The Road to Dollywood

Maybe it was a desire to chase fall foliage, or maybe it was the persistent belief that we should’ve elected Dolly Parton for President (I’d voted for her). But thankfully once again, Kara needed little convincing for us to take a road trip—this time, to Dollywood. I’d driven this way once before, but the east-west size of Virginia always surprises me. Along the way we made two exciting stops: the Route 11 Potato Chip factory, and the new Buc-ee’s. We were lucky to stop at the chip factory on a weekday so we could see all the equipment in action (the peeler/slicer was so impressive!), and to sample most of their flavors before stocking up with the factory discount. It was even the right season to get their Yukon Gold chips. 

Potato Chip sampling

And this Buc-ee’s was just as popular and clean as the others we’ve visited. The long drive also left plenty of time to listen to a biography and brush up on our Dolly knowledge.

This is the first Buc-ee's in Virginia and just opened within the last year

It was late afternoon when we arrived in Pigeon Forge, and after checking into our hotel we walked around downtown for a bit before dinner at the Old Mill Restaurant. It was clearly a town driven by tourism, and occasionally we’d hear the train whistle from Dollywood ringing through the valley. 

Old Mill Restaurant

We’d heard good things about the restaurant from friends who’ve been there, and it was fun meeting our fellow tourists as we were seated around a large round table, but it was so late by the time we finally sat down that I couldn’t finish the enormous pieces of fried chicken (hooray for leftovers).