Friday's FIVE!

In anticipation of our upcoming hiking trip to Great Smoky Mountain National Park - last week's Friday's FIVE! was a tribute to five of my favorite GSMNP hiking trails... This week I will highlight 5 of our families favorite "Parkway" hotspots. We truly do travel to GSMNP for the beauty of the National Park - the hiking and the amazing views...but after a hard day hiking, it is fun to stroll the Gatlinburg strip and experience some of the touristy schmaltz. There are some people that never make it south of Stop light #10 - and actually come to this area just for the downtown attractions - we are not those people... but I'm not ashamed to admit that we have fun while we are there...

1. The Big Floating Marble Ball at Ripley's Believe It or Not! http://www.ripleys.com/ I think we only visited the attraction one time... but a stroll down the Gatlinburg strip isn't the same without a quick push on the big floating ball.

2. The Fudge Shoppe - I LOVE Chocolate Pecan or Chocolate Walnut!!! Such a well deserved snack after an 8 mile hike!!! http://www.fudgeshoppeofthesmokies.com/

3. Smoky Mountain Brewery http://www.smoky-mtn-brewery.com/ Bruce and I love the Smoky Mountain Brewery - and the micro-brews.... We like to get a sampler and discuss and compare the attributes of the Black Bear Ale or the Cherokee Red ... We are usually visiting during the seasonal tap of Octoberfest...one we both really enjoy!!

4. Ripley's Believe It or Not! Aquarium http://www.ripleysaquariumofthesmokies.com/ Yes - it's true... this is one of the 'attractions' on the strip we really do enjoy. It is a wonderful aquarium ... and worth the price of admission.

5. Beneath the Smoke http://thegreatsmokeymountainsparkway.com/_shoppi/gsbensmo.htm I love this shop on the Parkway. It has wonderful prints - and paintings of the hiking trails and falls in the GSMNP ... there are wonderful wildlife photos and prints - a great collection of Big Sky Bears and various other interesting mountain collectibles, books and 'kadooies'....

Honorable Mention

The Happy Hiker - http://www.happyhiker.com/ This is a great Outfitter that isn't directly on Parkway... but it is a great place to browse and find supplies and accessories for hiking or kayaking.