Southeast

If you have traveled to some of the touristy destinations you may have seen one of unique structures that house Ripley's Believe It or Not attractions worldwide. The outside of these oddity museums are designed to draw the attention of people passing by. What is found on the inside is just as unusual and startling. Ripley's coined the phrase "Odditorium" to describe their entertaining collection of artifacts and exhibits. We dropped by their Gatlinburg, Tennessee location to check out the oddities galore that are found inside. We want to thank Ripley's for their hospitality. Rest assured all opinions are our own. People Person [...]

A trip to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is an opportunity to get back to nature on a grand scale. Our visit required catching breaks between days of showers, which were coming from the remnants of a recent hurricane. By shifting our schedule around, we were able to enjoy a couple of days of exploring in one of the most visited parks in the nation. During our planning stage for the trip, we identified Cades Cove as a "must see" section of the park. With a full day of sunshine being forecasted, we were not going to pass up this opportunity to [...]

Wherever we travel it is our goal to help showcase some of the local eateries. In most cities, we try to feature a cross section of cuisines to allow our readers plenty of options. Most of the meal decisions are made long before our trip, so we can narrow down our destinations. Once in a while, we will happen upon a city that offers what can only be described as an excess of one particular food item. Our visit to the Smoky Mountains allowed us an opportunity for a pancake tour of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Stacks of Flapjacks We are sure most of you [...]

How many of you remember curling up with a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records? It was always amazing to read about the various accomplishments that could get you into this annual tome. As youths, we would daydream about becoming the next big record setter in some odd or outlandish scheme. Little did we know, that we would actually have an opportunity to challenge ourselves to become a record setter. During our Smoky Mountain trip, we visited the Ripley's Guinness World Records Adventure in Gatlinburg. We certainly weren't going to pass up an opportunity to make it into the record books. [...]

Finding breakfast foods in Gatlinburg, Tennessee is about as easy as falling off of a log. It seems like every other restaurant is dishing up some sort of country eats. With a day of Smoky Mountain hiking planned, we needed something that would stick with us and fuel our morning. Those early settlers in the region started their day with hearty meals, so we looked for something similar. One of the most visually appealing spaces on the strip is just a couple of blocks from the national park entrance. We were hoping to find frontier food at Crockett's 1875 Breakfast Camp. Mr. Maples [...]

The Smoky Mountains are an area that has been on our travel radar for years. We have made visits to the Rocky and Ozark ranges, but the Appalachians have always been another trip away. When we finally made our way there, we wanted to be sure to experience as much as possible. Using Gatlinburg for a home base, we had multiple excursions planned inside the national park. Climbing Clingmans Dome was one of those visits. The Hike At a height of 6,643 feet, Clingmans Dome is the highest peak along the Appalachian Trail. It also happens to be the highest point in Tennessee. [...]