Shortly after 10 AM, we left our condo for the short trek across the parkway to our favorite place in Pigeon Forge for breakfast, The Old Mill Restaurant.
We got a table without waiting. That seemed like a bonus because we were confident that we were going to have another great experience at our favorite restaurant in the Smokies.
Despite the place not being very busy we were seated at a small two seat table against the inner wall of the 3rd level down. I thought about asking to be moved but didn't. I thought about it again when the little girl about the age of my granddaughter started fussing and crying. I know the parents would have stopped her if they could have but it was annoying.
As always we enjoyed our delicious banana nut muffins with butter and preserves and the complimentary glass of orange juice.
Like we had been doing all during our vacation we ordered something we could share; a Southern omelet. It was supposed to have ham, cheese, sausage, bacon, onions and peppers.
It was very disappointing. There was hardly any meat in it at all; mostly onions and peppers. It was the worst meal we'd ever had there. Perhaps it was because we thought we were getting something different than what we got. But nonetheless we may think twice before going back again.
For the next few hours we browsed through the shops in the surrounding area. We walked through the Pigeon River Pottery and the Farmhouse Kitchen store together.
If you ever go to the Old Mill shopping area go in Farmhouse Kitchen. You'll get lots of chances to taste many of their products. You can even get a sample of their soups and cornbread.
With Paula more interested in shopping than I was, once again rested on a bench and waited for her. I did some "people watching" while my wife made her way through the Old Mill general store and a fashion accessories shop called "Sassafras".
I browsed "The Toy Bin" store by myself but didn't find any new or different toys I couldn't live without.
We went back to the condo to relax and have some lunch. We watched a movie called "Warm Bodies." We ate our leftover Mellow Mushroom pizza.
I sat in the recliner with my laptop working on a blog post. It was just the break we needed. It may not seem like much in this picture but I enjoyed the view.
After our rest we ventured out onto the parkway for part 2 of our day.
We made a quick trip back to one of the shops near The Old Mill to make one last gift purchase.
We then headed up the parkway to the newest attraction in Pigeon Forge. "The Island" is an area just off the parkway that's Pigeon Forge's answer to Gatlinburg's main strip. It's brand new. It opened late last year but is still a work in progress.
The best way I can describe it is that it reminds me a lot of the "City Walk" area that's in front of the Universal Studios theme park. It's definitely set up as a one-stop resort. There are amusements, rides and attractions, shops and restaurants designed to attract families with children.
There's also a fountain that every 30 minutes has a "Vegas" type show with colored lights that's synchronized to music.
In true laid back Smokey Mountain fashion there are wooden rocking chairs surrounding the fountain so tourists can sit and enjoy the show.
My main reason for wanting to go there was to ride "The Great Smokey Mountain Wheel". It's a 200 foot tall Ferris wheel ride. Here's what it looks like from the ground.
This would be a solo experience because Paula is not into riding Ferris wheels of any kind. Here's what she did while I was on the wheel.
In The Island's arcade she found a new game called "Harpoon Lagoon" that she absolutely loved playing.
The cost for riding on the wheel is about $15. It's rather expensive but it can be combined with other activities and attractions. There is a carousel, a mirror maze, and a trampoline dome.
I took a series of POV videos during my wheel experience. Here are the links to my You Tube channel videos:
In Line For The Wheel
POV Wheel Ride
Here's a video of the Island fountain in action that I shot while stopped at the top of The Wheel.
Brid's Eye View Of The Island Fountains
After riding the wheel I joined Paula in the arcade for a few minutes. I played a couple of games of Skee ball and tried Harpoon Lagoon for myself. We used the points we won to get some small stuffed animals for our granddaughter.
We strolled through the shopping area of The Island that still has a lot of empty stores. We shared a soft pretzel. Paula bought a couple of jigsaw puzzles and we each got a souvenir t-shirt.
I would have loved to have spent some more time at the new resort area but we had more we wanted to do before the end of the day.
Our disappointing breakfast at "The Old Mill Restaurant" and our time at "The Island" were only half of the memorable events from our 2nd day in Pigeon Forge.
I'll have more on the rest of our vacation in the Smokey Mountains in my next post.
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