We should invest millions into multiple maritime-themed museums and place them hundreds of miles inland.вЂќ Somewhere, someone said, вЂњHey people really, really liked that movie.

Sure, a visit to Titanic is an excellent chance to interact with some diverting history and make very wonderful dad jokes about Rose scooting over and making some room for Jack on the door, but honestly, IвЂ™m too busy marveling at the improbable nature of life, the universe and everything and cursing myself for not having the genius-level foresight to come up with the dang thing myself. The Titanic is actually a very cool attraction вЂ“ much higher on my must-see list than many of the more вЂњtraditionalвЂќ tourist spots in town.Д«ut the view coming up the curve on the Parkway where the вЂ“ I donвЂ™t know what you call it, is it the bow? вЂ“ of the mighty ship towers over traffic with fountains simulating the ship slicing through the Atlantic and scraping a giant fake iceberg remains one of the most incongruous sights of my life. Here are some bizarre, and some might say out-of-place attractions and restaurants in Pigeon Forge and the surrounding areas: The Titanic Museum is a must-see attraction, but it can feel out of place in the heart of the mountains (photo by Daniel Munson/) 6. It only means we scratch our heads a little as to why they represent East Tennessee. Now, just because they donвЂ™t seem to logically go in the mountains, it doesnвЂ™t mean these are bad attractions.

Over the years, that means a wider variety вЂ“ branching away from outlet malls, go-cart tracks and mini-golf.ДЄnd that has led to some decidedly non-East Tennessee attractions deep in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. If the people paying the bills wanted cornpone and banjo music, then thatвЂ™s what the good people of Sevier County were gonna give them.Д«ut the ultimate arbiter of what exactly Pigeon Forge and the surrounding area will be is what the tourism dollars will support. They trafficked in bear-related knickknacks and the (often stereotypical) traditions of the mountain people. In the early days, much of that stimulation came in forms native to the area. It was the Great Smoky Mountains that turned Sevier County into a tourist mecca.Д«ut, the locals found out early on that tourists needed more than motels, restaurants and the great outdoors.ДЄs it turns out, thereвЂ™s only so much nature one Midwestern family can absorb before they need a different level of stimuli.

Pigeon forge tennessee