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I was in Knoxville, TN this past weekend. I left Thursday and came back on Monday. This was my first trip back since moving to PA. I had a lot fun. On Friday I wandered around the UT campus a bit and visited the botanical gardens. I also went to McKay's. For those who don't know it's an awesome used book store. I love McKay's so much! I picked up a few books there and then took a short nap at my friend Crystal's apartment (where I was staying) since I had been up late the night before and was tired. Later I had dinner at Stefano's. That's a local pizza place, and it's really, really good. McKay's and Stefano's are two of the things I miss most about Knoxville.
The next day Crystal and I drove into the Smokey Mountains. Being close to the Smokies is another things I miss about living in Knoxville. We drove around and I took some pictures of some pretty plants and views. From there we headed to Pigeon Forge and got stuck in as huge line of traffic. We'd failed to realize there was a classic car show in town. However we finally made it to our destination: the Titanic Museum. By coincidence we were there on the 100th anniversary of the sinking. Because of that it was pretty crowded, but it was still fun. The museum is excellent with a lot of artifacts. It also had a replica of the Grand Staircase based on the ship's blueprints. In addition there was a room where you could touch an (artificial) iceberg and feel water that was the temperature of the ocean water the night the Titanic went down (28 degrees). In addition to the building of the ship and the sinking the museum included a small section about the movie and a part about the discovery of the wreck. The whole thing was narrated by an audio tour, and all the staff were dressed as maids or butlers from the ship. I thought it was very well done. The only things that bothered me were two items in the gift shop. One was a set of earrings and a necklace with replicas of the Titanic on them. It seemed wrong to wear replicas of a ship that killed over 1000 people. Also, the way the charms were hanging the ship's bow was pointing down like it was when it sank. The other thing was a pen that had a sliding picture in it. It slid around depending on which way you turned the pen. This one had a picture of the Titanic sliding to and away from an iceberg. However, aside from those things, I liked the gift shop. I got some postcards and a book signed by the author who was there for the 100th anniversary of the sinking.
On Sunday I just relaxed a bit. I played some video games and went back to McKay's where I got a few more books. That evening Crystal and I had dinner at Olive Garden. Overall, it was a very good visit. I had a lot of fun.
The next day Crystal and I drove into the Smokey Mountains. Being close to the Smokies is another things I miss about living in Knoxville. We drove around and I took some pictures of some pretty plants and views. From there we headed to Pigeon Forge and got stuck in as huge line of traffic. We'd failed to realize there was a classic car show in town. However we finally made it to our destination: the Titanic Museum. By coincidence we were there on the 100th anniversary of the sinking. Because of that it was pretty crowded, but it was still fun. The museum is excellent with a lot of artifacts. It also had a replica of the Grand Staircase based on the ship's blueprints. In addition there was a room where you could touch an (artificial) iceberg and feel water that was the temperature of the ocean water the night the Titanic went down (28 degrees). In addition to the building of the ship and the sinking the museum included a small section about the movie and a part about the discovery of the wreck. The whole thing was narrated by an audio tour, and all the staff were dressed as maids or butlers from the ship. I thought it was very well done. The only things that bothered me were two items in the gift shop. One was a set of earrings and a necklace with replicas of the Titanic on them. It seemed wrong to wear replicas of a ship that killed over 1000 people. Also, the way the charms were hanging the ship's bow was pointing down like it was when it sank. The other thing was a pen that had a sliding picture in it. It slid around depending on which way you turned the pen. This one had a picture of the Titanic sliding to and away from an iceberg. However, aside from those things, I liked the gift shop. I got some postcards and a book signed by the author who was there for the 100th anniversary of the sinking.
On Sunday I just relaxed a bit. I played some video games and went back to McKay's where I got a few more books. That evening Crystal and I had dinner at Olive Garden. Overall, it was a very good visit. I had a lot of fun.
