Don't Back Down

My first exposure to Upstream was a few years ago at one of those "taste of" events, when all sorts of places from around town bring samples of their wares, and for a few bucks you can buy a little plate with something on it. We had teriyaki salmon, and it was just awesome. Ever since, we've been meaning to go by and try their real food.

So we went. I'd have to agree with a lot of others in that the atmosphere is just a little to stuffy for my own personal taste. It's a nice place, and you really don't have to dress up - we went in jeans - but it's just so "pretty". The staff is nice, they are relatively attentive and all, but it just seems so wrong. I'd much rather go somewhere that's a little grizzled.

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Whenever my parents come to town, my father invariably wants steak. This has become something of a problem recently, as the Hereford Barn has closed down, and even several of the chain restaurants (Lone Star, Longhorn) have started closing too. So I started looking about to find somewhere new to try.

I finally settled on the Ranch House after reading some favorable reviews on the Internet. I'm always a little leery about somewhere that I've never even seen, but I figured if we didn't like it, we could always turn around and go somewhere else.

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For the first time in quite a while (we're quite likely talking a measurement of years here, rather than months), I decided that I wanted to build a new system. Inspired by two things - posts such as Building and Overclocking a Core 2 Duo System and the utterly abysmal performance of an off-the-shelf HP desktop that I purchased a few weeks ago - I figured it was time.

Up until perhaps three months back, I had been using laptops for the last three years (give or take). This is because I was on the road quite a bit. But since I don't really travel all that much any more, I figured it didn't really make much sense to worry about a laptop at this point. Sure, I have a laptop if I need one. But I want to make the leap to two identical monitors. I've been using dual screens for some time, and using two that are the same, rather than a laptop screen and an external monitor seems like a good choice.

So I looked about, and found what appeared to be a reasonable compromise - the HP. It came with a video card that had dual DVI outputs, allowing me to power the monitors of choice (more on those another time). Unfortunately, that's about all it did, and I rapidly determined that my measly single-core laptop seemed to have better performance, so I needed to do something about it. Here's what I did.

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For better or worse, we recently had the opportunity to visit Carolinas Medical Center when my wife went in for a brief operation. We went in on a Friday morning, and by lunch time, she was being wheeled in for the procedure. A couple of hours later, she was out and in her very own room. By Sunday, she was headed home. Overall, it was a good experience (more details below).

Contrast this to the three day surprise visit to Presbyterian Hospital, and I'd have to say that we were pleasantly surprised.

Firstly, let me say that we fully understand that in one case (CMC), we had an appointment, while in the other we did not. I know that makes a difference. But there are other differences as well, that cannot be solely blamed on the conditions under which the patient was admitted.

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This was my first visit to Pigeon Forge, and more than one person suggested visiting the Old Mill (the restaurant, I mean - there seem to be dozens of places in the general vicinity that start with "Old Mill", so don't get confused).

I'm not typically one who will wait for much time at all, but it was vacation, and I'm usually game for one of those must-see (or must-eat, as the case may be) places, so I figured I would wait. Unfortunately, it was also about 7, and the wait was said to be about 45 minutes, which would place us getting seated at almost 8pm, and that's really pushing my tolerance for dinner. Sorry, but I like to eat earlier than some. So that already put me in the wrong frame of mind. It got worse.

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After last night's debacle at the Old Mill, we were looking for something - anything that would a: mean that we didn't have to wait for an hour just to get seated and b: hopefully have some semblance of decent food. Duff's did well on the first point, and performed adequately on the second.

I'm not quite sure if Duff's is always less-than-crowded. When we arrived, at somewhere around 5pm, the place was almost empty. Perhaps four or five tables were occupied, and we quickly took over a small section in the back room, which was necessary for our party of eight in order to sit together. It meant that we were farther from the "smorgasboard" than we would have liked, but it wasn't far.

Read "Duff's Famous Smorgasbord of Pigeon Forge" »

On our trip to Pigeon Forge, we weren't doing so well. The stop at the Old Mill Restaurant was a bust, and Duff's Smorgasboard, while better, wasn't all that great either. So perhaps the problem was that we simply weren't doing a good job at picking places to eat. I'm not sure that choosing somewhere to waste a few hours is likely to yield a better result, but we decided to give it a go.

The choice for the day was Wonderworks. This is mostly because it's a really interesting building. Built in the shape of a large building that landed upside-down in a parking lot, if nothing else, it was fun to look at, and that will keep the kids busy for a bit. There is also another location in Orlando (we hadn't been to that one, but I imagine that they are about the same). Yes, we could have gone to Dollywood, and we planned to do so, but impending rain made us decide not to do that.

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They always say that the third time is the charm, right? So after what was probably the worst meal experience in recent memory at the Old Mill, and an utterly average experience at Duff's, I was hoping beyond all hope that the third time was indeed the charm here at Applewood.

Alas, it started off by waiting in line. I so hate waiting in line. It wasn't a good start. What really baffled me was that, unlike at the Old Mill, there was no apparent way to determine when the name of your party was called. Though we sat outside on the porch (which was a nice porch) for at least half an hour, I don't think I heard a single name called during the whole time. It was just odd.

Read "Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant" »

When we took our trip to Pigeon Forge, we decided to make it a regular family reunion. The big problem with doing so is trying to figure out just how to make enough room for the entire family. It's not like there aren't any hotel rooms in the area - it's just that trying to get one that's large enough for our family (the two of us, plus the two kids) is bad enough. Throw in trying to organize things with both sets of parents and it can turn into a nightmare.

So we decided that we'd try out a cabin. Specifically, we turned to Starr Crest Resort, which isn't really a resort at all, in the typical use of the word, but a collection of properties (cabins, specifically) perched on a mountain. And when I use the word "perched", you may want to take me literally. Some of these places are right on the edge. Our choice was As Good As It Gets, a four bedroom monster right at the top of the mountain.

This may not be the right course of action for everyone. And I'm not even sure if we'd do it again, or if we did it again, if we would do it the same way we did it this time. But for this trip, it worked out great.

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After Wonderworks, we really didn't think that there was much that we could do to match the activities of the prior day (in actuality, we didn't really think about it). Especially since we were finally on our way home. But relatively early on a Sunday morning, we just happened to be passing by something that you just don't see every day - The Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum.

Now I realize that this isn't for everyone. In fact, it probably isn't for much of anyone. But we're just those kind of people that like to see things that you can't see just anywhere. And in fact we like to see things that not everyone else sees. How many other people have been to Wonderworks? Or Dollywood? I have no idea. But I am sure it's a lot. How many have been to the Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers? No idea. But we have.

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Nestled in the shopping center, you may not immediately notice the place - it's not like the restaurant jumps out at you, being that there are only another hundred or so shops in the development. Right there around the fountain have to be another dozen or so shops, and on any given weekend night, it's pretty packed.

But it's probably worth stopping in, as the atmosphere is good and the food is quite decent. The service is solid, approaching excellent. The only downfall that we really found was that the drinks weren't really maintained.

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Found in the same shopping center with Jo Jo China Bistro (and another several dozen shops), the location is great. It's right next to the fountain, and on a warm spring night, the ability to pop in for a single-serving dessert and a drink, then sit on the patio by the fountain, or even around the corner and listen to music, is perfect.

What is missing is that the market cafe concept isn't quite the same as the full-fledged grocery store of other locations, such as Philips Place. That's not to say that the other locations are actually full-fledged grocery stores, but if you've ever been, you should know what I mean.

Read "Dean and Deluca Market Cafe" »