Search for Adventure: "Hello Again, Dolly!"
SFA switched it up on our second annual trip to Dollywood. We were a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. Instead of our usual 8 hour road trip, this year we flew to Nashville, then drove the rest of the way.
Five ladies and two staff had a rollicking good time in the land that Dolly built. It was Barbeque and Bluegrass week: how serendipitous.
Right out of the gate, or in this case just inside the front gates, we were serenaded by "The Willis Clan," an insanely talented family of twelve kids (and two enthusiastic, if not tired, parents). The kids gave us a preview of some tunes they might perform when they are on Americas Got Talent this season.
After that piece of bluegrass awesome, we wanted more, more, more! The Dugger Band obliged, and serenaded us with covers and classics as we danced, and ate cookies the size of our faces. (Hey, don't judge. At least we passed on the 5 pound slices of apple pie they were serving...)
We finished the day with a madly entertaining musical revue, "Dreamland Drive-In" with hits spanning from the 50's to the 80's, and told in the context of a love story. Oh yeah - we swooned.
Day two started out with a breakfast outdoors in the kind sunshine of Tennessee, followed by a serious shopping jaunt in the whimsical Moon Pie country store. We bought some old fashioned grape juice in bottles, mini-moon pies, then had a little picnic right there in the store! We sat at a wooden kitchen table nestled in the middle of a display of Betty Boop and Felix the Cat fridge magnets, a rack of homemade preserves, and the biggest collection of vintage tin signs you ever did see.
The final kaboom was the Smoky Mountain Opry. Pigeon Forge may be three hours away from Nashville, but there is no distance at all between the talents on their stages. It was clean and classy: family entertainment done right. It was part magic show, part country showcase, part comedy show, and all super fun.
Let me just put it this way: We will always love you, Dollywood.
SFA: next stop? Tune in to find out. It's gonna be amazing...