The first morning of my stay in Gatlinburg, I was awoken with something to make me feel right at home - a smattering of rain. Being Tennessee, the temperature was hotter than home by quite a margin, but the humidity was off the scale and it hit me every time I went outside.
Pretty soon the sun came out and bathed the log cabin in warm rays. To the left and below of the cabin is a road. Swivelling around to the right all you see are trees lining the mountain.
Above the cabin, where you can see what remains of an old chimney, is an area for a firepit. To the right a small creek with the steady trickle of water that sent me to sleep at night - and then waking me up because I wanted the rest room. Rest room - yes, I have taken to calling the toilet a rest room. I guess some American did rub off on me after all.
Climbing up the bank you get a good view of the cabin. It really was a beautiful spot.
Taking a quick walk around, checking the surroundings, I stumbled across this rather large fella sunbathing on a nearby rock. He was the length of my hand. No
, that isn't a pork chop in front of him, he wasn't quite THAT big.
became our chef and made an excellent job of feeding us. After breakfast Jayna, Rhonda and Scott took me to Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.
One thing that struck me was the Star Spangled Banner flapping in the wind everywhere we went. It is almost an offense to fly the England flag back home, so I was glad to see it proudly shown.
I like the quote that's written above the door of the Bass Pro shop.
Welcome fishermen, hunters, and other liars.My stepfather is a fisherman and he chuckled when I showed him this. Once inside, my senses were overloaded with the sights. Stuffed animals adorned the walls, displays were made with them and hunting and fishing gear was aplenty.
I came across a sign that reminded me guns are commonplace in America. I half expected to see rifles slung over shoulders everywhere I went. No doubt many people carried concealed guns, never once did I feel unsafe.
One of the most impressive displays was this waterfall which fell into a pool filled with fish.
As an animal lover, it was distressing to see the stuffed animals everywhere, but this isn't England and the hunting culture is strong, especially in rural areas like Tennessee.
Upstairs we found what I had come for, rack upon rack of rifles and shelves filled with handguns and ammo.
I was like a kid in a candy shop - more Americanism learned along the way. I was amazed at the prices of some weapons, they were not prohibitively expensive.
Naturally, I couldn't go all that way and not get a photo taken.
Overhearing my English accent as I was telling Scott about a recent incident in the UK where someone got arrested for carrying a concealed weapon which was, in fact, a potato peeler, the guy behind the counter spoke to me about the licensing process surrounding guns. I'm sure he thought I was joking about the kitchen implement, but he was nonetheless very welcoming and informative. The Americans really do have the service down to an art.
As impressed as I was with the price of the weapons, I was amazed at how cheap the ammo was. Scott,
's husband, took me along the racking and showed me the various ammo he would buy.
It was a sobering thought to consider that just owning this round I could be arrested in the UK.
Our next stop was nearby, a Harley Davidson dealership. I used to ride and have always loved Harleys, so much so that my son is called Harley. His middle name is David, after his paternal grandfather, and naturally, he's my son. Harley David son :-D
The bikes on display had me hankering back to my riding days with the freedom of the road. While we do have Harley's in the UK, they are nowhere near as prevalent on our roads.
As a teenager, Elvis was one of my heroes. He owned one of these 1954 K Model Harleys. This actual bike was ridden by a local Knoxville actor, David Keith, in Heartbreak Hotel.
As we left, my mouth was still watering at the sight of so much motorcycle porn. I very much enjoyed this day. What's more American than guns, hunting, and Harleys?
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://www.muxxy.co.uk/2018/06/27/trip-to-usa-guns-hunting-and-harleys/