Our next stop on this leg of our RV road journey was Gatlinburg, Tennessee which has a free Trolley system that runs 365 days a year. After, careful analysis of the website you think we would be able to figure out all the particulars of the trolley system. However, for us parking and driving was easy enough so that’s what we ended-up doing.
It was great because the church parking lot offers all day, in and out parking privileges for just $5. This was a honor system where you write down your license plate number in a donation envelope and drop it in a collection box.
We decided to park here for the day and walk through the quaint little town of Gatlinburg. For those of you that might not know Gatlinburg has a total population of over 3,000 people. In the church parking lot we saw a ground hog scurrying between the cars. I had never seen one before.
Although, we were in a small town it’s interesting that Mexican restaurants are so popular. One thing that we noticed from the outside is that they’re colorful and cheery. It was beginning to pour and we needed to brighten our day. This kind of rain smelled like the earth and feels warm even if you are soaked.
We were torn between No Way Jose’s Mexican Cantina which overlooked a stream or Loco Burro Fresh Mex Cantina.
We made a run to the closest restaurant which was Loco Burro. Unfortunately, eating under the umbrellas on the rooftop patio was out of the question because of the down pour. We had a drink at the bar while we waited to be seated. It was amusing for us at the sight of the bar stools which looked like large legs of obese people. No wonder… the restaurant offered the BIG CHIUHAUHA burrito. It is a huge, very spicy burrito… It’s free if you can eat it in 30 min or less.
There was a young man taking pictures of the restaurant patrons. He said there will be a complementary photo. We knew there was a catch. He was an exchange student from Turkey. However, he ended-up taking this lovely picture of us. We had to buy it! Then we exchanged phone numbers as he is very keen to come to Toronto and we always wanted to travel to Turkey, someday.
We wanted to buy some hiking poles, a backpack, and a water bottle. The one’s we had been eyeing were at the Nantahala Outdoor Centre (NOC)
Last night we parked here NOC as the store was closed. This store was a LEED certified building and used beautiful, reclaimed wood for it’s structure. Their prices were very good and they had a 20% off coupon in the local tourist coupon book given out at the visitor centre.
We shopped for some clearance clothing they had at very good prices. In the end we had packed so little there was no harm in adding to our wardrobe. We still had another two months remaining. I decided that a lot of my clothes I was going to wear them out by the end of our travels.
Later, we drove up a steep incline to the top of the Great Smoky Mountain and looked at some of the lovely homes on it. That’s when we noticed a lot of them were boarded up and weren’t completely finished. However, the view was breathtaking. We ended-up on top of mountain where the gondola takes you. We saw the suspension bridge and decided to take the gondola up here tomorrow.
Although, we were having the time of our life. I was still hard at work and had two purchases approved for first time buyers. I work with Maria an insurance broker and we refer each other business. She helps me with collecting documents and translating for her Philippine clients who speak Tagalog. We work as a team and it makes both our jobs a lot easier. I get her clients that need mortgages, she takes care of their tax filing and insurance needs. Win, win, win… the way I like to work.
If you know a financial planner or an insurance agent, whose clients need help with their mortgage – I would love to partner with them. Call me!!!