Gatlinburg, TN. Forever.

Labor day weekend was most definitely more eventful this year than usual.  My family rented a cabin in Gatlinburg.  Was it amazing?  Yes, with the exception of crazy holiday traffic.  Let me tell you about that time we were going home and it took 2 hours to get from Gatlinburg to I-40.  Remember that time it’s only 23 miles from the G-burg to 40?  Hah.  But anyway, a fun time weekend it was.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been in the burg/forge (you know, like Pigeon Forge) before.  Eh, I’m sure most of you have.  It is like a tourist attraction city, basically.  About every 3 feet, there is a souvenir shop… usually with signs hung up everywhere…

T-SHIRTS 3 FOR $10!!!  You know the ones… the shirts that say something like ‘Smokey Mountains’ with a cat design or dolphins or something equally as random… made out of the fabric that shrinks about 2 sizes the first time you wash them.  AIRBRUSH SHIRTS AND TAGS!!!  SEEN ON TV ITEMS SOLD HERE!!!  And my personal favorite... FREE HERMIT CRAB!!! No joke. I don’t know where the surplus of crabs is coming from, but go team!  Of course, once you read the fine print (which is easy to do when you’re at a dead halt in bumper-to-bumper traffic) you will find you only receive a free hermit crab with the purchase of a cage.  Thanks, Gatlinburg. Thanks for building up my hopes and tearing them down immediately.

Whilst sitting in traffic, entertaining the idea of a teleportation device (I’m for real, I was making plans to build one and become famous one day), I decided I HAD to get an airbrush t-shirt.  Yep.  I’ve never gotten one before and I made up my mind this was the weekend to do most the cliché, touristy thing ever—to buy a personalized airbrushed t-shirt.  I even thought about buying a cage to get a free hermit crab… but decided against.

On the way out of town on Monday… we stopped at an airbrush shop.  Yessir, we did!  I decided that not only did I want a shirt, I wanted me and my cousins, Alyssa and Jordan, to get matching shirts—with all our names on it.  We stood around in this store, looking at designs, and finally agreed upon one.  On the sample design we chose, there was a lovely mountain scene, the year, and the words, 'Gatlinburg, TN.  Forever.'  Hahaha.  Forever?  Really?  I told him to omit the “forever” part, resisting the urge to leave it as is.  While watching him airbrush, I was mesmerized and wondered why I went to college when I could just paint awesome shirts for a living and make a killing.  The airbrusher man told us not to wash it for 7 days.  I told him I'd wear it for the next 7 days.

I chuckled to myself yesterday in art class when the teacher said, “You probably chose what to wear this morning based on what people will not criticize you for.”  Wrong, ol’ Barb (that’s what I call her for future reference).  False statement-- atleast it is for me.  So I may not be the most fashion-forward person in the first place, but I did it anyway.  I wore the airbrushed t-shirt to all classes yesterday without fear of criticism.  Yep, I wore the pink shirt… with the Great Smokies on it… with a sunset…. inside a giant ‘2009.’  Oh yeah.  That’s right.  I love it.  Jealous?  You should be.  Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Miss Jaunita, the lady who works in Lion’s Pride, asked if my name was Ashley Alyssa Jordan.  Dontcha think that’s a pretty name?  So do I.

I will probably write more about G-burg later. :)  kbye.