I arrived in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, a day early to allow for a leisurely setup for the ‘Corn Party’ trade show. This well-attended show caters to pumpkin and tourism farms across North America and is held in a different location each year. After a very long day of travel and a midnight arrival, I was ready to sleep in a little and relax. With last night's time shift, I was operating on a four-hour time difference from home. This afternoon I made time for a quick visit to the popular downtown corridor. Pigeon Forge has a six-lane main road with hundreds of tourist attractions lining both sides. The attractions were varied, with plenty of eating establishments, dinner shows, entertainment venues, countless gift shops, go karts, lots of mini-golf and many other things that defied description. Many were well done, most were interesting and some made me laugh out loud. Each did their best to stand out from the crowd, some with class… and others… well they did their best. I took a few pictures for future inspiration. The phrase ‘Made you look!” came to mind often. Here’s one unusual gift shop example…
Travel adventure
Travelling these days often means multiple flights, long layovers, and the inevitable delays along the way. I’ve learned to go with the flow, no matter what happens. I count these things as part of a grand adventure rather than an inconvenience. I was up at 4:00 a.m. to head to the airport in the big city. Traffic was light, the parking was quick, and passage through customs was a breeze. Our plane was a little late departing, but there was no worry, for I had a three-hour layover in Chicago. I discovered on my arrival that my next plane to North Carolina was delayed. That allowed even more time for a leisurely lunch and ample opportunity to stake out a prize window seat overlooking the busy airport. The extra time allows me the luxury of answering emails, perhaps a little sketching and even time to review my trade show presentation before the next leg of my journey begins. I still should be in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee by midnight.
Wall to wall pavers
Other than peeking in on the crew a few times, I never got a chance to help lay the courtyard pavers. My job was to do some design work, attend an afternoon meeting, and make final arrangements for my upcoming trip (tomorrow morning) to Tennessee for a farm convention. The crew worked hard and made great progress. The middle section of the paver is almost finished. That means each remaining tile has to be custom measured, cut and fit into place. It’s a time-consuming job, but the result looks fabulous! We are almost ready for the deck furniture. Stay tuned…
