Not So Maudlin

You can see the upstairs bathroom window, above. I loved the pattern and the colors.

We arrived on Friday, checked in, and went to get some dinner. That night, we came back to the cabin to relax and watch a movie, Munich. I’ll be honest, I love the subject matter of the movie - that’s why I wanted to see it - but the movie was a massive snoozer. Anyway, we woke up on Saturday and got ready for our day we had planned. We had gone to Sugarlands Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park the day before and decided we wanted to go hiking first thing in the morning. We made some breakfast and headed off. There was some confusion about which trail we wanted to hike, but eventually decided on the Little River Trail. It was paved, but very pretty…

We also spotted a deer!

After about an hour and a half, we decided to head back and take a shower. We stumbled across the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community the day before and had been watching the Gatlinburg Crafts Channel at the Cabin. We wanted to go to Alewine Pottery to check it out and maybe learn to turn pottery. For five dollars, they let you turn a bit and for twenty-five, they let you keep what you make. We decided to keep our bowls.

It was pouring down rain, so it was a great way to kill some time. When we walked outside, the sun was trying to peek through the clouds. There was a couple (Jerry and Joan) who play bluegrass and “olde tyme” music at Alewine, so we sat and listened to them for a while.

Oh, and I forgot about lunch. Before we went over to Alewine, we ate lunch at a cute little coffee and tea house, called Shabby’s Cafe. The service was a little scattered, but they were very nice people. We ordered sandwiches, expecting to get typical coffeeshop fare, and were surprised to receive gigantic plates with very large sandwiches. The guy who took our order suggested I get the creamy potato salad. I’m glad I did. It was amazing. The lunch was delicious.

We spent some time perusing more craft shops after Alewine and then decided to go back to the cabin. On Sunday, we wanted to take the tramway up to Ober Gatlinburg. I personally didn’t care anything about spending time up there, but I did want to see the view from the tram car. We trekked the Gatlinburg strip (my idea of hell) and bought tickets for the tramway. The view was very nice. We were packed in the car like sardines and there were only a couple of moments I felt even slightly panicky. It was nice overall, though.

We did a couple of things on the strip, but it was hot and kind of boring, so we headed back to the cabin. We spent the rest of the day just putzing around there. At this point, I was missing the kitties like crazy and really couldn’t wait to come back home for some kitty hugs. On Monday, we got up, checked out, and went and got some pancakes (because it’s Gatlinburg and it’s an unwritten law that one has to get pancakes in Gatlinburg). We made it back home safe and sound and the kitties were great, but a little pissed.

A great vacation all around, which is surprising, because a few years ago I would have never wanted to go to Gatlinburg.

More pictures from the trip are here, if interested.