Day 5: Trolleys, Penquins, and Knowing When to Head Back

 We headed out around 11-ish today — yes, another slow start for us, but by now that’s clearly our vacation rhythm. We stopped at a Dunkin because I just needed another cup of coffee!

Instead of driving, we made a very smart decision and took Mass Transit, hopping on the trolley for $3 each to head into Gatlinburg. And let me just say — good thing we did. Traffic was so bad that I am confident if Michael had been driving, we would have turned around and come straight back to the condo. Michael and Cilla took in the sights and I captured them in a couple of pictures.

We took the Pigeon Forge trolley up to the Gatlinburg Visitors Center and then switched to the Gatlinburg trolley to take us on into town. By the time we arrived… well, at least I was starving.

Y’all — there were so many people. Whew. But we spotted Blue Moose Burgers & Wings again, and the wait was only about 20 minutes, so that sealed the deal. We ate there (no regrets), watched Iowa take down Vanderbilt, and when we left, Duke and Arizona State were tied 14–14. UVA and Virginia Tech basketball was also on, and I think it may have been tied around 36–36 — if I’m wrong, please give me grace. I was keeping up with a lot of games at that point.

I’ll say it again — I really wish we had Blue Moose in Fredericksburg. I like it much better than Buffalo Wild Wings.

After lunch, we headed over to Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies. 

Cilla spent some time in the play area before we wandered through the exhibits. We saw all kinds of fish and sharks, and I managed to catch a picture of what I now call the “Cilla Fish” — she stood right in the middle of the tank and blended right in.

"Cilla Fish"

Eventually, we found what I had been waiting for — the penguins. And they did not disappoint, although we sadly missed their afternoon walk. Still, totally worth it.

From there, we headed over to Ripley’s Super Fun Zone, where they have indoor miniature golf and laser tag. We played a round of mini golf inside, which was a nice break from the crowds and the cold outside.

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Several holes you had to spin a wheel to see how you were to golf and Cilla had to do it on her knees...well one time it told me to do that and guess what...NOPE I didn't do it that way.  

Final score Pops was the winner! But to be fair none of did very well. 

Proof that on Hole 9 I got a hole in one!

By then, it was time to start heading back toward the trolley. The crowds were growing fast as people came up for the ball drop, and we knew better than to plan on staying that late.

Anakeesta is a mountaintop park overlooking Gatlinburg, reached by gondola or chairlift, with scenic views, walking paths, and attractions — and from below, it can look a little scary before it starts looking fun.  We had planned to visit Anakeesta, a mountaintop adventure park high above Gatlinburg, but from the ground it looked a bit intimidating and Cilla declined… until later, when it suddenly looked like a great idea and now it was too late. But really if we had done that we wouldn't have seen all those fish, sharks and penquins and no mini golf either.  So in the end it all worked out.

The Smoky Mountains gave us a sunset we won’t soon forget — quiet, glowing, and absolutely beautiful.

The trip back down to Pigeon Forge was quick, and once we made it back to the condo, I took one look at the traffic and made an executive decision: Uber Eats was feeding us tonight from Dairy Queen. We just ran out of steam to go anywhere else in the traffic.  

Tomorrow is our last full day here, and we already have a plan — getting up and out early for pancakes. According to Cilla, pancakes are very important, and we aim to respect that and start 2026 right! 

Stay tuned… one more full day to go.

—  💙🥞🐧