Thrilling, Chilling Gatlinburg in 24 Hours

The Better Half and I had a birthday to celebrate and a work break of 24 hours - what to do? Not a hard decision with the Smokey Mountains in your backyard on a gorgeous autumn day and the screaming, chilling, thrills of the Haunted sights of Gatlinburg......(insert Twilight Zone music here)


Starting Our Day at Look Rock
We started our morning driving the Foothills Mountain Parkway and enjoying the views (going on a weekday definitely helped with the traffic). I hadn't been to Look Rock in a long time and wanted to see the gorgeous views again. The 360 degree panoramic is fantastic. To get to the observation tower, follow the signs to the trail head on the west side of the Parkway. Take the trail up to the service road, and turn left on the road to reach the tower.
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Then On to Gatlinburg....
With Halloween around the corner, I managed to convince the Better Half that this was our opportunity to  check out all the scary and thrilling things to do. We started out with the Sky Lift with a ride to the top of Crockett Mountain at 1800 feet (ok - maybe not so thrilling in the scary sense, but it was plenty thrilling in the sights department. Also the thought that of how far I would drop if anything bad happened was plenty thrilling enough).


With the success of not falling off a Sky Lift chair, we wandered onto the main street in search of our next adventure and found Earthquake - which wasn't much of a quake...maybe a slight tremor. We gave it 4 cheeses on the Cheesiest scale - with 4 meaning it doesn't get much cheesier. Next we tried Hauntings which wasn't quite haunting. Maybe a 5 year old would get scared, but who wants to scare a 5 year old? Another 4 cheeses on the Cheesiest scale.


Would Ripley's Haunted Adventure Save the day?
Ripley’s advertises that their Haunted Adventure is a multi-million dollar haunted house featuring live actors, animatronics and bone chilling special effects......and they're right. The Better Half and I were thoroughly entertained with not only the effects, but the actors. They did their job well, from the ticket taker to the guy at the end that chased us out (can't say - no spoilers here!). We were taken through the house with 4 other young adults that gave the attraction a solid A. No cheeses here - all stars! Fair warning - I really did get scared, scared (not just fun scared) at one part where the plastic walls seemed to close in on me. Fortunately the Better Half told me to look up where you could see that there really wasn't a grand plan to keep us forever.......


Dining
Lunch was on the patio of Blaine's Grill and Bar where we had the best sandwiches and their signature Blaine's Magic Margarita which you HAVE to order. Dinner was my favorite, Cherokee Grill, with the best steaks in town.

10 Reasons to Visit the Hard Rock

10 Reasons to Visit the Hard Rock
In honor of 10/10/10, the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas will celebrate with bonuses throughout the day at the property: Get a room upgrade (based on availability) for $10; 10 slot players will receive $1,000 from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; get a 50-minute massage at Reliquary Water Sanctuary & Spa for $110 (normally $125); get a $10 manicure at BrannonHair, and more.

Universal Orlando Horror Nights!!

For nineteen years he's been behind every scream. Now, the thing you most have to fear is… FEAR himself! Experience the nation's premier annual Halloween event – Halloween Horror Nights® XX: Twenty Years of Fear, only at Universal Orlando® Resort. Select nights September 24 – October 31, 2010.

Buy your 2-Day Park-to-Park with Halloween Horror Nights® combo ticket in advance and SAVE! At Universal Orlando® Resort, explore two AMAZING theme parks with a 2-Day Ticket with park-to-park access. Plus experience the ultimate fear with admission toUniversal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights (not including Saturday event nights). From $184.99*  per adult, plus tax Or, make it a COMPLETE VACATION! Receive all the inclusions listed above plus three (3) nights hotel accommodations at a Universal Partner Hotel, access to live entertainment** at Universal CityWalk® and Early Park Admission^ to Universal’s Islands of Adventure®to enjoy select attractions before the rest of the general public. Only $134†  more per adult, tax inclusive

EVENT MAY BE TOO INTENSE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN AND IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 13. NO COSTUMES OR MASKS ALLOWED.

36 Hours in Gatlinburg, TN

The New York Times once did an article about spending 36 hours in Gatlinburg (a quote - "you can't get any closer to the misty blue peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park than Gatlinburg, Tenn., a town of 3,700 outdoor and arts aficionados.") So - in honor of an upcoming birthday, the better half and I are going to do this. I'll let you know if it can be done and if it really should be done in this way (after all, they are New Yorkers, you know.....wink, wink!)


Talk to y'all on Monday!

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/04/28/travel/escapes/28hours.html

Just beautiful, don't you think?