Last week was a bit insane with Christmas, a work trip to Tennessee and then vacation to Toronto for New Years! I am a bit tuckered out this morning but will be back with some details once I get my work stuff caught up.
Back At It
Photos
This Past Saturday
At this point, I suppose we should just move to Gatlinburg. 
Snow!!!
We end up with 9-1/2″ – 10″. Yay!
Flashback [Avenue Q Edition]
The Boyfriend and I went this past weekend to Asheville Community Theatre‘s production of Avenue Q. I really think it is one of the most genius musical ever written and it was fun to see it live again. It got me thinking about the production I directed at our local theater exactly five years ago (September 20 – October 6, 2013).
I didn’t post anything about the show back when we did it. I was in a bit of a funk about this blog and got very bad about posting things. Bad of me, I know.
I have never been a fan of saying “best cast/best show I have ever worked on.” All shows are different and to say “this one’s the best” seems to be dismissive of other shows/casts you have worked on/with. That being said … Chuck (the Music Director) and I managed to assemble the perfect cast. Everyone matched perfectly with their characters and worked really hard at mastering the puppeteering. They made directing the show so easy.
There was some stress about the set. The Executive Director of the theater got freaked out about the infamous “pussy” line about three weeks out from opening and we had a row about if it should stay in the show or not. Thankfully, I prevailed (somehow) and it did end up staying in the show. And, I got yelled at by the him because I blasted the editor of the local paper because they didn’t give us any coverage going into opening weekend. But, those are the things you deal with when putting on a show.
We had THE BEST TIME EVER doing this show. I cried during the finale of the final performance because it was over. I could have watched these fine people work their magic on that stage for so many more weeks.
Here’s the cast and crew …
You see a crap-ton more photos (142 to be exact) by clicking the “continue reading” link …
We Might Have a Problem
Guess who went drinking moonshine again this past weekend …
Paid Day Off [Labor Day Edition]
So what do you do when you have a paid day off? Why … go back to Gatlingburg, of course!
We hit up Sugarlands, Doc Collier, and Ole Smoky for some moonshine tasting.
I particularly love the people on the other side of the counter from us at Ole Smoky. That kid looks like he sure wants a sip of that sweet, sweet ‘shine.
I sure do like the Purple Rain that Sugarlands makes at their cocktail bar.
We finally did the Rugged Ropes Adventure Course at Gatlin’s. It was a ton of fun.
And what trip to Gatlinburg is complete without getting the crap scared out of you at the Mysterious Mansion? We love this place!
Bacon and Beer
This past weekend, the Hunt clan came up from Florida and we hit up Baconfest over in Asheville at Highland Brewing. We had not been to this event since 2015. There was lots of good bacon and pork inspired treats and, of course, tasty Highland brews. I *might* have had a little too much to drink. A & I loved the camo Huddle House koozies that came in our swag bags. We also snagged Krispy Creme hats at the dessert area. Who doesn’t want to be stylin’ with Krispy Kreme (and bacon and beer)? Such a fun day with awesome people!!!
Currently …
Back to High Falls [Redux]
Kat, Kat’s New Fella and I went to the water release at High Falls this past Saturday. Kat had been once before. New Fella had never been. I have been four times over the last several years. High Falls is located about a 1/2 mile from the dam on Lake Glenville. Seven times a year (April-August), Duke Energy releases water from the lake to create recreational opportunities for kayaking on the West Fork of the Tuckasegee River. High Falls goes from a somewhat impressive double tier waterfall to a raging monster of a waterfall in about one minutes. It’s a really cool thing to see happen. We were a bit bummed to not see any kayaks on the river. It’s was probably a little too early in the day as the release happens at 10 am. As were were driving back, we passed quite a few cars with kayaks attached and knew exactly where they were headed. I hope everyone had a great time running the river that day.
And now … you can experience High Falls via the magic of YouTube! This video was evidently shot at the last scheduled water release in 2017. You can tell by the date this was filmed and the number of people there watching. The first and last release days of the year always seem to be the most crowded.
Dressing Room Throwback
Back in 2015/2016, I got in the mood to take selfies in the dressing room during the shows I worked on. I was onstage twice more but didn’t do any dressing room photos because one of the shows was stressful (Into the Woods) and I was just lazy during the other (God of Carnage).
It’s been over a year since God of Carnage and I am itching to get involved in a show sometime soon. [Fingers Crossed]
Helpful Hints:
Vest = Company
Nerd Glasses = The Fox on the Fairway
Suit = 12 Angry Men
Tourist Trap Weekend
In other news … the Boyfriend and I went for a Tourist Trap Weekend in everyone’s favorites place(s) … Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN. I have never been a huge fan of Pigeon Forge as it’s just a big tacky strip of touristy shops and activities. But, I have always had a soft spot for Gatlinburg (no less tacky or touristy but somehow more charming).
We took off Friday after work and drove through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to get there. The Tennessee side is still recovering from the Chimney Tops II Fire that ravaged the park (and ultimately the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area) last November.
Some of the things we did while in Gatlinburg:
– Breakfast at the Log Cabin Pancake House
– Moonshine at Sugarlands Distilling Company
– Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies
– Moonshine at Doc Collier Moonshine
– Food and Drinks at Smoky Mountain Brewery
– Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium
– Rode the Skylift
– Toured Ripley’s Haunted Adventure
– Survived Gatlinburg’s Mysterious Mansion
– Window Shopped
Some things we did in Pigeon Forge:
– Saw an Alligator at a Tacky Gift Shop
– Ate at The Old Mill Restaurant
– Moonshine at Old Forge Distillery
– Drove Around to See the Sights
– Dipped in the Hotel Hot Tub and Pool
Then it was back to North Carolina via a Deliverance-style backwoods Tennessee trip courtesy of the GPS.
******
As you can probably guess by the activities list, we did end up spending too much money on moonshine. I ended up with Coffee and Oatmeal Cookie moonshine from Old Forge AND Root Beer Float moonshine from Doc Collier’s. We did window shop in Ole Smoky but somehow managed to not do any tasting or purchasing. Such will power!
We can report that Gatlinburg’s Mysterious Mansion was more fun than Ripley’s Haunted Adventure (at least we thought so). It’s more maze-like with rooms that you have to figure out how to get out of while people are running around scaring the crap out of you. It’s super fun!
Here we are before getting the pants scared off of us in the Mysterious Mansion.
AND … we stumbled into Gamer’s Link, a really sweet board and card game store in Gatlinburg. They have a great selection of games and I would recommend checking them out if you visit the area.
I was just tipsy enough after our moonshine tasting at Doc Collier’s that I pulled the trigger on Arkham Horror. It’s a massive (and expensive) cooperative game based on the writings of H.P. Lovecraft.
I can’t wait to get some friends over and try this beast out!
Back to High Falls
Yeah. I kinda love this place.
Time for "The Void!"
