For the interesting flashback fun, the Part 1 of the series.... Read here.
As I hit the bed in a hope to dissolve in some sound sleep, I heard some weird noises quite frequently. All my friends had already slept by then. I jumped from the bed to check if the doors were latched properly. Fear of bears had crept in me already:-P. The terrified part of me browsed for safety tips for avoiding bear attacks. As though I completely mastered the art of bear attack just by surfing net, I closed my eyes, hell damn tired. No bear or no dream. Just, Sound sleep.
As I hit the bed in a hope to dissolve in some sound sleep, I heard some weird noises quite frequently. All my friends had already slept by then. I jumped from the bed to check if the doors were latched properly. Fear of bears had crept in me already:-P. The terrified part of me browsed for safety tips for avoiding bear attacks. As though I completely mastered the art of bear attack just by surfing net, I closed my eyes, hell damn tired. No bear or no dream. Just, Sound sleep.
Fun Adventures
of Day 2:
1) Scenic Helicopter Tour
We were up and ready by 8 in the
morning. After heartily eating our home
made breakfast (it was more like home in a day), we set ourselves for the first activity
for the day .The booking for the
Helicopter tour, Gatlinburg was made on the way as we drove downhill. Under
thirty minutes, after journeying in the Crissy-cross and hair-pin-bend roads we reached
the spot for some aerial fun.
We went in 2 batches of 3 each for the sight seeing. At my turn I chose
to sit next to the handsome pilot.*wink*. The scenic helicopter tour put us above Great
Smoky Mountain National Park. We
chose for a short tour to fit our time, budget and desire. The longer
tours extend further into the national park with views of such places as Cades Cove, The Chimneys,
Clingmans Dome, The Sawteeth and Mt LeConte.
Watching the vast
expanse of the mountain valleys, pristine estuaries and the adjacent foothills
of the national park from the unmatched vantage point was awe-inspiring and a
memorable experience. I went on to capture the grandeur and the glory of the view
from the seat of a black and yellow Scenic helicopter. This is a once in a lifetime
experience that cannot be missed. The prices does not pinch too hard in your pockets
too.
2)Oh
some shopping please!- At the Yard sales.
Though
I am technically not supposed to put this one under the main topic of fun
adventure. I bet it was sure so much adventure for the guys to come along with
us for the shopping endeavours in the burning summer heat. And for the 2 ladies of the troop we are
best at shopping, irrespective of weather. We bought a bag, a fedora , a tennis
racket and some home decors. Oh Yay! I shopped for some dog toys and cute photo frames to gift my dogs at
India. They won’t spare me otherwise you see. I got the best offers from an American in
his 80’s ,who had patched a brilliant smile in his face. How I could resist
then?
3)Zorbing and ziplines
The
ziplines are definitely fun but since we did not find them very exciting we
opted to zorb instead. Gravity National Park offered a good deal to us for a
water Zorb. 3 among 6 settled for this event. I along with the other two sat on the
bench to relax on the delicately laid green patch of land. It was fun watching our
friends tumble down the zig-zag paths-splish and splash along the bottom of
the OGO (The OGO is like a spaceship, except its made
out of plastic and flies down a hill instead of outer space.-pun
intended). Watching their videos taken in the waterproof go-pro-cam was
hilarious. A decent deal was made grab the videos.
Zorb! Zorb
sharing some Clicks here - they are great for indoor amusements. But we were completely outdooor this time and also fell short of time to cover these.
Hollwood Wax Museum |
For some Hi-tech Fantasy games.. |
I dont want to miss this next this :( |
The Titanic Museum |
4) At the winery.Wine–tasting
Smokeys is a land of wineries. It comprises of 5 wineries
which are open the whole year except for the Christmas day. We walked into one
of them, where friendly
faces helped us to understand the world
of wine .We got free samples to taste and understand what went into our body. A
wide and unique range of wines were displayed and sold. On the whole, chilled wine after
a extreme sunny day tasted a lot better than usual.We picked a couple of interesting
flavors with less alcohol percentage.
As the night fell, our cooking and party started.
We had picked up the ingredients for cooking from a near by Walmart. I offered
to cook some Italian prawns with Indian touch and the hungry souls were happy.
My friend, the Master chef as we call him, moved his expert hands to get the main
dish ready. Rice, rasam and egg curry ( My mouth waters as I type). Our last
night in Tenesses was spent in the best way possible– lavish dinner, dancing, drinking,
games, sky watch and stories.
Day 3 –Final and the Best event
We decided to visit ‘The Virginia Safari Park’ on the way back home. It is
about 6 hours drive from Smokeys. A perfect break in a long drive too.
The Safari Experience
I
have been to several zoos in India. It is always exciting to watch animal play in their own ways. But it was better
this time as we felt there was a need and desire for people to be able to see
wild animals in their own natural habitat. Animal
Interaction was the focus of this experience.
We
were able to see animals run and frolic
with abandon on a 180-acre landscape. The animals are free to roam—no pacing
back and forth in front of a barred exhibit. In about 3 miles of drive from the
main gate we could feed the animals with the speciality grain that needs to be
purchased and can be fed through our car windows.
Initially,
though I was little hesitant and scared; after feeding couple of them it all
turned into a tremendous joy. The Safari had a vast variety of species, well
maintained in the Blue
Ridge Mountains in the Shenandoah Valley.
The experience of having a huge bull elk or camel only inches away, feeding
from your bucket, is virtually impossible to describe. This unique animal
encounter park appeals to all ages.
Take A Hop With Kangaroos!
Watching the kangaroos jump, leap, or enjoy a lazy nap in
the sun. Be on the look out for mother kangaroos with joeys (baby kangaroos) in
their pouches. That’s absolute fun. Such friendly animals they are!
Giraffe Feeding Station-
The Tiger Territory
Petting Area
Budgie Adventure Aviary
One can also see-
Cheetahs,Reptile House, Monkeys of all shapes and sizes, Giant tortoises, Warthogs
This unique animal encounter park appeals to all ages.
After half a dozen more hours of jolly drive, we reached our respective places treasuring a bunch of memories.
My Two cents: No matter what time
of year you visit Gatlinburg, you’ll be impressed with the variety of
attractions the place offers. If you love the outdoors, check out our white water
rafting trips, zip lines, Mountain walking tours and so on. If you’re more the
indoors type, be sure to visit the amazing Ripley’s Aquarium along with all the
other Ripley’s attractions.
So much to explore in this place, a short trip can never fit in.
So much to explore in this place, a short trip can never fit in.
The Icecream virtually shared. |
P.S : Photo Courtesy:Ram, Karthik and myself
Plan Co-ordinator :Gawri shankar and Sheeba ( The kind and awesome couple).
Long drive-special thanks: Tirupathi.
Very nice. short and simple:)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog posts thank you
ReplyDelete