Back on the net

I haven’t been on a PC for days, so this is the first time I’ve had a chance to tidy up the blog or read any comments or look at anyone else’s blog.

Today we headed out for Asheville, what a cute and funky town. I’d never spent any time here. A couple of people I went to college with live here now. Being a librul, (sort of) you’d think this might be the kind of place I might want to live should I head back stateside. But I have to wonder that in a town stuffed with so many progressive, creative people I might just not stand out from the crowd. It is pretty, though and full of fun-downtown-ness.

Here’s a blog about Asheville advertising a Drinking Liberally meetup tonight at a local pub Jack of the Wood. (My host’s husband plays on their over 30 soccer team). Tonight’s all about the “War on Christmas”. Should be a hoot.

Hooray for Dollywood 3

When we got back in from Dollywood, VolBro asked: “Did you see any rednecks?”

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Ok, Dollywood was cold. I mean cold. I mean witches and brass underwear cold.

Kids were screaming on the rides, but above all the general shouts you could mostly hear cries of “I’m cold!”

The lights and Christmas decorations are amazing and the show was OK, but it’s mostly one big mall for Smokey Mountain memorabilia.

I have NEVER seen so much UT orange wear outside of a game day. I thought I’d be very flash in my orange gloves, but my orange accents and accessories were drowned out by Vols track suits and jackets and hats.

I can’t say that Dollywood was really my cup of tea, but since the last theme park I visited was Opryland, I guess no theme park is really my thing. The stuff I enjoyed most was probably the Dolly Parton museum, with her amazing dresses and an intractive display allowing you to “virtually” try on Dolly wigs through the decades.

The one thing that kind of put a little damper on stuff were the greetings of “Merry Christmas”. At first it was nice, cheerful, in the spirit of the season, but then I began to realise that the greeting was a pointed political statement, with a sizing up to see how we’d react. (Some people genuinely meant it, I must say) See I like “Merry Christmas” but please don’t use this as a litmus test to see how much FoxNews I watch.

In the little tram ride out to the car, the conductor wished us all a Merry Christmas and then said, “That greeting is not as generic as it should be, but I guess you figured out that Dollywood’s not a generic place.”. He then went on to say that people at Dollyood remembered the reason for the season of Christmas. Great. How ’bout a little goodwill towards all and peace on earth or at least East Tennessee?