“Work hard, play hard” is our theory here at Hobby Car Corvettes!  That’s why every time we go on vacation, we start by finding all the best C3 corvettes to send home to our shop in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania.  This summer’s trip was to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  We bought three corvettes on the first leg our journey south, leaving them at a relative’s house in Virginia.  On the way from Virginia to Tennesee we bought one more, followed by another later that night.  Then we finally settled into the little cabin we had rented.  It had plenty of parking- a perfect situation for us.  We’re pretty sure we had our neighbors scratching their heads all week!

 

 

Of course, we rarely stay in one spot for long, so we eventually strayed a couple hours in almost every direction. We traveled a couple hours east to Asheville, North Carolina to buy a vette and tour the Biltmore Estate.  The Biltmore was built by the famous Vanderbilt family, who still own it to this day.  It is America’s largest privately-owned home and it is an amazing sight!

 

 

Next, we traveled four hours north to Bowling Green Kentucky.  We bought a car nearby and, of course, had to pay a visit to the National Corvette Museum. The last time we visited in 2015, the floor had just been replaced following the infamous sinkhole incident, and we were only allowed to peak inside the “Skydome” from afar, to glimpse the progress of repairs.  By now the Skydome is again filled with cars, including those that were pulled out of the hole.  The carnage is unreal!  Take a look at all of our photos from the National Corvette Museum by clicking here.

 

 

Despite all of our wandering, we did spend plenty of time in Pigeon Forge and nearby Gatlinburg.  The area is located on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and we enjoyed countless beautiful views during our time there.  One highlight was traveling (20 miles by truck, 1/2 mile by foot) to the top of the tallest mountain in the Smokies- Clingman’s Dome.  It was quite a trek, but the views were worth it!

 

 

We also traveled to Cade’s Cove, a popular “scenic driving loop” within the park.  There we saw buildings built by the original settlers in the 1800’s.  We also saw wildlife including a few of the black bears the Smokies are known for.

 

 

One of our favorite destinations in this area is Floyd Garrett’s Muscle Car Museum.  We first discovered the museum a few years ago during a short trip at Christmastime.  Garrett’s collection of muscle cars is incredibly impressive, including dozens of pristine-looking survivor cars, and lots of corvettes (some of which are survivors themselves).   Many of the displays had rotated since our last visit, so we were able to see many new cars.  We highly recommend this museum to anyone who visits East Tennessee! To see a lot more of our photos, click here.

 

 

Another fun destination is the Hollywood Star Car Museum.  This museum features many famous cars from movies an TV shows, as well as a few that were owned by celebrities.  Some highlights for us were the DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future, a 1955 T-bird owned by Dennis Wilson and signed by most of the Beach Boys, and this Corvette Grand Sport- driven by Vin Diesel in Fast Five.  Click here to see more of our favorites at Hollywood Star Cars.

 

 

With four vettes at our cabin, it was time to get them headed for home.  It wasn’t easy finding a parking lot big enough for loading our cars, but luckily our driver came late at night, leaving more options open.  At about 2:00 am, we waved good-bye to three of the vettes.

 

 

A friend of one of our followers on Facebook saw them heading north later that morning, and took this picture.  It sure is nice to have eyes all over the country!

 

 

Later in the week, we traveled west to Nashville, Tennessee.  This was the only side-trip that didn’t involve buying a corvette.  Traveling in the city with even a small trailer is a nightmare, and besides- the car hauler had already left for the week.  Nashville is always a blast, no matter the occasion!  We took the backstage tour at the Grand Ole Opry, and spent the afternoon enjoying live music on Broadway.

 

 

Having had a wonderful week in Tennessee, we loaded up the fourth vette from the week and returned to the cars we had left in Virginia, where we also spent some long-overdue time with our family.  The next morning, we got three cars loaded for the last shipment home, and headed home ourselves.

 

 

It was an exciting, fun, and productive week- like we said, “work hard, play hard!”  Returning home involves a lot more hard work- getting all those new arrivals processed through our mechanical and detailing shops.  Take a look at our newest arrivals below, and keep watch on our website for updates!