Oddz & Endz From Dollywood & The Island AND Another Giveaway!

Looking back on last week I really had fun taking a slew of photos from Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. To read more and see more visit my Travel Blog's post Coming Soon...To The Island.

This photo here is also from The Island.  It's a row of those chairs I spoke about in the link above.  I was testing out my photography eye a bit and was going for shadows, textures, color, lines, and 3D type shots in this one.  I mentioned the last couple of posts that all of the photographs from this trip were done on my iPhone.  Usually I take one of my other cameras but since we were packing light and traveling in my Fiat I wanted to just use my iPhone.  I was very pleased with the outcome.

A little bit more from Dollywood now...here you will see one of their many artisans that were set up thru out the theme park.  This was the Glass Blower.  I've always enjoyed watching people blow glass.  It's quite the process.  I've been fascinated with it since I was small.  I remember my first experience visit Cornell, NY, and have loved it ever since.  There were others around the park showing off their crafts and trades...baking, painting, metal, candles, wood, leather (I hate the smell of it and of course I don't wear it so I walked right by it) and LOTS of other arts, crafts, trades!

Another neat part of Dollywood was the replications of her childhood.  This was one of the one-room-schoolhouse that she went to while a child.  It was incredibly done.  There was another one of her childhood home, too, a one bedroom house with a kitchen that ALL of her family members shared and she had a large family!

I will probably squeeze in more photos from time to time in the next few weeks but I have lots of other things to blog about, too!

One of the many things I will be blogging about is MORE GIVEAWAYS!!!!  Today I have a package of Organic Chia Seeds from Garden of Life!  All you have to do is comment on this post and let me know a valid email addy to contact you if you are the winner.  US Shipping Addresses, only, please.  I'll choose a winner by 5pm EST tomorrow! (Friday the 3rd)

Some of the things I have done with Chia Seeds in the past have been:
* Strawberry Chia Jam
* Chocolate Chia Pudding
* Blackberry Chia Smoothie

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!