I Can't Wait for Dollywood!

Last night, my husband surprised me with something that if I had a wish list of things I wanted to do and he had to prioritize my list with things he would actually do with me, this would be like the LAST thing on his list... going to Dollywood!

I've seen a program on the Travel Channel about Dollywood. It's really just a Dolly-themed amusement park in the mountains of Tennessee, owned, operated and filled with a bunch of Dolly's relatives. There aren't any boob-themed rides, quite possibly Dolly's most popular assets, but there are a lot of kids' rides, water rides, crafts, artisans, shops, good mountain man cooking, etc.

When I met my husband's cousins, from Tennessee, I asked them would they take me to Dollywood when we came to visit. Their response: 'We'll drop you off and pick you up later.' I think being native Tennessee people, they think of Dollywood as a joke but I don't think it's a joke. I think it's great that Dolly thought of something that could help employ her family....where it doesn't matter what your brain power is - the smart ones get put towards the front office, the not-so-smart ones get left frying food, stocking shelves, and operating the rides...wait....maybe not operating the rides, maybe checking to see safety belts are locked. Supposedly, everyone that works at the park is in relation to Dolly in some form or another. Well - with ten other siblings and who knows how many aunts/uncles, I'm sure that's pretty true. But one picture I saw of a performer makes me wonder what the connection is...does Dolly have Asian relatives?

I'm so excited about it that I went and looked up stuff on the Dollywood website. I think I'm most excited about seeing the artisans and crafts and maybe purchasing some hand-made quilts and art work/pottery - but I'm also going to embrace Dollywood as a whole...I'll eat their down-home cooking and sing 'Islands in the Stream.' And you better believe, I'm leaving there with a 'Dollywood' shirt! YAYE!