The pig is on a trailer being pulled by a motorcycle. He seemed to be enjoying it, leaning into the corners with the air in his ears.
Once into Tennessee the plan was to go to the Knoxville Zoo. We had heard it was pretty good. Unfortunately we didn't know they were closing early for their Boo in the Zoo event. We were too late to make it worth paying full price for an hour in the zoo so we went off to find other adventures. We decided on the Museum of Art. It was very nice, although a little small. One particular exhibit was very interesting. The miniature rooms were quite something.
The real gem in the museum was the gift shop. Nestled in the back of the museum on the second floor where you wouldn't expect to find it, it had the best selection of gifts, books, and games I have ever seem in a museum gift shop. We ended up getting a few things there to tuck away for later.
Next we wondered around downtown Knoxville. Some of you know Wolfville, NS and Asheville, NC. I have always said how Asheville feels like a big Wolfville. It's a very crunchy-granola, back to the earth, sort of all natural kind of town. Well Knoxvelle felt the same only bigger and as Jane put it, even more so. It was very artsy and green, and has a huge university campus on the river. A very interesting city. We didn't stay in Knoxville but wandered up towards Oak Ridge for the night.
Oak Ridge is known for its role in the Manhattan Project. It didn't exist until the mid-nineteen forties and was known as the secret city for a while. Our first stop on Saturday was the American Museum of Science and Energy. The museum was a little dated and not quite as interactive as I had hoped it would be. The displays promoting nuclear energy were interesting but not very child friendly. I particularly liked the historical displays on the Manhattan Project and the A-bomb but I think Isabelle's favorite part was likely the games in the lobby and the two robot arms. They were pretty cool since you could control them and build things using foam blocks and balls in the large display case. To be honest most of the museum felt a little 1950's or 60's. I'm glad we went but likely won't be back.
Next was the complete opposite end of the spectrum. The Museum of Appalachia is in nearby Clinton. It is on several acres of beautiful Tennessee countryside and has some beautiful and interesting houses and structures. It felt a little like Ross Farm back in Nova Scotia. The walking tour took through the Appalachia Hall of Fame were we saw all sorts of memorabilia and other interesting artifacts. Here is some of what it looked like.
And a pretty good shot of the girl at her best (yet again she was a trooper through the whole three day adventure...)
Some of the local residents on the grounds of the museum.
An old postbox, for Jane, but not as nice as mine.
Some of the old houses on the grounds. We visited Mark Twain's family cabin. It wasn't originally located there but was moved in 1995.
That evening we had some time to kill before heading back to the hotel so we took a little detour to Maple Lane Farms. They had a huge corn maze set-up, along with a haunted house, some small rides, and a concert stage. Our main purpose was the corn maze. It was huge. The corn was over eight feet tall and the whole thing was over 10 acres.
Here is Isabelle at the entrance.
She didn't do too bad a job of navigating her way through. There were checkpoints throughout where you had to answer questions correctly to get hints as to which way to turn.
Once we made it halfway there was no stopping her!
Here is the view from one of the bridges. In the distance is the other bridge, almost to the tree line.
As Grumpy would say: the corn was as tall as an elephant's eye.
And finally the end. We only got hopelessly lost once.
Day three took us to Cades Cove in the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. We went early in the hopes of avoiding the traffic on the 11 mile one way loop. We were mistaken. There was no way to avoid the traffic. In the end we only drove half the loop and took a primitive road out of the park a back way. Even that road was busy.
The hold up was usually someone stopped dead in the trail to take a few shots of deer. They were everywhere, but you would have thought no one had ever seen any. The signs that said not to stop didn't seem to matter. Eventually the park wardens would show up on foot or on bike and move things along.
This part of the park was breathtaking. The views were better int he clear fall air and the leaves were just in the middle of changing to their fall colours. It is likely the best time of year to visit, and everyone else thought so too.
There were pull-outs and other attractions along the way, including lots of original buildings and stories to go with them. It would have been an amazing place to live "back in the day."
Here are some of the deer that were causing such a stir. (We didn't stop to take these. We just rolled along carefully since the little fellas don't seem to mind the traffic.)
There were some interesting barns and buildings, including this drive through barn used to dry hay by pitching up through a trap door in the middle.
This is the primitive road we came out on. It was a little challenge but nothing worse than some of the back roads in Nova Scotia. The drive was pretty.
Finally we drove by Bryson City in North Carolina and took a detour up the Nantahala Gorge. This is where the Nantahala Outdoor Center is located. It was a chance to have a little walk around, see the new standing wave they built in the river, and poke around the outfitters store.
This is also where Isabelle got her first wasp sting. We have always wondered about this event. Jane hoped it would be closer to a major medical facility. The problem is that there are allergies in Jane's family to bee and wasp stings. In the end there were no complications, just two relieved parents. Like I said earlier, she was a trooper.
Finally here are the fruits of our labors from last Wednesday. We had some friends over to carve pumpkins. For some of them it was the first time. The one on the top right is mine. No one can say I'm not a company man.
And again in the dark.
Finally I leave you with a new look for Isabelle. Most of you have likely never seen her with her hair straightened. It's not permanent, but just a little something she came back from the salon with. Pretty cool, but I think like her curls better.
