DAY THREE

ASHEVILLE, NC - GATLINBURG, TN - NASHVILLE, TN - JACKSON, TN

469.9 Miles. Departed Asheville: 8:45am. Arrived Jackson, TN: 9:30pm.

Today we attempted to go visit the Biltmore Estate after leaving the hotel, but once we got there we saw that it cost $60 per person and decided it wasn't happening... Instead, we drove to Gatlinburg, TN. The drive was gorgeous, through the Foothills parkway, and along I40 through the Great Smoky Mountains. 

I40 West through the Great Smokies

We arrived in Gatlinburg at 11am, and were a little disappointed by its character. It reminded me completely of Niagara Falls - you can't look anywhere without seeing a Ripley's Believe it or Not or a Margaritaville. We only spent a few minutes here, and decided to drive on to Nashville. This drive was l-o-n-g. It started through Pigeon's Forge, TN - a very weird place which is the home of Dollywood, and has about 30 different mini-golf and go-kart courses. 

Who doesn't want to go to a lumberjack attraction?

We unfortunately received our first (and hopefully only) speeding ticket from the world's nicest cop in Sevierville, TN. We got on the highway and stayed on until stopping for lunch at Hardee's, which neither I or Kenny had been to before. It was alright... I still prefer Burger King! 

We eventually got to Nashville at 4pm (after gaining an hour and entering a new time zone) and went straight over to the Grand Ole Opry. There wasn't a show going on tonight, so we just looked around a bit before driving into downtown Nashville.

Grand ole opry

 It wasn't really what I was expecting, and we really only saw the area around Broadway - full of bars, saloons, and honky-tonks ALL boasting live music. 

We spent some time at Robert's Western World, and had a traditionally Tennessee meal of Fried Pickles, Fried Bologna sandwiches, and PBR. Everything was tasty, and the music was great! 

fried pickles... yummm

Eventually, we decided to get a move on for Memphis - and made it about 2/3rds of the way to Jackson, Tennessee. We stopped at a Days Inn, which I have realized is SO SO  much better than Motel 6.