subject: Take a Walk in Dolly's Stilettos by:Bob Foster [print this page] Any trip to eastern Tennessee is not complete without a study of its most famous resident: Dolly Parton. After all, who knows the area better than its biggest fan? Dolly sings about Tennessee, helps Tennessee and embodies Tennesseeso check out some of her favorite spots and get a real understanding of this special place.
Start your tour in the Great Smoky Mountains. Dolly was born here, in Sevierville, and was raised in a one-room cabin in nearby Locust Ridge. Stop by Pigeon Forge, Tennessee's Dollywood, where you can walk around a replica of the cabin the Partons shared. There were 14 of them in there!
No town is more proud of Dolly than Seviervillemost of the residents claim to know her personally! Visit Sevier County High to see where Dolly played in the band. Even before she had graduated, she was performing at Knoxville's WIKV Radio and WBIR-TV stations.
On the Sevier County Courthouse lawn, take a picture with the life-size, bronze statue of a young, barefoot Dolly, playing her guitar.
Immediately following her graduation from high school, Dolly moved to Nashville to pursue a real career in country music. If you want to see more of Tennessee, drive the short four hours to Nashville to visit two places of significance in Dolly's life: where she met her husband and her first major performance at the Grand Ole Opry.
Dolly met her husband of over 40 years at the Wishy Washy Laundromat on her first day in town. And if you are at all a country music fan, you will definitely want to stop by the site of the former Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium. This place is holy ground for country music fans worldwide, long regarded as the "Mother Church of Country Music". Not far from the downtown, the Opry was home to a number of recording studios and record labels. Perhaps the most important of the recording studios was the Nashville Sound, where Dolly and Elvis (among others) recorded some of their first singles.
If Nashville isn't in the cards for your trip to Tennessee, then stay back in Pigeon Forge and hang out at Dollywood. Dolly's desire to give back to her home translated into the theme park, a great draw for tourists in the region. Dollywood includes elements of museum, carnival and theatrics in its expansive offering, helping visitors to see Tennessee through Dolly's rose-colored glasses. Ride the roller coasters and catch a dinner and show at the Dixie Stampede. Enjoy the fried and barbequed foods of the south. Visit the Chasing Rainbows museum to learn the chronicle of a real American dream achievedDolly's rise from extreme poverty to world-renown.
Really, taking a walk in Dolly shoes is a great lesson in Americana, whether or not you are a huge fan. What could be a greater celebration of our beautiful country than experiencing for yourself the story of dreams coming true?
Learn more about the many local attractions of the Great Smoky Mountains by visiting our website at www.PatriotGetaways.com and clicking through to the blog.
About the author
Born and raised in the Smoky Mountain region, Bob Foster became a passionate expert on this part of the country even as a child. Years later Bob turned that childhood passion and expertise into a profession when Bob became a general manager for the family business that specializes in rentals of Gatlinburg cabins and Pigeon Forge cabins, both towns being in the heart of the Smokies. The company motto is "Creating guests for life by offering an experience of a lifetime" and it is with that thought in mind that Bob started a blog fully dedicated to information about the Smokies, which can be found at blog.patriotgetaways.com.
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