Mexican

1. La Carretta
2. Molcajates
3. Taco Bell

Note:  Restaurants that serve a variety of different types of food and don’t fit under any other category are listed here.

Top 5

1. Chop House
2. Plum Tree
3. China Wok
4. La Carretta
5. Cheddar’s

Note:  These are my top 5 out of all the restaurants I ranked.

The Golden Dragon is located in the former Ryan’s and Red Apple building near Robinson Middle School.  In a previous post, I gave Red Apple an 8 out of 10 rating – and Golden Dragon is even better.  I’ve eaten there many times, and they seem to get a great business.  I don’t know if the restaurant is owned by the same people who owned the old Golden Dragon on East Sevier Avenue.

Henry’s Downtown Grill recently opened in the former Sharon’s building in downtown Kingsport.  I haven’t heard anything more about it yet.

Stir Fry Cafe in downtown Kingsport offers sushi, as well as American food (I think).  I haven’t tried it, but they seem to get a great business, especially on Wednesday and Saturday nights, when sushi is half-price.

Olive Garden has been open for probably a year or two on the former Cootie Brown’s lot.  I really like it.

Longhorn Steakhouse opened just a few days ago on the lot where the original Fisherman’s Dock was located.  I haven’t tried it yet.

El Campina Mexican restaurant has opened downtown.   It hadn’t yet opened the last time I wrote about it.  I haven’t tried it.

Tamiko Japanese Restaurant is located in the former Schlotsky’s Deli/Back Yard Burgers building.  It is very nice, the food is great, and you get huge servings.  They also offer side dishes that a lot of Japanese steakhouses don’t have, such as egg rolls and crab rangoons.  They also include a free scoop of ice cream or sherbet for dessert.

Sweet Cece’s is an ice cream parlor where you get your ice cream and put the toppings on it yourself.  They then weigh your creation and charge you accordingly.

There are probably more new restaurants in town that I’m forgetting, but these are all I can think of right now.

When I was reading my previous posts about restaurants, one thing that I noticed is that 3 of the restaurants I had in my list of “Top 10 Local Restaurants in Kingsport” have gone out of business.  One of these is Fisherman’s Dock, although they recently re-opened in Colonial Heights after being closed for an extended period of time.  I haven’t eaten there since they opened in their new location, but when I’ve driven by there, it’s been packed.  Another restaurant on my list that is now closed down is Kingsport Grocery Company.  I heard that the year it closed, the winter was so bad that they had several bad weekends due to people not travelling in the snow.  They had announced plans to reopen the following Spring, but it didn’t happen.  Yet another place that went out of business was Tomoko’s Japanese Restaurant that was located in front of K-Mart.  I heard that either some of the staff or the original owners left to open the similarly-named Tamiko on Eastman Road.  After being closed for a short time, Tomoko reopened, only to close again a few months later.  The restaurant has once again reopened as of mid 2011, this time under the name Sakura.

Besides the places mentioned above, there is yet another Kingsport restaurant that I’ve written about in the past that closed down – The Red Apple Chinese Restaurant, which was located in the former Ryan’s building near Robinson Middle School.  An infamous event occurred at Red Apple shortly before they closed down.  One day, they advertised free buffets for all diners, with no purchase necessary.  I heard people were lined up around the building at lunch.  By supper, they had to close because they were out of food, and many people were turned away (myself included).  I’m not sure if this is what led to the Red Apple’s demise, but they went out of business soon after.  An event that was undoubtedly meant to get people to try their food and increase their future business backfired and alienated all of the customers who didn’t get their free  meal.  A new Chinese Restaurant, The Golden Dragon,  has since opened in the same building, and seems to be getting a lot of business.

But the list of restaurants that have closed since I wrote about them doesn’t end there.  I have another one to discuss – Sharon’s Burgers.  After being in business as Sharon’s Barbecue for several years, the restaurant briefly closed before reopening as Sharon’s Burgers.  The new Sharon’s only offered burgers, fries, and drinks.  But the food was delicious, and they continued to get a good business.  Then suddenly, they announced they would be closing down.  Sharon’s was owned by the same company that owns the many Pal’s restaurants in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.  When they announced the closing, they said that Sharon’s Burgers had been an experiment to help them improve the Big Pal burger sold at Pal’s restaurants.  I believe they might also have admitted (or strongly implied) that they never intended to keep Sharon’s Burgers open for the long-term.  A new restaurant named Henry’s Downtown Grill has opened in the building very recently.

That’s all for now.  I’ll be back with Part 2 soon, where I’ll talk about some new restaurants in Kingsport.

I haven’t heard anything about any rides closing to make room for the Wild Eagle, but I found it strange that two of the park’s major rides were missing from the latest map.  If you have any knowledge of what’s going on, post it in the comments section.  I’m particularly interested to learn if anyone can confirm whether or not Daredevil Falls and/or Slidewinder are being removed from the park.

I thought it would be fun if I rate all of the rides in the park. I’ll use a 5-star system:

***** = Awesome
**** = Great
*** = Good
** = Fair
* = Bad

Note that I decided not to include kids-only rides, since I haven’t ridden many of them.

Country Fair Area

Dizzy Disk (**** 1/2):  This spinning disc that travels up and down a sloped track was the best of the new rides added in the Country fair expansion a few years ago.  It’s a fun and unique ride.

Lemon Twist (**1/2):  This ride is similar to the famous teacup ride.  Riders control how fast the cars spin by using the wheel in the middle.  To me, this ride is too much work.  It’s like a stripped-down Tilt-a-Whirl where the cars don’t spin on their own.

Sky Rider (***):  This ride is similar to a swinger, except it goes much higher in the air and hold two riders per seat.  Riders have limited control over how much the seats swing back and forth by using a lever to move the wings on each side of the seats.  I would give the ride a higher rating, but I’ve always been a bit uneasy riding the rides where the seats are hanging from chains.

Swinger (** 1/2):  This is a more traditional swinger with both single and double seats.  I rate it a bit lower than Sky Rider simply because it doesn’t go as high.

Scrambler (***):  I have to give the Scrambler at least 3 stars because it’s one of my all-time favorite Carnival rides.  The reason I don’t rate Dollywood’s Scrambler higher is because it lacks the lighting assembly in the middle that most Scramblers at travelling carnivals have.  As a result, Dollywood’s Scrambler has an underwhelming, incomplete look.

Bumper Cars (****):  I’ve always liked Bumper Cars, so this ride was guaranteed to get a good rating from me.  The reason it isn’t rated even higher is because the cars are a bit under-powered.  However, that seems to be the case with all Bumper Cars at amusement parks and carnivals these days.  It seems almost everyone has reduced the power of their cars, probably because they were afraid someone would get hurt.

Carousel (**** 1/2):  I consider the Carousel more of a kid’s ride, although anyone can enjoy it.  I give it a high rating because Dollywood’s Carousel is absolutely beautiful.

Timber Canyon

Thunderhead (*****):  Quite possibly the best wooden roller coaster I’ve ever ridden.  It may not be as fast as some coasters, but the curvy track makes up for that.  Except for the lift hill, all of the track is curved.  This sets Thunderhead apart from other wooden coasters, many of which include long straightaways.  The continuous curves make Thunderhead a lot of fun, and it also makes the coaster seem faster.  It’s hard to find a better ride than Thunderhead.

Timber Tower (no rating):  This ride has been closed frequently during its time in the park due to maintenance problems.  I even heard that due to a dispute with the ride or parts manufacturer, Timber Tower hasn’t operated at all in 2011.  The reason I didn’t give it a rating is because I’ve never ridden it.  I tried once, but I was either too tall or too heavy and the restraint wouldn’t close all the way.

Mystery Mine (**** 1/2):  This is an excellent steel rollercoaster that is part inside and part outside.  The track has lots of twists, turns, and loops.  One of the more unique features of the ride is that the two lift hills are at a 95-degree angle.  You’re not just going straight up, you’re actually leaning back a little.

Wilderness Pass

River Battle (*** 1/2):  I haven’t ridden this ride, but I know it’s fun because I have used the water cannons mounted around the ride to blast the riders with water.  Both the riders and bystanders have water cannons, so you can get in on the fun even if you don’t ride.

Craftsman’s Valley

Tennessee Tornado (****):  A great steel coaster with multiple inversions.  I would rate it higher, but I always thought the ride was a bit short.

Blazing Fury (*****):  Although this coaster is admittedly dated by today’s standards, I still give it 5 stars because it’s such a unique and fun ride.  The train goes through a burning town before moving on to several downhill drops.  It’s a classic.  It’s one of the few rides still in the park from the Silver Dollar City days, and I hope it stays.  I was disappointed to hear that the water splash has been removed from the end of the ride due to a new braking system.

Daredevil Falls (**** 1/2):  A really fun log flume ride with a huge drop at the end.

Slidewinder (**):  This ride was hard for me to rate, because my experiences on the ride vary greatly.  Sometimes I really enjoyed riding it; other times, I was scared because it felt like the raft might turn over at any time.  I’ve rarely felt safe on the Slidewinder, which is why I gave it such a low rating.

Wild Eagle (***** – I hope!):  Wild Eagle is Dollywood’s new rollercoaster that is being built for the 2012 season.  I hope it’s a great one!

Owens Farm

Barnstormer (no rating):  I didn’t give Barnstormer a rating because I haven’t seen it in person yet.  It opened this year, but I haven’t been to Dollywood yet this season.  It’s rare for me not to have visited this late in the year.

The Village

Train (**** 1/2):  Some of my friends won’t agree with this rating, but the train has always been one of my favorite rides.  I do miss the days when the train would stop at the top of the mountain and actors would act out a train robbery.  They stopped doing that several years ago.

Rivertown Junction

River Rampage (*****):  A really fun river rafting ride.  One of my favorites.

Adventures in Imagination

Imagination Cinema (****):  This is a combination movie theater and motion simulator ride.  They change the movie they show several times throughout the year.  Some are better than others.  I like Thunder Road better than Dolly’s Wilderness Adventure, for instance.

Jukebox Junction

Rockin’ Roadway (*** 1/2):  This is a ride that is hard to classify as to whether it is exclusively a kid’s ride or not.  Miniature vintage cars travel around a track.  One of the coolest features of the ride is the 50′s music playing on the car “radio”.

I think I’ve covered all of the major rides.  Feel free to post in the comments section and let me know which are your favorite rides!

Clue #1:  The number thirty-six is one of your clues,
put some gas in the car and grab your dirty shoes!

My friend pointed out that the old Johnson City Highway is Highway 36, so that is what the first line of this clue refers to.

Clue #2:  There’s something creepy about this place,
take a left before the bridge to begin your chase.

Since I don’t know where Catfish Alley is, I can’t comment on whether or not it is creepy.

The second part of the clue does a good job of helping narrow down where the medallion was hidden.  Although I’ve traveled the highway between Kingsport and Johnson City many times, it’s been quite a while, and I can’t remember any bridges on that road.  But if I’d been out hunting the medallion, it would have been easy enough to find the bridge since the first clue made it pretty clear it was on Highway 36.

Note that the medallion was actually found before the third clue was given out, so the first two clues were all the finder needed to locate the medallion.

Clue #3:  What lies between the cities of Kingsport and Gray?
Where there was once a Market and Deli called Midway!

I remember the Midway Deli.  It is no longer open, and I’m not sure if the building is still there or not.  But to my knowledge, the entire area around where the deli used to be was known as Midway.  I can’t say if the medallion was hidden close to the old deli, or if the clue just meant that it was hidden somewhere in Midway.

Clue #4:  He once hosted a fishing show on TV,
the Louis Milhorn Bridge is the landmark you need.

I didn’t know who Louis Milhorn was when I read this clue.  But I looked him up online and learned that he was a Chairman of the Tennessee Wildlife Commission, and a former Outdoors columnist for the Kingsport Times-News.  He was also active in many organizations that were dedicated to the outdoors, wildlife, and fishing.   A bridge in Midway was named after him.

Clue #5:  Above the lake lie cliffs so steep,
Inside the rocks, holds the treasure to keep!

This clue makes it sound like the medallion was hidden in rocks at the top of a steep cliff.  Does anyone know if that was the case?  I hope this hiding place wasn’t as dangerous as the clue makes it sound!

To understand today’s clues, you need to know that Long Island was an important piece of land to the Cherokees.  They used it as a meeting place and treaty site, as well as a burial ground.  Long Island was also Daniel Boone’s starting place when he cleared the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap (credit to Wikipedia.org for this information).

Clue #1:  Water flows gently without an end,
lapping at the banks, round the river’s bend.

This clue refers to the Holston River.  The area where the river forks into the North Fork and South Fork goes around the tip of Long Island.

Clue #2:  Paranormal activity may give you a scare,
where rituals and wondering souls are cause to beware.

When I heard this clue, I thought it was referring to Rotherwood Mansion, which is rumored to be haunted.  Long Island is right across the river from Rotherwood.  But I’m not sure if the clue was a reference to Rotherwood, or if Long Island itself is supposed to be haunted.

Clue #3:  Surrounded by holy water and ceremonial grounds,
this meeting place is the setting for ghostly sounds.

The first line of this clue refers to the way in which the Cherokee viewed and used Long Island.  I don’t recall hearing any stories about Long Island supposedly being haunted, but this clue seems to make that implication.

Clue #4:  Blessed by the great Spirit, yet cursed by those forced away,
the island of treaties formed the laws of the day.

This clue attempts to further describe Long Island.

Clue #5:  Near the river’s jetty, in a tree so high,
look for the bird’s nest where the medallion lies!

I had to look up the word “jetty”.  It means “a pier or structure of stones or the like, projecting into the sea or other body of water to protect a harbor or deflect the current”.  I assume this most likely refers to the man-made concrete structure in the middle of Holston River where it branches into the two forks.

As for the rest of the clue, my friend who was on Long Island looking for the medallion heard conflicting reports about whether or not the medallion was actually in a tree inside a bird’s nest.  He also heard it was found in a pizza box inside a trash bag, but that doesn’t seem to fit the clue.  My friend also said there were about 20,000 people on Long Island looking for the medallion, but he later amended that number to 300-400.  That’s still a lot.

Clue #1:  Take a leisurely ride to the suburbs of town,
over hills and valleys, both up and down.

Colonial Heights is a suburb of Kingsport, and you drive up and down some steep hills when travelling there from Kingsport.   It’s a fairly straightforward clue, but still not specific enough to lead anyone to the exact location where the medallion was hidden.

This is the type of first clue that I like.  At best, you could have figured out that the medallion was in Colonial Heights, but you wouldn’t have known where.  A clue like this gives treasure hunters the chance to spend the morning looking around at various landmarks in Colonial Heights while trying to find the medallion, and that can be a lot of fun.

With that being said, I didn’t figure out that the medallion was in Colonial Heights after I read the clue.  But I can easily see how it refers to Colonial Heights after finding out where the medallion was found.

Clue #2:  You might see a graveyard, a church and a school,
a barn, maybe a park, let your eyes be your best tool.

Since I’m not sure exactly where the library is, I don’t know if this clue describes the area around the library, or places that you might pass while driving there.  My friend and I thought the medallion was most likely at the Appalachian Fair Grounds after we heard this clue.

Clue #3:  Cross over a bridge where the historical marker lies,
squeeze through the tunnel, but don’t close your eyes.

I believe there is a historical marker near the large bridge that you have to drive over to get to Colonial Heights from Kingsport.  I couldn’t think of any tunnels in Colonial Heights, however.  But my dad said there are couple of streets in Colonial Heights where you pass through a small tunnel, so I assume you have to go through one of those tunnels to get to the Colonial Heights library.

Clue #4:  Southeast is the direction you must go, to seek and find knowledge so your mind can grow.

Looking at a map, Colonial Heights is pretty much due southeast of downtown Kingsport.  The second line of the clue certainly describes a library.

The medallion was found after the fourth clue was given out, and they haven’t posted what the fifth clue would have been.  They also haven’t posted the name of the person who found the medallion yet.

That’s all for today.  I’ll be back tomorrow to talk about the Thursday Treasure Trackers!

Update:  After I posted this article, the 5th clue was posted on the Treasure Trackers web site.  I don’t remember many times that a clue has come right out and revealed the location of the medallion.  The clue was:  Pactolus Road is where the medallion lies, at Colonial Heights Public Library, now claim your prize!  There isn’t much analysis to be done with a clue that obvious!  But remember that the medallion was found before this clue was revealed.

Also, the medallion was found by Bryan Loring & Jacob Fry.

Clue #1:  Quiet neighborhoods surround this place,
use your best hunting skills and join the race.

The first part of the clue certainly describes Borden Park, but I can’t figure out how the second line applies.  After hearing the clue, I thought “join the race” could be a reference to Kingsport Speedway or one of the tracks at a local school.

This clue was given out around 6:45 AM, but I didn’t receive the text message notification that the medallion had been found until almost 10:30.  It must have taken a while for the folks who found it to scour the park and locate it.

Clue #2:  Follow the path and watch for things that fly,
this spot is near where the treasure lies.

This is a good clue that has a double meaning.  ”Things that fly” could certainly refer to the birds in the park, but I think it was actually a reference to the disk golf course and flying frisbees.

Clue #3:  Now look for a tree with a big gaping gash,
to find the medallion and qualify for big cash.

I’d have to go look around at the park to locate the tree in question.  But there isn’t much analysis to do on this clue.  Some of the trees at Borden Park have holes and gashes in them, so I assume the medallion was hidden in one of  them.

Clue #4:  Chiquola is a word that’s important here,
You’re getting much closer, the medallion is near.

If the medallion hadn’t been found in the morning, this clue should have let everyone know that the medallion was in Borden Park or nearby, as Chiquola was the name of the former mill across the street from the park.

Clue #5:  Tucked away and up inside,
the treasure is yours in this great place to hide.

This is a strange fifth clue, because it seems more vague to me than the previous two clues.  Clue #3 seemed to establish that the medallion was in a tree, and clue #5 seems like a more vague version of the same clue.  But since the medallion was found after the first clue, they might have accidentally posted the clues in the wrong order when they posted the rest of them on the Treasure Trackers web site.

An interesting thing to note about today’s Treasure Trackers is that the medallion was hidden in virtually the same spot (but maybe not the same tree) where it was hidden in a mid-90s treasure hunt that is the subject of one of the treasure hunt urban legends I wrote about in an older post.  Click the Fun Fest link on my blog if you are interested in reading that post.

That’s all for now.  I’ll be back tomorrow with my analysis of the Wednesday treasure hunt!

The fire tower was an interesting location for the medallion to be hidden.  First, due to controversies in past years where damage was done at Bays Mountain Park by treasure hunters, it had been announced that the medallion would never be hidden at Bays Mountain again.  The treasure hunt had different sponsors at that time, though.

Secondly, it is a tough hike up to the fire tower for the average person.  The location would probably have eliminated many people from going after the medallion even if they knew where it was hidden.

With these things being said, I still think the fire tower was a good hiding place for the medallion.  But I  hope it is hidden in a more accessible place for the rest of the week.

Let’s analyze today’s clues.

Clue #1 - Beauty abounds in our own back yard,
to find the medallion, you’ll have to work hard.

I don’t see any information in this clue that could have led anyone to the medallion when the clue was given out around 6:45 AM.  But, I don’t mind a vague first clue.  Those can be fun, because there are a lot of places in Kingsport that this clue could have referred to.  Besides Bays Mountain, the Greenbelt and area lakes are other places that fit this clue.

After finding out where the medallion was found, however, I can see how “you’ll have to work hard” fits the location!

Clue #2:  Walk or run, it’s up to you,
on a clear day, you’ll see skies of blue.

I thought of the Greenbelt when I heard this clue.  I’m not sure if this clue contained enough additional information to help anyone further narrow down the location when it was given out around noon.  But it’s easy to see how the clue describes a trek to the fire tower once you know where the medallion was found.

Clue #3:  Take an eastern course and hike around the lake,
the path that leads upwards is the one you’ll take.

This was a good clue because it narrowed down where the medallion was located (near a lake), but it also left more than one place it could be.  I didn’t consider Bays Mountain after seeing this clue myself, because I was so sure it was referring to Duck Island at Warrior’s Path Park.  But in retrospect, hiking around the lake applies more to Bays Mountain.  At Warrior’s Path, you aren’t really hiking around the lake, since the island is in the middle of it.

Clue #4:  Built by the CCC in 1937,
this 2,405-foot view is a slice of heaven.

After I heard this clue, I thought I’d picked the wrong lake and that the clue was referring to Fort Patrick Henry Dam.  However, I  looked up the dam online, and learned it was built in the 50s.  I also checked Boone, Watauga, and South Holston Dams, but they were all built in the 40s and 50s.

I then searched to see what the CCC built in Kingsport in 1937, and I learned some things.  The CCC was the Civilian Conservation Core, which was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide jobs in the wake of the Great Depression.  They built the fire tower in 1937.  I also learned that the name of the fire tower is actually the Garden Mountain Kingsport Tower, which is mentioned in the next clue.  My brother said that the elevation of the tower is 2,405 feet.

Clue #5:  You can see Virginia and Tennessee from this perch,
The Garden Mountain Kingsport Tower ends your search.

This clue pretty much revealed the location of the medallion – if you knew what the Garden Mountain Kingsport Tower was.  I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t learned it while I was researching the previous clue.  I didn’t know that was the name of the tower.

Hint:  Don’t look under the big rock in front of the fire tower.

I discovered this hint on the Treasure Trackers web site after the medallion was found.  I’m not sure exactly when it was posted, but I assume it was posted either along with or after the fifth clue.  I’m not sure why they didn’t want people to look under the rock, unless it is dangerous to do so.  I haven’t been up to the tower, so I don’t know what the rock looks like.

That’s all for now.  I’ll update this post when I find out who found the medallion.  Visit my blog again tomorrow for my analysis of the Tuesday clues!

Update:  It was officially announced that the medallion was found at the Bays Mountain Fire Tower by Jessip Sturgill of Kingsport.