Smoky Mountains Trip; Day 4

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Heather, our wonderful daughter-in-law!  Hope your day was wonderful.

After gassing up we departed London, KY at 8:45 under clear skies with a temperature of 72.  We headed south on I-75 towards Cumberland Falls.I-75 southbound

It was a pretty ride west from I-75 to Cumberland Falls and we enjoyed walking around and climbing in the park.the crew at Cumberland FallsWe enjoyed the falls and the Cumberland River but there was a lot of trash laying about.  People are pigs.

We made our way back to I-75 and took off southbound for Knoxville, TN.  Mel has an old childhood friend, Scott, from when he lived in Topeka a very long time ago.  Scott, his wife, Dena and their 3 children met us at El Charro Mexican Restaurant in Knoxville.  Scott is a very nice guy with a neat family.

After lunch our route took us through Knoxville.  We saw the “Sunsphere”, a remnant of the 1982 World’s Fair held here.  Chris and I actually attended that event with good friends Frank and Terri.downtown Knoxville, TN; this tower and gold ball is a remnant from the 1982 World's Fair (which we attended)The day’s ride came to an end in Gatlinburg where we holed up at the LeConte View Motel.  We enjoyed a dip in the pool (outdoors this time) and a walk around Gatlinburg before calling it a night.  We enjoyed a ride up the mountain in the Sky Lift and some ice cream.  Mel and I also did a little sampling of the whiskey at Davy Crockett’s Whiskey store.whiskey shots - Gatlinburg (cinnamon whiskey was very good)

We rode 167 miles today with a high, again, of 88.  SWEET weather!

For more pictures from today click on the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/6147040028584478497?authkey=CMC6meWjkLXPjwE

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