What brought us to Tennessee? Our three year anniversary. The hotel we have points with put us up for free for a couple nights. Danielle has been to Nashville and loved it, and said nothing but wonderful things about Tennessee from her drive through after military training. The total expense for the trip was minimal and we figured why not? We both travel so much individually that it was time to go somewhere together.
When you only have two and a half days in one town you try to knock out the best parts. Gatlinburg seemed like it had it all from the first glance. It has the Smoky Mountains which provided us some hiking and outdoor relief, the moonshine distilleries, and a highly rated aquarium for when the weather turned bad. We enjoyed the atmosphere of Gatlinburg. People loved America, God, and good whiskey. Country music played everywhere and pancakes were a must have for breakfast. At the Sugarland Distillery, people chanted “U.S.A” and, “AMERICA,” as they took shots. The streets remained crowded until well after midnight. It was the heart of the United States.
Dollywood was only a short ride away in Pigeon Forge. It has the reputation for being one of the most conservative theme parks in America, despite Dolly Parton having quite the gay male following. The drive from Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg is one that probably has not changed since before the Civil War. Large wooden crosses were at every mile marker along with billboards condemning abortion but supporting gun rights. Confederate flags flew high on almost every flagpole we saw. I’m not saying this is right or wrong, just different from our everyday life in New England and a bit of a culture shock.
The first morning we woke up in Tennessee, Danielle picked out a restaurant to eat pancakes at. There are quite a few in Gatlinburg, and to mention all of them would be a bit overwhelming, but we chose one close to where we were staying. We decided to take a selfie in front of the pancake house. As we huddled together with our arms around each other and took our phones out, someone drove by and yelled “dykes” out their car window. Something else was also said, but Danielle and I couldn’t quite make out what. We continued taking the selfie, laughing about how we weren’t in Kansas anymore. We were yankees and we had accents, according to the woman at the cash register in the pancake house who checked us out after we finished eating. Danielle and I kept hand holding to a minimum after leaving the pancake house. Not because we were worried for our safety, but because we wanted to have a drama free stay.
We continued our day and hiked along the Smoky Mountains, keeping to ourselves and enjoying the solitude that the park provided. The Smoky Mountains, and I might seem bias here, had nothing on the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The visibility was limited (they are called the “Smoky” mountains for a reason) and a lot of the vegetation was dead. We were told that the best time for viewing them is in the fall with the foliage because the visibility is better. We knocked out Clingman’s Dome and Cades Cove which were not as strenuous as the North Eastern portion of the Appalachian Trail.
The next day, we enjoyed the moonshine distilleries that Gatlinburg had to offer, played mini golf, and walked around town for a little while before making our way to the aquarium. There were a lot of stores that carried biblical artwork of Jesus and Mother Mary which seemed creepy more than religious. A few stores were selling T-Shirts that said, “I will be gay for $20” and “I’m not gay, but he is” with an arrow that is supposed to point to the person standing next to you. I made a joke that I was going to buy the T-Shirt for Danielle, but in the back of our minds we were both thinking that our visit to Gatlinburg would probably be our first and our last.
The Ripley’s Aquarium in Gatlinburg was incredible. There is a shark lagoon that you walk under and the aquarium has every species of fish you can think of. It held up to everything we expected it to be based on the reviews. We almost took it off of our schedule and we are glad we decided to make time for it.
Top 5 Travel Tips:
- Bring serious bug spray for the Smokys. It was the black fly capital of the south when we were visiting in mid May. The regular stuff won’t cut it.
- Even if you are not huge on whiskey, the distilleries are a must see just for the experience and atmosphere.
- A lot of the bars have live music and the singers in Gatlinburg are incredible. Check them out if you find yourself up late.
- Skip the Guinness Book of World Records Museum and the Hollywood Car Show if you do not have kids.
- Plan your trip for the fall when the visibility is better and fall foliage is out.
Lesbian Friendliness Meter: 2/5
Gatlinburg left a lot to be desired in terms of being accepting to the lesbian community. But the moonshine is worth the trip.
Sisterhood of the Traveling Lesbians 