Sophie really digs road trips. She lets her ears loose in the wind and probably even catches a few bugs. On this particular trip we were winding through the Smokies to meet up with with some family and friends at famed Gatlinburg. Unfortunately, none of us read what Bill Bryson had to say about the town before visiting which was the first mistake. I think I have a new threshold marker: if a place requires a Ripley's believe it or not in any fashion, be it aquarium or man-who-appears-to-only-consist-of-a-torso jutting out of a building, I can feel okay about skipping out on the experience. He was one of the main photo ops, sadly enough. We kept getting peaks of the Smokies in between the go-karts and putt-putt, enough to remind us that we were, in fact, in the mountains. A wonderful time was had, despite the town, and on the way back to I-40 we stopped at Cosby's BBQ pit which was not much more than a shack with a "picnic" area which was more like a shed with booths inside that don't get too much cleaning off. It was a wonderful grease-dripping meal and the smokies were immediately to our right, providing the most wonderful of views. Along the way home we noticed, among other local flavors, a Taxidermy/Sewing store.