We started off the new year in 2026 with a cool hike at Bass Lake Park. This beautiful park in Holly Springs is less than 20 minute drive from where we live.
เราไปประเดิมการเดินป่าครั้งแรกของปี 2026 กันที่ Bass Lake Park สวนสาธารณะที่สวยงามแห่งนี้ตั้งอยู่ที่เมือง Holly Springs ขับรถจากบ้านเราไปเพียงแค่ 20 นาทีเท่านั้น
There is a park office and a boat house at the beginning of the trail, right by the parking lot. Besides fishing 🪝, boat rentals 🛶 are available daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
The 1.9-mile Lake Trail goes around the picturesque lake, and is connected to Carl Dean Greenway. There is clear mileage signs posted throughout the entire route to let you know how far you have been.
เส้นวงแหวนที่นี่มีระยะทาง 1.9 ไมล์ให้เดินเลียบชมวิวริมทะเลสาบ และสามารถไปเชื่อมต่อกับเส้นทางกรีนเวย์ Carl Dean ตลอดทางมีป้ายบอกชัดเจนให้รู้ว่าเดินมาไกลเท่าไหร่แล้ว
It’s not very impressive on a sunny winter day, with mostly brown, barren trees, but I figured it would be lovely during Fall & Spring.
We finished the 1.9 loop and added a bit more for extra mileage. By the time we got back to the car, we clocked in at 2.56 miles, and it took us just under an hour. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed this cool hike on a very nice winter day. 🥰
We were back on the trail this weekend because I saw a post on the Facebook NC Mushroom Group that somebody spotted a set of beautiful flushes of oyster mushrooms at Schenck Forest. Naturally, we had to go scour the forest and see if we could witness this nature’s wonderful blessing with our own eyes. 😉
After getting several beautiful shots, we proceeded along the trail with no other expectation whatsoever, since we had seen what we came here for. 😇 The woods are littered with tons of fallen leaves but it was beautiful, in its full past Fall’s peak glory. 🥰
We trekked along in peace, until my eagle-eyed husband called out a potential mushroom 🍄 spotting on a fallen log that was laid across a dried out creek. Dutifully, I scaled down the bank to try to get a closer look. 🧐 My excitement level kept escalating the closer I got to it, until I finally called it out – Lion’s Mane! 🥳
After two big scores, I was blissfully content. 😌 It has been so dry this entire year, which made me appreciate every single mushroom find a lot more than I had the past few years. That being said, other than the two prized discoveries, there wasn’t much else to be seen fungi-wise. 😅
We finished up today’s short hike with big rewards in a good mood. 🥰
วันนั้นเราจบการเดินทางอย่างอารมณ์ดี 🥰
All in all, we covered only 1.7 miles, which took us less than an hour. The weather was just perfect, not too hot, not too cold, and we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
On the drive out, we spotted this beautiful white horse grazing in the field amidst the sun setting in the background, right next to the spot where we parked, so naturally, I had to hop out to grab a shot. ☺️
By the way, right before the hike, we made a pit stop to ‘hunt down’ another ‘mushroom treasure’ with clues obtained from the wonderful app for the NC Mushroom Quest that blessed us with two Lion’s Mane spots the last time. ☺️ It was my very first time spotting and holding a Stinkhorn mushroom in my very hand! 😳 Yes, it does have a very distinct smell, but I wouldn’t really call that a stink like the name said. In any case, it was a pretty glorious moment for me nonetheless. 😆
It all started with this ad my dear husband sent me about a month ago for NC Mushroom Quest 🍄 that was taking place this past week. I thought it was a really cool idea, and was really excited to participate. The weather hasn’t been ideal with very minimal rainfall 😓, but still, I managed to punch in a total of 45 observations for 16 different species for the weeklong duration, which I am extremely proud of. 😎
About half way in, I realized that I needed to ‘upload’ my observations in order to qualify the findings. After starting the upload, it occured to me that this would mean people can see the exact locations of all my discoveries, which included a prized Lion’s Mane from my usual spot nearby. 😬 I quickly hit ‘pause’ and decided to ‘delete’ some of the most sought-after contributions before resuming my upload. 😅
With my brain in reverse-engineering mode, I had another light-bulb moment that this actually means that I too can see the locations of other people’s findings! 🤨 A quick search revealed that there had been a few sightings of Lion’s Manes in the area for the past week. Hence, we started off on our quest to hunt down these little precious mushroom gems… 🥰
First up was Schenck Forest, near the NC State campus. Before setting out, we had completely forgotten that the NC State Fair was going on this weekend. 😓 We were already in the thick of it when the heavier-than-usual traffic made us realize our mistake, so we decided to just keep on going. 😆 Parking was a bit of a challenge with the fair crowd, but we managed to snag a spot without much trouble.
เริ่มแรกที่ Schenck Forest ใกล้กับอาณาบริเวณมหาลัย NC State ก่อนออกจากบ้านลืมกันซะสนิทว่าวีคเอนด์นี้มีงาน State Fair ประจำปี ของรัฐ North Carolina 😓 กว่าจะรู้ตัวก็ไปรถติดอยู่ท่ามกลางฝูงชนซะแล้ว ก็เลยต้องเลยตามเลย 😆 กว่าจะได้ที่จอดรถก็ทุลักทุเลเล็กน้อย แต่ก็ไม่ถึงกับลำบากลำบนจนเกินไป
With everybody busy a the fair, we had the entire forest to ourselves. We were a bit skeptical about the ‘accuracy’ of these pinned locations we had obtained from the app, and didn’t really have high hopes of actually finding the spots… However, about 20 minutes in, we hit our first jackpot 🥳, with all credit going to my dear husband’s master navigation ability! 🤩
Besides THE Lion’s Mane, there were a few other mushrooms 🍄 I managed to spot while there. Of course, they all contributed to my total observation count. ☺️
Our second quest took us to Lake Crabtree, near the boat ramp. This spot was quite a bit more crowded, with a number of bikers enjoying the nice weather on the trail. This was a very quick and easy one, as we (and by that I mean Joel 😆) spotted the Lion’s Mane almost right away, within the first 5 minutes or so! 🤩 The report I saw was for only one mushroom, but when we got there, there were two at the spot. Not that I’m complaining! 😉 And, before you ask, one was already on the ground, by the way. 🙄
Last hike of the day was the Company Mill Trail at Umstead Park. This one, we went with no clue, just to test our luck. 😉 The last time we were here, we pushed our limits and did the entire loop, but this time, we only went up the the mill and then turned back. 😅
จุดหมายสุดท้ายของวันนั้นเป็นทางเดินสาย Company Mill ที่ Umstead Park อันนี้ไปคลำเอากันแบบไม่มีโพย เพื่อลองเสี่ยงดวงดูว่าจะเป็นอย่างไร 😉 คราวก่อนที่มาเราเดินกันครบรอบวงแหวน กว่าจะเสร็จลิ้นแทบห้อย คราวนี้เลยขอเดินแค่ไปถึงโม่โบราณแล้วก็เดินกลับ ถึงค่อยยังชั่วหน่อย 😅
We spotted a few mushrooms 🍄 along the way, and a couple of cool trees. 😇
Near the very end, I hit my last unscripted jackpot 😇, with a very old Lion’s Mane on this downed log. Looking closer in, I noticed a few snails tucked deep in underneath, likely spent from feasting on the delicious fungi? 🧐
For this last hike of the day, we clocked in at 2.47 miles, which took us just a little over an hour to finish. All in all, a very satisfying day with fun & rewarding mushroom hunts and great weather – what more can a girl ask for!? 🥰
After quiet time in the coffee region, we continued on to a more vibrant and popular part of the country. Salento is about an hour drive south of Pereira, but it felt like a whole world away. 😍
We stopped by at La Vaca Original Salento Km3, just outside of town, to try some local Colombian desserts. We got what the very friendly guy at the counter insisted were their best two choices. I think one was called Arroz con Leche, which was rice pudding made with super fresh milk. I’m not quite sure what the other was called but it was soaked in panela (Colombian palm sugar). Both were super sweet, and I’m so so glad we only got a small container of each. We thoroughly enjoyed them but this was definitely something to be enjoyed in small doses! 😅 From their second floor seating area, we got our first glimpse of the notorious views Salento was so famous for. 🤩
ก่อนอื่นเราไปแวะกินขนมพื้นเมืองของโคลอมเบียกันที่ร้าน La Vaca Original Salento Km3 ซึ่งตั้งอยู่ก่อนถึงเมืองซาเลนโตนิดเดียว คุณน้องเฝ้าร้านแนะนำให้ชิมสองอย่าง อย่างแรกเป็นพุดดิ้งข้าวที่แช่มาในซอสรสนมเรียกว่า Arroz con Leche อีกอันชื่ออะไรไม่ทราบแต่ทำมาจากน้ำตาลปึกของที่นี่ ชิมแล้วก็อร่อยดี แต่ว่ารสหวานจัดทั้งคู่ ดีที่สั่งมาแค่อย่างละถ้วยเล็กๆ ถ้ากินมากกว่านี้อาจจะเกิดอาการเบาหวานรับประทานได้ 😅 กินเสร็จขึ้นไปชมวิวที่ชั้นลอยถึงได้พอเห็นแว๊บๆว่าคนเค้ากรูกันมาที่นี่ก็เพราะวิวสวยๆแบบนี้นี่เอง 🤩
In Salento, we stayed at Hotel Mirador del Cocora. Our room looked out to the most mesmerizing view we had the entire trip. 😍 Cocora Valley was truly a view out of a postcard!
ที่เมืองซาเลนโต เราไปพักที่โรงแรม Mirador del Cocora ห้องที่พักมองออกไปเห็นวิวหุบเขาโคโคราตามที่เห็นมาจากในโปสการ์ดแบบเป๊ะๆ 😍 ทริปนี้จะหาวิวสวยกว่านี้ไม่มีอีกแล้ว
We had our first meal in Salento at Restaurante María Ocampos. Their vibrant decor was even better than their extensive food and drink selections, all presented in a very universal menu format! 😇
มื้อแรกในเมืองเราไปทานกันที่ร้าน Restaurante María Ocampos ร้านเค้าตกแต่งไว้เก๋ไก๋น่ารัก อาหารก็รสชาติใช้ได้อยู่ แต่ที่ชอบสุดคือเมนูที่มาเป็นรูปภาพ ไม่ต้องรู้ภาษาเค้าเราก็อ่านเข้าใจได้อย่างง่ายดาย 😇
After the late lunch/early dinner, we decided to burn off some calories by walking up to enjoy the panoramic view of Cocora Valley at Mirador de Salento. The pretty tiled steps were breezy on the way down, but they were brutal when we had to make our way back up later in the evening! 😓
กินข้าวเสร็จเราเดินขึ้นเขาไปย่อยอาหารและชมวิวหุบเขาและเมืองจากมุมสูงที่ Mirador de Salento บันไดของเขาปูกระเบื้องไว้ซะสวย ตอนลงมาก็ไม่รู้สึกอะไร แต่ตอนที่ต้องปีนกลับขึ้นไปขากลับโรงแรมนี่สิ ทำเอาลิ้นแทบห้อย 😓
So many colorful shops along Calle Real. 🥰
ร้านค้าสีลูกกวาดบนถนน Calle Real 🥰
The next morning, we set out on a hike at Santa Rita Waterfall. The trailhead was a 20-minute drive outside of town. This lush green rainforest terrain was beautiful but it certainly was not an easy hike. 😅 The drizzling rain that morning made the trail even more slick and extra muddy than usual! Even though the hike was only 3.3 miles, it took us 2.5 hours total to complete, with most of the time accounted for us watching our footing going up & down steep paths and trying not to slip and fall! 😆
After freshening up and resting a bit, we came back out to explore the remaining parts of Salento we had not seen the day before. I could never get tired of photographing these colorful buildings! 🥰
Dinner at La Tapería was the perfect way to end our last night in Salento! 😍
อาหารมื้อเย็นที่ร้าน La Tapería อาหารอร่อย บรรยากาศกันเอง เป็นการปิดท้ายทริปเมืองซาเลนโตได้อย่างสมบูรณ์แบบ 😍
The next morning, we said goodbye to our room with the awesome view, and headed out to see the world famous Quindío wax palms at Cocora Valley. These were the shots straight out from Salento postcards and every bit as awe inspiring as advertised! 🤩
Filandia was our last stop in this beautiful part of the country. Again, vibrant scenes everywhere you look. We ended the day sipping a nice cup of coffee while enjoying the perfect sunset view at Maxticafé, which is located right next to the observation deck at Mirador Del Tiempo Detenido. 😍
จุดแแวะสุดท้ายในละแวกนี้คือเมืองฟิลานเดีย บรรยากาศก็ประมาณเดิมๆ ตึกรามบ้านช่องสีสดใสไปทั่วเมือง เดินจนเหนื่อยถึงได้ไปแวะพักดื่มกาแฟชมวิวพระอาทิตย์ตกสวยๆกันที่ร้าน Maxticafé ซึ่งตั้งอยู่ติดกับจุดชมวิวประจำเมืองที่ Mirador Del Tiempo Detenido 😍
The mushroom gods have been very generous to me this past week. 😇 Considering how little rain we’ve had, I was extremely lucky to find not one or two, but THREE very highly-sought-after mushrooms this past week alone! 🤯
Starting with my routine evening walk last Wednesday, that’s when I found my very first cauliflower mushroom. 🥳 As with all my other cool fungi jackpots in the past, I went down the slope of the lake to check out what turned out to be a discarded foam container 🙄, but as I was heading back up to the trail, I spotted this fluffy whitish head at the base of a weedy shrub. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was indeed a mushroom. 🍄 Not just any mushroom, but THE cauliflower type I have seen people raving about on the NC Mushroom Facebook Group. 😳
I had my first dish cooked from it today, and I have to say it was every bit as tasty as I heard people say it would be. I still have two more batches saved in the freezer for future consumption, but I can already tell that those won’t last very long. 😆
Fast forward to Friday, and it’s another day, another cool mushroom for me! 🤩 This time, a Berkeley’s Polypore. I have found this once just a few weeks before but that particular specimen happened to be a bit old, so it did not taste very good when I tried it. This one, on the other hand, was fresh and young. And it was quite delicious when thinly sliced and fried up crisply with homegrown rosemary from our garden. 😍
Then, on our hike this past Saturday, it’s Lion’s Mane time! Spotted this one right at the start of our hike near Falls Lake. 😇 It was quite a bit past prime, but I still considered it a score! 😉
ล่าสุดเมื่อวันเสาร์ที่ผ่านมา คราวนี้เป็นตาเห็ดหัวลิงบ้าง อันนี้ตาดีไปเจอตอนกำลังจะเริ่มต้นออกเดินป่าที่ Falls Lake 😇 ถึงจะอายุเยอะไปหน่อย แต่ก็ยังถือว่ายังได้เครดิตอยู่ 😉
The weather has been so nice these past few weeks, so we were able to enjoy a bit longer hikes than our usual summer routine. This weekend we settled on Falls Lake, as it has been quite a while since we were last there. ☺️
ช่วงสองสามอาทิตย์ที่ผ่านมาอากาศดีเหลือเกิน เราเลยได้ไปเดินป่าระยะไกลขึ้นกว่าปรกติที่ได้เดินกันช่วงหน้าร้อน คราวนี้เลือกไปที่ Falls Lake เพราะไม่ได้ไปมานานแล้ว ☺️
Besides Lion’s Mane, I found a few different patches of Oyster Mushrooms during the hike. These were by far the largest ones I have ever encountered! 😳 Plus a couple others… 🍄🟫
We clocked in at 4.5 miles, which took us about 2 hours from start to finish. Signing out for now, but looking forward to getting back out for another hike next weekend! 😉
Summer weather around here has been playing nice this past week, after a good stretch of rains 🌧 the week before. So, naturally, we felt the need to set out for a hike this weekend. 😇 We arrived at the Occoneechee Loop in Carrboro, a new-to-us part of Carolina North Forest, mid Saturday afternoon and saw no other cars in the parking lot.
The entire forest was lush and green. 🌿 The weather was in the low 80s 🌞 so it was pleasant enough but we still managed to break some serious sweat, even though we were mostly in the shade the entire time.
Several trails crisscrossed time and again, but there were clear numbered blazes, as well as directional arrows, spreading out through the entire route. We ran into a few bikers 🚴 along the way, but barely any other fellow hikers.
The fungi population was clearly no longer at its prime, after more than a week with no rain, but we still managed to spot quite a few mushrooms 🍄 here and there. 😍
…plus some up close and personal moments with wildlife 🦌.
นอกจากนั้นยังมีการประจันหน้าสัตว์ป่ากันแบบจังๆ 🦌
We clocked in at 3.25 miles, which took us almost 2 hrs, with regular stops for mushrooms 🍄🟫. 😛 We will be looking forward for another hike next weekend if the weather stays pleasant like this until then! 🤞
We picked the Crow Branch Overlook Loop trail after seeing that it would take us by a small lake. The trail was easy to follow, with plenty of easy-to-spot green blazes along the way.
Just a few steps in, our presence was detected by this group of about 10 deers out for their mid-afternoon graze. Their main lookout guy keeping his eyes gazed on us the whole time while ensuring safe passage for his crew. 😆
Getting inspired by pretty local blossoms that have been popping up on my daily walks, we set out on a hunt this weekend for spring blooms in the wild. After some brief research, we settled on Eno River at Buckquarter Creek Trail in Durham.
ช่วงนี้เวลาไปเดินออกกำลังกายแถวบ้าน เริ่มมีดอกไม้สวยๆเบ่งบานให้เห็นตามรายทาง เลยเกิดเป็นแรงบันดาลใจให้ออกไปตามล่าหาดอกไม้ป่าสวยๆกันสุดสัปดาห์นี้ หลังจากค้นคว้าหาข้อมูลคร่าวๆ ก็ได้จุดหมายปลายทางเป็นเส้นทางเดินป่า Buckquarter Creek ริมแม่น้ำ Eno River ที่เมือง Durham
First pair of trout lilies spotted right at the beginning of the trail was a really good sign that we came to the right location. 🥳
The river was relatively swollen from recent rains. We weren’t sure how cold the water was since it dropped down to the low 40s last night but apparently there was a bunch of kids splashing around when we arrived… 🙄
Less than a mile in, in the woods off of Ridge Trail, we got our first daffodil patch, near an old cabin. 😍 Not much further north, there was a second cabin with a smaller patch of daffodils right by a small stream. Clearly we were a bit late to the game, but still, there were plenty of blooms to be seen.
We had one adventurous river crossing on our way back. This didn’t look like it would be that hard when we came up to it, but we ended up on all fours at times trying not to fall in. 😓
We clocked in at just shy of 3 miles. It took us about an hour and a half, including the few wildflower stops and the hairy river crossing. All in all, we had great weather and pleasant views – certainly a perfect hike in my book! 🥰
This year, we decided to enjoy fall colors 🍁 a little closer to home. I had been wanting to check out this spot in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains called Mabry Mill for a while now, and I figured it was finally the time! 😊
Mabry Mill is located near a cute little town called Meadows of Dan, just across the border over in Virginia, a mere two and a half hour drive away from where we are. With the seemingly endless summer weather we got this year, it was a little hard to figure out when would be the perfect time to go. 🤪 I originally booked the cabin for the last week of October, but decided to move it up a week, after an unexpected cold spell hit the area in early October.
Mabry Mill เป็นโรงสีเก่าแก่ที่ตั้งอยู่ใกล้ๆกับเมืองเล็กๆน่ารักทางตอนใต้ของรัฐเวอร์จิเนียร์ที่มีชื่อว่า Meadows of Dan จากบ้านเราขับรถไปแค่สองชั่วโมงครึ่งก็ถึงแล้ว ปีนี้อากาศร้อนรุนแรงมาก เลยกะไม่ค่อยถูกว่าจะไปกันช่วงไหนดี 🤪 ทีแรกจองเคบินไว้สัปดาห์สุดท้ายของเดือนตุลา แต่พอดีเห็นมีลมหนาวมาเยือนตอนต้นเดือน แล้วต้นไม้แถวนี้ชักเริ่มๆจะเปลี่ยนสีกันประปราย เลยตัดสินใจเลื่อนมาเร็วขึ้นอาทิตย์นึง
Our first stop was Puckett Cabin, which was the residence of this legendary midwife who, by the time she passed away at the ripe old age of 102, had delivered more than 1000 babies! 🤯 Sadly, none of her own 24 children survived past infancy. 🥺
We arrived at our secluded cabin just before sunset. It was a beautiful place 😍, tastefully decorated, and very basic – just what we were hoping for! My most favorite feature was the picture windows that were scattered all over the place, all of them perfectly framing the beautiful red and gold 🍁 colors that nature had in store for us. There was even one in the bathroom! 😆 Even though it was nowhere near peak, it was still very beautiful and I had absolutely no complaint. 😇
Mabry Mill was…pretty? 😅 It looked nothing like what I saw in all these glamorous promotional pictures on VA tourism sites. 😆 But still, pretty decent, I suppose. 🙄 All I’m saying is that I’m glad we went, and I do not need to go back again, ever. 😛 The fall colors we got there was pretty sad, so that did not help, but it was what it was! 🤷🏼♀️
The hike at Buffalo Mountain Natural Area Preserve was strenuous but rewarding. 😅 We took Oak Trail up, did the Barrens Loop at the top, then came down on Ridge Trail. The total distance was less than 2 miles overall, but it was almost entirely uphill one way. 😓 The view up top gave us a glimpse of how much more breathtaking it could have been, had we come at the right moment. Still, it was not the kind of view you get to see every day. 😉
Poor Farmer’s Market was a cool spot right in the middle of town. We stopped by a few times during our stay for one thing or another. They have great produce at friendly prices. And their customer service was top-notch! We were warmly greeted by ‘Cafe Cat’ the first time we stepped in, which we were told was one of the trio residence kitties, other than ‘Deli Cat’ and ‘Alley Cat’. 😻 These fried apple pies did not look like much, but they were absolutely amazing, by the way! 🥰
Lover’s Leap Overlook would have been the perfect spot to enjoy the beautiful sunset, if it wasn’t litterred with graffitis and smelling worse than a gas station restroom. 🙄
We were invited to a football game at UT Knoxville last month – my very first ☺️, courtesy of Joel’s niece who is currently in her senior year there. Since Knoxville is a whopping 6 hours drive 😅 away from home, naturally, we had to make a pitstop on the way… 😆
Asheville has always been one of our favorite spots in NC, with year-round pleasant weather, abundant hiking trails, and relatively epic food scenes, there is so much to do and see in this beautiful mountain town. 😍 On this trip, we tried out a couple of new dinner spots we’ve never been to before, and I’m happy to report that they were both exceptional!
Starting with Ukiah (which is HAIKU, spelled backward, by the way 🙄) on our first night, this was by far the best meal we have ever had in Asheville 🤩! I’m not quite sure how but every single dish we ordered was umami on our palates. 😇
With the limited time we had, we managed to go on a short hike at Skinny Dip Falls, which is part of the Mountain-to-Sea trail. This is a very short hike, less than a mile out and back. The waterfall itself wasn’t much to rave about, at least at the time of our visit 😢, due to recent drought. But, you get to see this magical dragon tree on the way! 🥰 Little did we know that this area was about to be slammed with 14 inches of rain within a matter of 2 days by Hurricane Helene which arrived just 2 weeks after we left. 😐
Dinner the second night was at Cúrate, this highly-recommended restaurant on every single foodie list for Asheville. Not sure what took us so long to give this place a try 😅, but needless to say that it certainly did not disappoint! The menu was very impressive and we had a hard time picking out dishes…until we spotted this offer called ‘The Spanish Experience’ which we thought would be perfect for us first-timers, so we decided to go with it. Everything that came ‘curated’ for us was exceptional, except that they somehow managed to include almost every ingredient we normally ‘dislike’ and usually try to avoid on our food ordering… BUT, I have to admit that, these were some of the best octopus, eggplant, lamb, and marzipan dishes we’ve ever tasted. 🤣
Our last meal in Asheville was brunch at Biscuit Head. The food was great. The decor, even better! 😻 My favorite was their order numbers, which came in a variety of kitty portraits, each with its own unique name & description for the cat. We got ‘Primrose’ #31 who apparently likes to ‘hide under a blanket’. 😸
Our first stop after crossing the NC-Tennessee border was at this quirky Make It Magic Magic Shop on Glade Road in Gatlinburg. I just had to get this painted rock that bears an uncanny resemblance to our beloved Midas. 😽
ข้ามรัฐจากนอร์ทแคโรไลน่าไปถึงเทนเนซซี่ เราไปแวะกันก่อนที่ร้าน Make It Magic Magic Shop ซึ่งตั้งอยู่บนถนน Glade ในเมือง Gatlinburg ไปเห็นหินเพ้นท์รูปแมวก้อนนี้หน้าตาคล้ายคุณ Midas สุดที่รัก เลยอดใจไม่ไหวต้องอุดหนุนกลับมาเป็นที่ระลึก 😽
The Salt & Pepper Shakers Museum was absolutely amazing, and each visit came at the low low price of only $3 per adult. This place was truly one of a kind – the collection was mind-boggling! 🤯 I can’t even begin to describe it but the pictures shown here are just a fraction of what they had on display. It’s the kind of place where you have to see it to believe it. 😅
Lunch was at The Old Mill Restaurant in Pigeon Forge. This has every sign of a tourist trap, but the food was amazing, AND very affordable. Every meal comes with a complimentary soup, salad, corn fritters and your choice of dessert! 😳 We were happily stuffed by the time we walked out. 😅
บ่ายนั้นเราไปแวะทานข้าวที่ร้าน The Old Mill Restaurant ที่เมือง Pigeon Forge ร้านนี้เป็นร้านเก่าแก่ที่เป็นที่ชื่นชอบของบรรดานักท่องเที่ยว แต่อาหารเค้าอร่อยและราคาย่อมเยา ทุกจานที่สั่งมาเสิร์ฟพร้อมกับซุป สลัดผัก และแป้งข้าวโพดทอด แถมกินอิ่มยังมีของหวานให้เลือกได้อีกคนละอย่าง 😳 ขนาดกินไม่หมดต้องห่อกลับไปกินต่อที่บ้านเดินออกมายังจุกไปถึงเย็น 😅
Joel had a great time riding a mountain coaster 🎢 at Goats On The Roof. And if you are wondering, they actually do have goats hanging out on top of the roof of their gift shop. 😆
คุณสามีขอแวะไปนั่งรถไฟเหาะ 🎢 ที่ร้านชื่อ Goats On The Roof เห็นชื่อเค้าอย่างนี้ขอคอนเฟิร์มว่าไม่ได้ตั้งไว้สุ่มสี่สุ่มห้า เค้ามีแพะอยู่บนหลังคาร้านให้ดูจริงๆ 😆
I had no idea Pigeon Forge was such a big tourist destination! 😲
But I did know that they were big on Dolly Parton, whose statue was on prominent display at the Courthouse in Sevierville.
แต่รู้ว่าเป็นบ้านเกิดของคุณป้า Dolly Parton ซึ่งคนแถวนี้เค้าภาคภูมิใจมาก ถึงกับตั้งอนุสาวรีย์ไว้เป็นเกียรติที่ศาลหลักกลางเมือง Sevierville
In Knoxville, we stayed at The Oliver Hotel, this charming historic spot right in the heart of Market Square. We had a little unfortunate incident with the a/c during our stay 😅, but the manager handled it in the best possible way, so absolutely no complaint there. Hidden behind a sliding door that blended in with the wall in the lobby was The Peter Kern Library, a neat little speakeasy where we got to enjoy a few cool drinks with Joel’s niece and her friend.
ไปถึงเมือง Knoxville เราไปเข้าพักกันที่ The Oliver Hotel โรงแรมเก่าแก่ใจกลางย่าน Market Square ที่ดาวน์ทาวน์ ห้องพักเค้ากว้างขวางใหญ่โตสมราคา เสียอยู่ที่ว่าแอร์ไม่ทำงาน 😅 แต่คุณผู้จัดการแกจัดการได้เป็นที่น่าพอใจ เลยจบลงด้วยดี ข้างๆล๊อบบี้ชั้นล่างเป็นบาร์ขนาดกะทัดรัดชื่อ The Peter Kern Library ที่ซ่อนอยู่หลังประตูเลื่อนที่กลมกลืนไปกับผนัง ถ้าไม่เห็นคนเดินเข้าออกคงไม่รู้เลยว่าเปิดเข้าไปได้ คุณสามีชวนหลานสาวกับเพื่อนไปนั่งจิบดริ๊งค์พอหอมปากหอมคอก่อนไปต่อกันที่ร้านพิซซ่าข้างนอก
They had an awesome art scene, with most of the murals located right in downtown Market Square, just steps from our hotel! 😍
This airplane gas station, built in 1930, was once a real gas station for small aircrafts, then it was turned into a barber shop, and now apparently it’s an airBnB! 😄
If you ask Joel, he would probably tell you that Greenback Castle was one of the most disturbing places I ever dragged him to. 🤣 But if you ask me, I thought it was such an awesome spot – a photographer’s dream! 🥰 This odd destination off the beaten path in Maryville, a 45 minute drive out of Knoxville, was lovingly built by hand, piece by piece, by a gentleman named Mr. Floyd Banks Jr. over the past 30 some years. As you can see, it all depends on the eye of the beholder – hard to tell if this is really a creepy scene of mad jumbles or a creative piece of elaborate artwork… 🤷♀️
Last but not least, the whole reason why we were there in the first place – the UT vs Kent State football game! Spoiler Alert, UT beat Kent State by the score of 71-0 that night. 🤯 I am not a football fan but I’m pretty sure that this was a pretty unusual outcome. 😅
ท้ายที่สุดเป็นจุดกำเนิดดั้งเดิมของทริปนี้นั่นก็คือเกมฟุตบอลระหว่าง UT กับ Kent State คืนนั้น UT ถล่ม Kent State กระจาย จบเกมด้วยยอด 71 ต่อ 0 แต้ม 🤯 คือปรกติก็ไม่เคยดูฟุตบอลหรอกนะ แต่ประมาณว่าคะแนนถล่มทลายแบบนี้ไม่น่าจะเคยมีมาก่อน 😅
Weirdly Wonderful World 