The day started with me going down to the lobby to collect our breakfast boxes, while Mom stayed in the room. One unfortunate reality of coronavirus times was that those hot breakfast buffets, where you and all your fellow road warriors would chow down before getting back on the highways, were gone. In their place was a cold sterile cardboard box. Not even remotely good enough. We made due though and got a move on.
We were headed west to Tennessee. Ever since I was a kid I had wanted to see Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Now with international travel shutting down, I figured it was time to strike. To get there we would need to navigate the mountain passes of Southwestern Virginia. I remembered back to a January day seven years before when I had to leave in haste to avoid being stuck in them during a once in a decade snowstorm on my way down to a new life in Texas. The snowflakes ominously falling thicker and thicker still linger in my mind.
Across the Tennessee border we were greeted by pleasant temperatures, fireworks stores, and an Arbys. The whole place seemed a little less
hurried and more to the New York we had left a few days earlier. The sunshine and green grass would be as we headed deeper into the state. As we closed in our destination, we could actually see the clouds hovering like smoke around the mountains. So thats how they got their name!
I wasnt sure what I expected Gatlinburg to be, but it managed to surprise me. Upon arrival, it felt a bit like a hidden resort town carved out amongst natural beauty. There wasnt much going on around our hotel, but I could sense some action in the main street down below. We decided that after a nap, we would go out to dinner downtown to try to get a sense for the place.
That evening turning left onto the main street, we were left shocked. This place was packed. The sidewalks were positively bustling with hordes of happy people. I had to say that this Gatlinburg was pretty honky tonk and garish, but I was digging the vibe. It led me to thinking though, that no one should worry about tourists returning This city block showed me that if the
The original restaurant we were aiming for was so crowded and would require an impossible left, that we gave it a miss and kept on driving. Eventually, in the back streets we came across Peddlers Steakhouse. The parking lot seemed to be full, but we decided to chance it. As luck would have it, a car right in the front was pulling out and we wound up with best parking spot in the place. We wore our masks from the entrance to the table and then promptly took them off when we sat down.
The wood and stone interior was warm and inviting. From the looks of it, the people in Gatlinburg had embraced indoor dining far sooner than our native New Yorkers. Back home we would frequently find ourselves the only ones eating inside, while most everyone else crammed together eating outside. Here though, all the available tables inside had customers seated. The table that warmed my heart the most was a table of about twenty convivial young people, who seemed to be having some kind of belated graduation party. Signs of life resuming.
by our waiter that the salad bar was still closed. Not to worry my good man, not for your salad. here for your meat and sweets. I ordered a nice 12oz steak and Mom ordered the fillet mignon. The steak was so big, that I could not finish it, well at least not and still have room for dessert. I had my eye on the blonde brownie with pecans, chocolate sauce, and vanilla ice cream. Decadent and delicious. I had the steak wrapped up to supplement tomorrows breakfast box.
We were glad that we had arrived early, because when we left we saw a multitude of people hanging out in the parking lot waiting to get in. Everyone there just wanted to have fun and enjoy life again after the events of the spring. It was a mountain cold night and many people had thrown on heavy jackets. We slow cruised back to the hotel taking in the scene.
