The All Inclusive Motorcoach (AIM) Rally was stationed in Sevierville this go around. AIM is getting so popular that the organizers had to add another session. We were in the first grouping of 50 some coaches. We stayed at The Ridge which is a new RV Resort where the owners purchased the property from a church and then converted the land into RV sites. The building is still used as a Baptist church for services on Sundays and Wednesdays and all campers are invited. Check out these pictures:
A great place to stay!
On the evening that we arrived, there was a kick off happy hour, dinner and entertainment. The food was good for being catered and feeding so many people. The entertainer was a guy by the name of Kenny Evans. In the 1990’s Kenny was the opener for many a prominent country singers. He was playing about 250 nights a year where drugs and alcohol took over his life. He became a born-again Christian which he self-proclaimed saved his life. He was amazing to listen to, both his story and his singing.
After the show, a number of us got together for a drink and conversation:
A typical evening out on the road! Featured are (from left to right) Buddy Allison, Stan Brown, Dave Hamilton, Diane Hamilton, Sheila Godfrey, Alan Godfrey, DarylAnn Borel, Carl Borel, Lynne Brown, Karl Reed, and of course, the Busse’s (not pictured).
Bear got reunited with his buddy Stan:
Or was it Stan that got reunited with his buddy Bear?
The next morning there were a number of us that met up at the pickleball courts and played for a few hours. After lunch there was a Corn hole tournament of which Katrina and I (a.k.a. The Myakka Misfits) were promptly eliminated.
Oh well, perhaps we need to practice.
We had another evening at the resort with a happy hour, dinner and another entertainer. Victoria Shaw spent a few hours with us explaining her songwriting skills and inspiration while singing her songs. She stated that she prefers the life of a songwriter because you can still have a life and raise children in a normal environment. I’m sure you have heard her songs (at least co-writing) such as Garth Brooks’ “The River” or John Michael Montgomery’s “I Love The Way You Love Me”. The River is one of my personal favorites.
Wonderful evening!
The next day in the afternoon we all headed to Dollywood to explore the place, ride some rides, and have dinner in a pavilion. Being a Disney fanatic, Dollywood surprised me. The grounds were beautiful and well kept:
We got to see an American Bald Eagle up close:
The rides were more thrilling than I anticipated. We only had time to try three of them, but I think we hit the biggest ones:
Lightning Rod dangled our feet whilst propelling us up to 73 mph and then dropping us 165 foot drop. Exhilarating! The next one was our favorite (we were able to ride twice) called Wild Eagle which was a dual winged coaster where the tracks were in the center and either side hung out over thin air. The final ride was aptly called Thunderhead which left us with splitting headaches because it was not smooth at all.
Since the Godfrey’s drove us over there separately instead of taking a bus, we were able to stop at Ole Smokey Moonshine for some tastings. Last year Katrina and I enjoyed their Christmas holiday blends like cinnamon. This year the moonshine was favored way too sweet for our sipping pleasure. We left there and headed to Latitude for a couple of drinks on the patio next to the Little Pigeon River.
The following day had an early evening event at a local venue called the Hatfields and McCoys dinner and show. The fried chicken served family style was surprisingly good and the show, although predictable, was enjoyable.
Spoiler alert: The feuding families get together at the end!
The AIM participants dressed up like hillbillies in order to complete the experience. Here’s the Godfreys and us:
Kissing cousins! I guess when our friends who threw us our going away themed party and dressed like white trailer trash wasn’t too far off the mark now!
Since we planned on an early morning to drive down to Lynchburg, we stayed close to the Busse Bus later in the evening. Up and out by 8am with the Godfreys heading down to taste some whiskeys.
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