How about using indirect lighting - light bars hidden by crown molding (also known as cove lighting)?

I had a F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S time.....and MORE!! Just a short note to say hi and a few pics I've mananged to load over the weekend. It was great to see some old friends again and meet some new ones. I'll will add that the wine per person was a little more than three bottles..two didn't drink at all and I don't do wine all that much...LOL! Now for the pics..... RR has been holding out on us....seems she has a business up in the mountains....right next door to the Lazy Daze Laundry and LP Gas place..... Nancy making that vodka pie crust for the great Apple Pies she made for us.....YUM! Birthday girl....complete with a crown...not the drink..lol! Harvest/Birthday dinner....I cut Nancy out of the photo..sorry about that pal. Karen, May, and Cathy in front of the Biltmore and one of the many wine cellars we saw. Couldn't take pics inside the mansion. Dinner out for our last night there....Rueben was a great and VERY entertaining waiter. I think the rest of the group would agree that we had outstanding service no matter where we went out to eat. May and Karen with a cowboy (not naked).... this is the only postable photo...things got crazy after this pic....I'll leave it at that...LOL! I had a great time and will never forget it...if you get the chance to meet up with a member or group from the forum do it......still packing here! Oh, almost forgot to mention that I found a very cool painting by a local artist for my new place....yes all y'all I called and bought it today!! David

We stayed in a condo with friends when we were there. That was nice because we had our own seperate bedrooms and bathrooms. The aquarium is very nice, we also went to 'Ripley's Believe it or Not' which was okay. There was a very nice craft show in one of the large buildings downtown going on when we went..it may be there all the time? We also went into the park...a 5 mile drive took us about 3 hours (it's a one way road, hilly & crowded with cars)..we did stop and hike up one of the shorter trails. We had kids with us, so we didn't do a lot that wouldn't have interested them. The thing about Gatlinburg that I remember most is the amount of people that were there. I've been to Vegas, Branson and a lot of other places...but was just amazed at the amount of people downtown when we arrived on the first night. Make sure your brakes are good...the hills will do a number on them! :-)

I'm not sure if you've ever been to Gatlinburg before, but if you haven't then you should probably expect to spend a day there. There are a lot of local shops plus that's where the aquarium is and you could ride the tram to go figure skating as well. You might even need more time depending on how much your kids and husband tolerate looking in the shops. I've gone to the area almost every year since I was a little girl. When I was younger, I wanted to stay in Pigeon Forge and ride go-carts and go to the arcades (that's where most of these type activities are), but my parents always wanted to spend time in Gatlinburg. Now as an adult, my husband and I like to spend most of our time in Gatlinburg, and maybe go to Pigeon Forge/Sevierville for a day. There are numerous things to do in both. You can take a scenic helicopter tour if you want (never done this myself). We like to take some time to drive through the Smokies on 441. You can drive up to Clingman's Dome and then hike the last little bit (maybe a mile-I can't remember) to the highest point in TN. It's a great view on a nice clear day. Also along 441, there are a lot of great pull outs to park and take some pics. Of course, as a child I used to hate these long car rides with my parents. For breakfast or lunch one day, you might want to try the Applebarn/Applewood? in Pigeon Forge/Sevierville. I think it is actually Sevierville, but the two really kind of run together. It has some little round donut type things that come with apple butter that are excellent. They come with most of the meals I think, but we always order an extra bag to take with us for the next day. In Pigeon Forge, there is the Dixie Stampede which is a show and dinner I think, but I've never been, so that's pretty much all I know about it. And then of course there's Dollywood. I don't know much about Cosby other than I've drove through it. I think it has some small shops and maybe a couple of places to sight see but I'm really not sure. If your family likes to hike, then there are a lot of trails to check out. It's good for some piece and quiet from all of the shops.