I am uploading so many pictures, but the first purpose of this blog is to serve as a record for our family, so here goes another set! We decided to use Gatlinburg, Tennessee as our home base. Our hotel was located around the corner from the main strip, so we were in a quiet area, but able to walk downtown in just a few minutes. We arrived just before midnight from Vicksburg, so we had our first real look at Gatlinburg and the beautiful Smoky Mountains the next morning. We walked downtown to take in the sights and eat breakfast. Gatlinburg is a total tourist town with a mix of quaint gift shops and souvenir ones, spread out between several Ripley's attractions and all the varieties of mini golf a person could want. It has a quality of being wonderfully tacky and uniquely American, and I really mean that in a good way. I'm a person who has a desire for my children to see both Washington, D.C. and Elvis's Graceland....
