Birthday Celebrations in Townsend, TN

When I first moved to Tennessee, we made regular evening drives around the Cades Cove Loop Road in the Smokies to see the wildlife (mostly deer) but I haven’t been in many, many years.  For low crowds and good wildlife viewing, early morning is the best time to go but we have to leave home earlier than Bev wants to get up, but staying in Townsend saves an hour. 

When Bev had her BD in April, she said she wanted to go to the Appalachian Bistro at Dancing Bear Lodge for her BD dinner but we had yet to make it.  So, when Pat (SIL) and I both had Sep BD’s a plan was born – let’s combine the events.  We made a reservation at the Bistro for Sunday night and reserved a two BR cabin on the river for two nights so we could hit the loop road Monday morning.  Then we could do anything else we wanted in the park and take in the sites/shopping in Townsend the remainder of Mon, before spending a second night and coming home on Tue morning.

We made the hour drive up (up river) to Townsend in time to check in, drop our stuff at the cabin, and make our 5:30 dinner reservation. 

Originally, dancing bear contained cabins, and a lodge with the restaurant and Bev, Rhett and I had eaten there a long time ago but the lodge/ restaurant building burned to the ground in 2013 and new owners (Oldham Hospitality) took over in 2014.  Rather than rebuild the lodge with rooms, they added to the number of cabins and built the bistro and an event center.  Everything is located on a 37acre wooded area up on a hill except the three riverside cabins which are just over a mile away.

The two-bedroom cabin was very nice and seemed to have everything we needed and a balcony that hung over the river.

The Trip Home – Days 8,9,10

Since we had a longer drive (500 miles) on Sunday, we got on the road early and had an uneventful drive from Sioux City to Aurora IL.  There had been lots of good-to-see road work with I-70 being widened all across MO, and nearly all of the work we saw was a total road replacement with concrete rather than asphalt.  Properly maintained to prevent water freezing damage, concrete can last many, many years.

Going thru Aurora is not exactly the most direct route home but it did take us for our likely last visit to the Wurst Kitchen that I’ve mentioned many times on here.  We took coolers with us and ended up getting about 30 four-link packages of frozen sausages.  Son Eric lived near there for several years and we would utilize family trips to keep our sausage supply coming but he has since moved and I was hating the prospect of no longer getting this delicious sausage but I was happy when they told us they now ship.

For supper in Aurora, we went next door to the Two Brothers Roundhouse Restaurant where we had eaten at and I blogged about back in 2018.  Bev had the Roundhouse Burger and I had the Pan-Seared Walleye (not unusual in restaurants near the Great Lakes) and we each enjoyed our meals.

We have been eating and making the famous Kentucky Hot Brown Sandwiches for several years now and when our day two trip home took us thru Louisville, KY, a plan was born.  We decided to stay at the Brown Hotel in downtown so we could try the original and compare it to others.  Per the internet: “A Hot Brown sandwich is an American hot sandwich originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, by Fred K. Schmidt in 1926. It is a variation of traditional Welsh rarebit and was one of two signature sandwiches created by chefs at the Brown Hotel shortly after its founding in 1923.”

So, after getting into our very nice period decorated room, we headed to the Lobby Bar and Grill for this famous meal experience. 

We began with an adult beverage.

Since we were still eating light, we decided to share a small Caesar salad and the Hot Brown – First pic is from the web followed by the one we ate.

The ones we make are somewhat different as the hotel version has a one inch thick piece of turkey and ours is about half that, which seems like plenty.  Their tomatoes lay beside the toast but we put ours on top and they have two crossed slices of bacon on top but we chop ours as it's easier to eat.  Finally, after eating one at a different restaurant, we now add a little country ham to ours.

For breakfast the next morning, we went downstairs to J Graham's Cafe.

I had the “THE CLASSIC $22 - Two Eggs Cooked to Order Choice of: Toast, English Muffin or Biscuit, Breakfast Potatoes, Bacon or Sausage, and it was delicious and huge but I forgot the pic.  Bev just had a fried egg and breakfast potatoes and everything was very good.  Not sure if I’ll ever stay again in Louisville but if I do it will be at the Brown Hotel as it was a lot like staying at the Greenbrier in WV in terms of elegance and service.  

We have now stayed at The Brown Hotel and the Greenbrier in White Sulfur Springs, WV and eaten at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, CO and the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC.  Now that we have sold the motorhome, I'm hoping to hit a few more of these nicer places while we are still able, beginning with the Inn On Biltmore Estate.

Everything about this trip worked well except for locking the keys in the car and we each gained a pound – probably not too bad for a ten day vacation trip.  Most of the roads were good and there was a lot of road work being done, which I'm glad to see.

Photos can be slightly enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

6/22- 7/1/25 event dates