One of my favorite vacation destinations is Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina and the Smoky Mountain National Park area. There are so many things to do and many beautiful spots to see. There is a lot of good fishing in the mountain streams and lakes of the area. The Smoky Mountain area is in the Heart of Southern Gospel Music area. Many of the great Southern Gospel Music quartets and groups call this area home. The Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame is at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. There are just so many of the things that I love available in this area. In fact it is one of the areas I am considering to retire too.

I love college football and the University of Tennessee is in Knoxville. Neyland Stadium is one of the biggest stadiums in the country and as far as I know it is the only stadium where people come to the games in their cabin cruisers and house boats. It is beautiful and the Vols usually have a pretty good football team.

Further to the southeast you have Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and Gatlinburg. Dollywood is a really neat theme park that has a lot of good rides but the two things I really enjoy are all the crafts people and the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame. There is a small stream that runs through the park and a lot of the paths are by the stream or cross over the stream. Dollywood has an in-house gospel quartet that is very good and gives a lot of concerts. Of course Dollywood is owned by Dolly Parton who is there a lot of the time.

On east a little farther is Gatlinburg that has some good skiing in the winter time and the Ober Gatlinburg sky ride that takes you up the side of the mountain for a beautiful view of the town and the surrounding area.

Just East of Gatlinburg on US 441 you enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which to me is one the the prettiest places in the world. A lot of mountains are bigger, more rugged and spectacular, but none are any prettier. After you get over the pass at the top it is just a little ways to the Indian village of Cherokee. It has a lot of home made Indian crafts that are beautiful and not at all expensive.

Going on east you come to Asheville which is a beautiful city and home to the fabulous Biltmore Estate. This is a definite don't miss. The original grounds were much bigger but there is still around 50 acres I believe and the ground are manicured and just beautiful not to mention the mansion.

I just touched the tip of the iceberg of the things to do and see in the area. Hopefully this will give you a hint of why I thunk this is a ideal area for a vacation.

Learn more about this author, Bill Whitney.
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