Gatlinburg

Brenda and I are in the midst of a much-needed diversion to the Smoky Mountains. We have a nice little hotel in the heart of Gatlinburg, TN...walking distance from a plethora of t-shirt shops, caramel corn and funnel cakes. For those who have never heard of this little vacation spot in the hills of east Tennessee, it is "state fair meets beautiful mountains"...a veritable playground of the middle-class and the unknown. Since the oil spill in the Gulf, we were thinking that the vacationers would re-route their plans from the beach to the mountains. At this point it seems Brenda and I won't be trampled by crowds...yet.

Our favorite spot here is a little preserved pioneer community called Cade's Cove, just over the hill from Gatlinburg. Sometime in the 1930s the government roped off this little valley protecting it from the ravages of progress. Going to the Cove is taking a trip back in time to the days when mountain people with English, Irish and Scottish roots populated Appalachia. Their handiwork is evident in the cabins, smokehouses, churches and mercantiles, necessary for survival in this then remote part of the world. The roads around the community are maintained as modern connections between homesteads and community buildings. The speed limit is so slow, grandma could probably keep up with her walker. But as soon as you get to a site, you must park your car and walk to it. In many cases, you can walk into the cabins and see the rough-hewn and hammered markings on the wood from more than a century ago. I love to put some cool music on in the car, creating a soundtrack that accompanies our trip around the pioneer community.

The other indulgence that we never miss while in Gatlinburg is visiting the many outlet malls that are strewn across the valley. It's not like they don't exist where we live. We just love to zig-zag in and out of each store until we tire and need to duck into a shady corner, regain our strength and start again. I have to say that I get relaxation from it all.

When families come here, they know that they can afford to splurge a little. It's not like the rich and famous who take trips to Europe or Hawaii with their families. Those are the mega-vacations that most of us dream of and will probably never see. We can fill up the car with the kids and grandma, drive a couple of hours and spend a few days in this blue collar paradise. The reason folks flock here is because we can pretty much afford it. I hope that there will always be an affordable getaway here. The economy, as it has been and looks like it will continue to be for a while, is such that many families are taking "stay-cations" instead of vacations. I prefer to play it cheap and spend a few days in the Smokies amidst the sweet-scent of frying funnel cakes and the sweaty tourist who, just like me, are looking to recover our sanity before going back to our work-a-day worlds.