Happy Birthday to me

My birthday was a week ago and following the tradition Kenneth has started (I hope he knows what he has gotten himself into!) we went on a trip! This time we went to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. As usual, Kenneth booked the hotel through Travelocity's Top Secret Hotels (great rates on great rooms... most of the time). Monday we set off to TN and 10 hours, one trip to Starbucks, three tanks of gas, a Chick-fil-a meal, and many bathrooms breaks later we arrived. Let me tell you, Kenneth was not prepared for what we would see next. For those of you who have not visited the heart of Pigeon Forge think Panama City Beach meets the mountains! He was shocked at how touristy it all was. As we drove down the main strip looking for our hotel, we sat in awe of all the tourist attractions feeling as if the trip was a waste of time, for if we drove down "The Strip" in Panama City we would have seen the exact same things. Riley's, Wonder Works, slingshots, goofy golf, and countless souvenir shops. Finally we were approaching our hotel, thankful to get out and stretch our legs. Looking forward to our "three star" hotel, we pulled into the Vacation Lodge. First off, just the name put us on edge, but we wanted to give the place the benefit of the doubt. We checked in, went up to the room, and were semi-shocked with what we found. While it was clean, the bed was hard and it was in no way a "three star" hotel. We sucked it up, went out on the town and found a cool local brewery, the Smoky Mountain Brewery. After enjoying the wings, onion rings and a beer sampler, we turned in for the night. To cut this story short since I know this has been a long post, we did not sleep! The next morning we got up and got on the phone with Travelocity. My parents have taught me a lot over time but one of the most useful things has been how to fight a company until things are corrected, and the best way to do this is ask for a supervisor. And that is just what I did, four times! I have been on the phone everyday this week with Travelocity's customer service trying to get a refund for he two nights we did not stay at the Vacation Lodge. At this point I guess I should say we left the Vacation Lodge that morning and got a nice room at the Holiday Inn down the street. Other than fighting with Travelocity, we have enjoyed a Moonshine tasting, three wineries, and the brewery. We went to Dollywood, spent a few hours at The Apple Barn Cider Mill where we got cobbler and icecream, apple muffins, apple butter, apple pies, and apple wine (we really like apples) walked around the Old Mill Village and I bought two pieces of Pigeon Forge Pottery for my condo, and even gave into our anti-tourist ways and played goofy golf. Needless to say, this was a wonderful vacation and I am so thankful I had this opportunity before starting PT school and losing any form of free time. As for the Travelocity thing, we are working on a refund and I will let y'all know what happens.

Next time your in Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg check out:
Smoky Mountain Brewery
Apple Barn Winery
Mountain Valley Winery
Hillside Winery

OMJ