Mellow Mushroom ~ Pigeon Forge, TN

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This first photo isn't mine...it's from the Mellow Mushroom Website.  But the other photos I took while on vacation.  This is the Mellow Mushroom location in Pigeon Forge, TN, and we stopped by while on vacation last week.  I think they had 3 locations in the area...this one, one in Gatlinburg next to Ole Smoky Moonshine, and one at The Island in Pigeon Forge, too!

First...I have to talk about the decor in this place.  It's so cool!  There are lights, mushrooms, tye dye stuff, hippie stuff - pretty much everywhere. 

These are some of the lighted tree decorations they had in the middle of our section.  I took some pics of the walls but they didn't turn out that great.  There was a HUGE painted wall that went from one end of the booth seating area to the other that was hippie and groovy but still a tribute to Pigeon Forge and the Smoky Mountains. 

They had this crazy stone fireplace that had some sort of mystical cartoon character mounted on it (thank GOD it wasn't a real deer - blah!) and candles and trinkets on the shelf below and then...look at the fireplace!!!  Instead of 'fire' it's a slew of Lava Lamps!  How groovy is that!?

There was plenty of parking outside, a lot of seating inside, a bunch of eye candy to look at inside and out and we haven't even talked about the food yet!

We will get to that in a moment...but first...I just had to show you another shot of this 'fireplace' of Lava Lamps...

I'm pretty sure that The Mellow Mushroom has 3 locations in the area of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.  At least that is how many I saw while we were out and about.  This one was in Pigeon Forge - stand alone.  There is another one in Pigeon Forge within The Island that I wrote about on my Travel Blog...then there is another one over by Ole Smoky Moonshine in Gatlinburg.

 Here's a photo of some of the mushrooms that were throughout the restaurant, too!  Of course when I added this to my InstaGram I had a few funny yet crude comments about what they looked like!

But...Mellow Mushroom's InstaGram 'liked' them so that's cool.  It was actually really neat because a lot of the pics I took and put on InstaGram I had the official place 'like' my photos!

Anyways...on to the food, right?  Dale ended up getting wings that were twice baked (not fried).  For those of you who are new to my blog - my husband is NOT vegan/vegetarian.

I, however, found out that they do vegan pizzas!  YAY!  They use Daiya Cheese!  They make their own vegan and gluten free crust from ancient grains.  I'm not Gluten Free but I enjoy eating Gluten Free foods from time to time.  There were other vegan options on the menu but I didn't really want to think about it and wanted to take some of the pizza back to the Cabin for later so this is what I went with.

It was the Veggie Pizza with the Vegan AND Gluten Free Crust.  Yes..Vegan Daiya Cheese.  The sauce was pretty good...but my favorite part of the pizza was the tomatoes!  They were AWESOME! 

The pizza - overall - was quite good.  I'm glad I was able to get it.  Very happy they offer it!  I do like the Vegan Pizza at Pizza Plant in Williamsville (Buffalo, NY, area) better, tho.  If you are veg - where is your favorite vegan pizza located?  Which eating establishment outside of the home, that is!?

Wheels, Turkeys, The Walking Dead, and Steam From the Fountain Show!

This photo I posted over at my Travel Blog but the next 3 pics you won't find over there.  These photos are from our trip to Pigeon Forge, TN, last week.  Inside Pigeon Forge there is a new(er) destination called The Island.  You can read more about that and see more photos here. 

This first photo is of their Wheel.  The Island has LOTS of shops, restaurants, attractions, games, rides, and things to do with more on the way.  They are currently working on their 2nd phase adding more restaurants, tasting rooms, hotels, and shops.

This place is already neat but I think when it's complete it will be really special.

Just like everything else in Pigeon Forge - they are decked out for fall.  Harvest Time is BIG down there.  Outside of the Wheel they had this place where you could pose for photos - so I did.  Yup!  Just us 3 turkeys!  (teehee)

The layout out was amazing and the whole Island was incredibly clean and everyone was very friendly.  More on that at the link above if you are interested in hearing more.

Sometimes when I travel and see something that reminds me of a friend or family member I will snap a pic just for them.  I remember one time I saw  friend of mine on Facebook that took a photo of herself drinking beer thru a straw while in Vegas so the next time I went to Vegas I did the same thing and took a photo of me doing it and posted it and tagged it just for her.

In this case...a good friend of mine has a thing for "Darryl" on The Walking Dead so when I saw this cut out I HAD to take a pic for her and text it over right away!  I'm looking forward to the season premiere of The Walking Dead this coming month and I do like his character but I can't say that I'm obsessed with him like many other women I know.

And this photo I intentionally took, too, but for different reasons. 

I took LOTS of pictures at The Island - and many of them were of the fountains and water show - but this one I took because I wanted to get the fountains moving, the steam rolling, the rocks glistening, the sun shining, and the surrounding landscape with a little bit of the buildings showing in the back ground.  I think I was able to accomplish most - if not ALL of that.

For those of you wanting FOOD posts...stayed tuned I will have another blog post later today!

Dollywood Photography From My iPhone

Over at my Travel Blog earlier today I posted More From Dollywood and there are plenty of more photos over there if you want to check those out but the ones I am posting here today are ones that I feel turned out exceptionally well especially since all I used was my iPhone to take them.  This is the first time I haven't taken an actual camera on vacation to take my 'good' photos.  Needless to say I was pleased with the outcome.  We were trying to travel light and most of what we did pack was for Paco.  We drove over 10 hours in my Fiat and it certainly got the job done.  We averaged about 400 miles a tank.  We only spent a bit over $100 for gas so that was AWESOME.  Now on to the photos, eh!?  This first one is one of the many mills that Dollywood featured.  It was functional and festive.  Inside you were able to purchase their fresh made breads that they made daily.

One of the many decorated gardens was this one.  It had flowers galore!  Not only that they had a turning Ferris Wheel that moved slowly with the potted flowers in each Ferris Wheel Car.  I stopped and stared at it for a few moments.

I mentioned in another post that we visited Dollywood at the beginning of this years Gospel and Harvest Time Festival.  It last about a month and a half and features over 350 live performances throughout the theme park.

While we were there we did see a number of preachers, reverends, pastors, etc from different denominations and faiths.  There's a small church there that is named after the doctor who delivered Dolly Parton as a baby.

One thing I will have to research more is if there is a connection to birds and birdhouses and Dollywood and/or Dolly Parton.  I saw a SLEW of birdhouses throughout the theme park.  And I don't mean just any old birdhouse.  I mean INVOLVED birdhouses that were colorful and creative...ones that were HUGE...ones that had multiple stories...even ones that were themed.  Some were unusual, some where tall yet thin, and others were just so stunning I couldn't help but snap a photo...or 10 photos!

This one was behind a kiosk.  I couldn't believe that it wasn't more out in the open!  It stood about 6 to 6 and a half feet tall, had 3 floors, windows, doors, a deck, etc.  It was very beautiful!  If we visit Dollywood again...I just might have to try and count how many birdhouses I see!

Going along and keeping with the Harvest Time theme - giant colorful displays like this one could be seen throughout the theme park. 

As you can see this is almost like a Christmas Tree made out of potted flowers that tier into the sky.  Behind it was Hay, Wheat, Corn Stalks, and other festive decor. 

You can tell that Dollywood goes above and beyond to change things up and make the place look amazing!  I hear that Christmas Time is even more involved, too! 

We saw several people working on adding lights to many of the standing structures.  I bet they were getting ready for the Christmas Time Festival.  I'm sure it takes a LONG time to decorate for that!

Kid at Heart

Eventho our vacation is over I am way behind at blogging about.  So over the next week or two I will be blogging pretty heavy on the trip.  The photos I post on this blog are different than the ones I post over at my Travel Blog.  So if you want to see more pics from the trip visit this site. 

Yes...I'm cross promoting a bit here!  But there is a method to my madness, too!  The post here at My Blissful Journey is about being a kid at heart.  It's one of the many things I reflected on during our trip.  I feel being a kid at heart is important.  Sure...you want to act your age most of the time...but it's important to break away from that and be FUN.  Be a little weird or crazy from time to time.  Do things out of the ordinary.  And what better time - than while you are on vacation, right?

These photos were taken at WonderWorks in Pigeon Forge.  Eventho a lot of the things inside this up-side-down building are geared more toward children and youth - there were many things I found interesting.  Many of them it didn't matter what age you were you could still enjoy them.  You can read more about that - and see additional photos from WonderWorks in this post. 

In the first photo you will see I'm have some fun with bubbles.  Very LARGE bubbles, that is.  Then out front in the lobby I found this psychedelic piano that was super groovy and had to get my photo taken with it...the hippie at heart I am.

Also in the lobby - looking UP - you saw this amazing sight!

Everything was up-side-down on the ceiling!  There was SO MUCH to look at!  When I look at this photo - I keep thinking to Alice in Wonderland!  Or even The Labyrinth...remember that movie with David Bowie!?  LOVE that movie!

On the travel blog (linked above) I wrote about the many Optical Illusions that were at WonderWorks.  It was one of my favorite parts of our visit to this tourist attraction.

Here's another one of those Optical Illusions.  It's a gorgeously colorful painting.  It looks FLAT but it's actually 3D.  The corners of the buildings in the front are pointed out and the alley-way between the buildings sink inward.

I tried to have my husband take a photo of my hands in front of it to show that it was in-fact 3D but it still didn't do it justice.

Here's another one taken from the side view.  It's laid out the same and in 3D but it's very well done almost too well done that you can't really tell even in the photo or from the side.

I guess you could relate this to The Mona Lisa painting - but only for the Optical Illusion of the eyes 'following' you and and necessarily because of the 3D-ness of it...Mona was flat and this wasn't...but still pretty cool, eh!?  What or which Optical Illusions do you like best?  What do you think about 'being a kid at heart'?  Do you take the time to be a kid every now and again!?

Surprises at Dollywood!

Check this out!  It's part of my lunch at one of the places inside Dollywood!  I had their Salad Bar which also included a Mac & Cheese Bar.  I asked them if I could do it with no meat or dairy and the wonderful lady who was doing the custom mac n cheese orders went back to the kitchen and found the olive oil and did mine vegan style!  I thanked her multiple times for the special treatment!  This is what we came up with!  Macaroni in Olive Oil with tomatoes, green onions, read peppers, onions, mushrooms and it turned out yummy!  A special shout out and THANK YOU to Dollywood!

One of the many things I enjoyed about Dollywood was the friendly ducks throughout the park just waiting to greet passerby's.  Everyone who worked at Dollywood treated them like guests of the park...they were completely free to come and go as they please.  There were many natural places for them to frequent including ponds and streams.

Another neat part of Dollywood was the artisans and their demonstrations.  This guy was one of the blown glass guys.  Everything they make during the day goes into the last part of the process to cool over night and then it's available for sale the next day in the gift shop next to the demo area.  I posted a bunch of photos of me over at the Travel Blog if you want to check it out and I will have a lot more from Dollywood in the very near future.