Great Smoky Mountain Auto Fest was a nice surprise

For fall break this year, we decided to head down to Dollywood in Gatlinburg. Our hotel was right across the street from the Tennessee Smokies baseball stadium. Unbeknownst to me, the Smokies were hosting the Great Smoky Mountain Auto Fest the very same weekend! How does this happen to us? Crazy. So of course, I walked out of the hotel and over to the car show to see what this part of the state has to offer. The featured marque was Corvette this year, so of course they had some really nice Corvettes. But there were plenty of other great cars if Corvettes aren’t your thing for some inexplicable reason. I was there pretty early, so it’s possible that more cars showed up later, but the ones that were there seemed pretty good to me.

2015 Hazzard Run from Nashville to Gatlinburg

Who would have guessed that moving to Tennessee would bring me this close to a TV show that I used to watch as a kid in the ‘80s. But it seems like there’s a little Dukes of Hazzard influence all over the place here. Why, just last weekend I took my family to the annual Hazzard Run. Sure, I loved watching the Dukes of Hazzard. But I never owned a General Lee, or a Rosco P. Coltrane police car, or a Daisy Duke Roadrunner. These folks are serious about this. But that’s alright by me. My son and I still enjoy watching this silly, simple show today. And it might be a little nerdy, but we have fun seeing the cars and stars of this little slice of pop culture as they make their rounds of the Nashville area.

Feel the fame at the Hollywood Star Cars Museum in Gatlinburg

If I didn’t have to work to pay for the electricity to run my television, I would spend a lot more time sitting around on my couch watching old car shows and movies. I don’t care about deep storylines and strong plots. Car jumps, crashes, and explosions are where it’s at. So when we went to the Hollywood Star Cars Museum in Gatlinburg, Tenn., I knew I was in the right place. Sure, this is a touristy area full of questionable attractions designed to suck your wallet dry. But if you like cars, especially famous cars, this museum was actually worth the price of admission. This review is so action-packed, we’re going to take it on two wheels!

Floyd Garrett’s Muscle Car Museum. We need to go back there!

We were headed down to Dollywood for a little family fun, and as we passed through Sevierville, Tenn., I blurted out, “Floyd Garrett’s Muscle Car Museum. We need to go back there!” It’s a good thing we did, because this place is the real deal. This is a pretty well-known collection of cars, so stumbling across it like we did was a major stroke of luck. The museum claims to have 90 muscle cars worth a total of $8-million. If they told me they were worth more, I’d believe it. There were plenty of big engines, unusual options, and rare vehicles in this bunch. If you like vintage iron, you won’t be disappointed here.

2014 Hazzard Run brings The Dukes of Hazzard to life

Yee haw! As a car chase-loving boy growing up in the ‘80s, The Dukes of Hazzard was one of the greatest TV shows in the history of the world. I still watch the show today with my own son, and it still brings back some nice memories. And I’m not alone. There are still die-hard Dukes fanatics out there. Some are even more into it than me, including the ones participating in the Hazzard Run over the weekend. These guys and gals gathered behind Cooter’s Place in Nashville with their very own General Lees and Hazzard Sheriff’s cars, and caravanned down to Cooter’s Place in Gatlinburg. There. They met up with actual cast members from the show. It seemed like a good time to me, so we got up early Saturday morning to see them off.