, Splash Mountain, a Ferris Wheel, a Mary-Go-Round, etc. One time, my family even got together and took an old-time "Wild West" saloon photo. The teen girls dressed in corsets and feathered headbands, while the little girls wore Flapper dresses, and my grandma wore a sun dress and hat. The boys and my grandpa wore coats and cowboy hats and carried shotguns. All the ladies smiled, while the gentlemen wore scowls on their faces. This was super fun!

There are so many things to do outdoors in Pigeon Forge. Our favorite past time was go-kart racing on the Wild Woody at The Track. Not only does this place have great go-karting tracks, but also there are bumper boats outside and an arcade inside. There is also a ride there called the Sky Flyer, where they pull you up about 50 feet in the air, superman-style, and when you pull the lever next to you, you drop and swing high in the air. It's the most amazing rush! I did it by myself the first time, and then when my cousins saw that I didn't die, two of them joined in, and all 3 of us were able to ride it together.

There are tons of other things to do outside too. My family and I went white-water rafting there one time. There's this place where you can go zorbing, where you get inside a human-sized hamster ball and play in the water while inside the ball. I haven't done that, but I will do it the next time I'm in Pigeon Forge, for sure. My family and I went to a water park one time, and that was fun. Be careful about potential diseases there, though. There are too many things to do in the city for me to spell them all out. It's a great place for adults, but an even better place for kids.

I don't think I got the chance to go to any of the museums down there, but a bunch of them seem like they'd be interesting. There's the Titanic Museum, the Dinosaur Walk Museum, the Hollywood Wax Museum, the Chasing Rainbows Museum in Dollywood (a museum about Dolly Parton,) & the Pigeon Forge Mill, the latter of which is not actually a museum but is surrounded around the American Civil War.

The food in Pigeon Forge is a dream for kids. There's basically carnival food everywhere. There are funnel cakes with delicious toppings, ice cream, and Dippin' Dots galore! There are a ton of country-cookin' family-owned restaurants that are worth a shot. Paula Deen even has a restaurant up there! I've never been to it, so I can't really vouch for it, but I bet it's full of buttery deliciousness.

Make sure to do everything outdoors while you're in Pigeon Forge. It's a great place to get in touch with your adventurous side. No time to back down from anything while you're there, or your vacation will be a waste. It's time to get back to nature!