The Great Smoky Mountains

Last week, The Girl and I took a decidedly necessary vacation. Some weeks back, while we were both knee-deep in internships (which run through mid-autumn), we realized life was only going to become more hectic when classes began here in August. If we were going to get away, the time was now!

Without a specific destination in mind, we needed to be able to make the trip in a day and relatively inexpensively. We also both knew we had to escape the featureless plain that is the Midwest. Southern Missouri (Ozarks) was out of the question. A little too close and not quite scenic enough. Landlocked in the center of the country leaves the ocean out of the question with drive-time. The Great Lakes are beautiful but having been to Chicago on our last trip, we were feeling like heading a different direction this time. Also we wanted something more "outdoorsy". Finally, someone suggested a cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Jackson Mountain Homes Inc.

The vacation could not have gone better. We left on a Wednesday, took a 9 hour drive over to Gatlinburg, TN, stayed in a cabin for 4 nights, and came home Sunday. It was one of the most relaxing times of my life. The cabin rental company, Jackson Mountain Homes Inc. was excellent! Not only were they extremely knowledgeable with just about everything vacation, they didn't miss a thing! And on top of all this, they were the nicest people we spoke with the whole trip (and we met some very nice folks). They showed no exasperation when we called multiple times having gotten lost in various parts of town and were never hesitant to help.

Our cabin was beautiful; Tucked away on a small mountain top overlooking the Smokies complete with kitchen, california-king sized Tempur-Pedic mattress, and.....HOT TUB! We had a number of hikes planned for the few days we were there. We only managed to get to one. For no other reason than we were so worn out from work and summer school that we wanted nothing more than to just relax in the hot tub and gaze over the Smokies. Though I have never rented a cabin in Gatlinburg before, I recommend this place whole heartedly. They forgot, nothing.


We even made some new friends!