Fall Break GetAway: Part 4

Welcome back to the blog. This is the final entry in this post series. It tells how Paula and I spent the time we were by ourselves at the end of our Smoky Mountains trip in early October. 

Once James & Brandi drove away, Paula & I did a little bit of a reset to change from being with a group to being by ourselves. 

We went back to our condo and relaxed for a couple of hours. Then it was time to visit the places we like to go when its just us.

We went and looked around in the Old Mill shopping area. We didn't find anything very interesting at any of the shops we stopped in. We even came up empty at the kitchen store, where we usually find something we like. 

In the Old Mill candy store, for the first time this trip, I considered buying some fudge. But when I saw that the price of one of my favorite Smoky Mountain treats had gone up to $20 a pound, I decided to pass. 

Once the sun went down it was time go get some supper. We had a 2 for 1 coupon for Mama's Farmhouse. 

Mama's is one of the Pigeon Forge restaurants owned by The Johnson Family. The Alamo and Bennett's  

Bar-B-Que are as well. Those two are among our favorite places to eat in the Smokies. 

Mama's is an "all you care to eat" restaurant specializing in "home cooking" and "comfort foods" which are served family style. 

We arrived at there after dark but here's what the building looks like in daylight. 

The atmosphere in the place was very similar to that of the Applewood restaurant. 

The way the food is made and served is very similar to Paula Deen's at The Island. But the whole Mama's experience is a little more authentic and relaxed than the very commercialized Paula Deen's.

From the menu we had a choice of 3 entrees and 4 side dishes. We got Fried Chicken, Meatloaf, and ham. The sides we chose were Chicken & dumplins, mac & cheese, cole slaw, & fried okra.

While waiting for our meal we were served biscuits and jam. They were delicious. 

This isn't exactly what we were served but it will give you and idea of the aesthetic of the presentation. 

 The food was pretty good. But for the amount of food my wife and I can eat at one time, it was way too much. 

For desert, Paula got banana pudding, which she said was ok but she's had better. I had a peach cobbler but only had a couple of spoons full because I didn't want to over eat and get indigestion. 

Our bill, with the 2 for 1 coupon, was a little over $25 plus tip. This included 2 soft drinks. That was not that bad given what we had. Had we had to pay full price, for us it would have been, a little bit expensive.

If you are someone who can really fill up on a good amount of food then the price for the meal may not be bad at all. Kids under 5 eat for free. 

The food was pretty good and I like the atmosphere. But just like a buffet, this type of restaurant just isn't cost effective for us. 

I am curious as to what their breakfast is like. Maybe if we go back it will be for that. 

You can check out the details and make the choice for yourself. Here's there's website. Mama's Farmhouse

After dinner we were pretty tired from the last couple of days. So we went back to the condo, got some preliminary packing done and watched TV the rest of the night. 

By 10:30 on Tuesday we had checked out of our resort and headed to breakfast. 

We wanted to try out a new place called Brick & Spoon. It serves breakfast and lunch. It reminded me a lot of Another Broken Egg, a place we found in Destin, FL a few years ago. At least the building and interior decor reminded me of it. 

I could tell as soon we walked in that there was something not quite right about the place. We waited about 5 minutes to be seated. There were only 2 young ladies working the dining room. 

Once we were seated it took about 10 minutes for a server to even take our drink orders. 

We each ordered a 3 egg omelet. Paula's was supposed to have crab meat in it. It was not chunks but shredded pieces. She said you could taste it but it was very sparse throughout. 

My ham & cheese omelet had diced ham and not very much cheese. Diced ham is something you find on the salad bar at a cheap buffet. But I'd expect more in an omelet in a place like this. 

Our bill came to over $35. For that price point the food was very low quality.

Now, I know every place can have a bad day but they only get one chance to make a good impression with us and they didn't.  

Because it's a great place to get some bargains we went to the Carter clothing store in a strip mall along the parkway, to get my grandson some winter clothes.

Before heading back to Kentucky we had to make one more trip back to The Island. 

There was one thing we hadn't done this trip that we always do. We had a game to play at the arcade. 

Our favorite video game anywhere is Harpoon Lagoon. Here's a video of Paula playing the game. This video was shot mainly to spotlight her Color Street nails against the colors of the game. 

 After playing video games in the arcade, (mostly Harpoon Lagoon) for about 45 minutes and bringing our coupon total to over 11,000, we went next door to the Timberwood Grill. 

We each got a club sandwich, which wasn't the best choice at what is mainly a steak house. But we needed something to hold us over after our disappointing breakfast. 

On the way out of the restaurant Paula met a "friend" in entrance and they compared their nails. 

 At this point in the day it was time to start heading back to our old Kentucky home.  

We had a busy but fun 3 days in our favorite get away spot with our family. Our 13th trip to the Smokies was very different for us but we were taking home a lot of memories. 

It was a good start to what was going to be an event filled month.

Thanks for reading this Fall Break trip report post series. I hope you enjoyed reading about our time in the Great Smoky Mountains. 

If you have ever been to the Smokies and would like to share your memories or experiences please feel free to send me a DM on Facebook. I look forward to hearing from you. 

Still to come in my review of October, I will be sharing with you the places my wife's Color Street business took us, a day spent in Nashville with some friends from Pennsylvania, and a special night enjoying one of my all time favorite entertainers.  Come back next time for more of the Yankee Near Nashville review of the month of October.   

My review of October events continues next time. Please come back to