Next week in Gatlinburg

On Easter Sunday afternoon, after a full day at our Chapel in North Carolina, Phyllis and I plan to drive to Gatlinburg. We will be staying in Smoky Mountain Tower, but doing some work also in All Decked Out.

If you've been keeping up with us here, you know that the majority of the work next week will be done at Smoky Mountain Tower. If the weather holds (and it's looking pretty good), we will replace a lot of the west wall. We're also hoping to do some driveway repair and sealing - so it will look better! And if Mark Kalinowski can come, we're going to completely redo the ceiling in the queen bedroom to get rid of the "popcorn" and fix some water leakage spots.

Water leakage? Yeah, it happens. Some of it was from the old whirlpool tub. Some came from those odd-shaped windows in the Tower Room, which are being eliminated in our work next week. And wouldn't you know, some of it came recently from the toilet in the Tower half-bath, which decided to spring a leak! That toilet has not just been repaired - it's been replaced! But we still have a spot on the ceiling of evidence of the leak.

Now, on to All Decked Out. The new dining room chairs are in the back of the car, all ready to go to Gatlinburg. We've got some new bedding to take, plus another one of Phyllis' famous quilts that we'll hang in All Decked Out, and a few more decorative items. We have folks staying at All Decked Out next week, so we can't bother them too much! Fortunately, they're good friends, so they will let us get a few things done.

What else? Well, next week is the annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Smokies. So we hope to get time to enjoy the flowers - and tempt you to visit us by showing you some new pictures! We also have some meetings set up with our suppliers, as well as county officials to talk about advertising. We plan to do some shopping for items that need replacing. And maybe, just maybe, we'll get to rest a little!

Finally, just before we head for home next Saturday, we'll attend the annual Chalet Village Owners Club meeting to see what we can out about some new programs being started in our neighborhood.

And you can be right there with us for all this, if you'll keep checking back here for updates. Normally, we post about every 4 days. But it will probably be much more often than that. We expect to be able to show you pictures, as well as tell you what's happening. So keep coming back, to be sure you don't miss anything. As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, you can always get to us at Dave@SmokiesRentDirect.com.

Of course, before all that is a very important celebration - Easter Sunday. We hope you will join with us to remember what may be the most important event the world has ever known - the death and resurrection of our wonderful Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. His death on the cross satisfied God and brought about our eternal deliverance. And His resurrection is the event that proves He is God. Lots of other "gods" have died - in fact, all of them have died. But only the One True God was raised from among the dead and now lives! Hallelujah!

Spring at Smoky Mountain Tower

If you're reading this on Facebook, you know I promised you some more pictures of the dogwood at Smoky Mountain Tower. So here you are!

Here's the dogwood by the driveway, just as you drive in to Smoky Mountain Tower.


This was taken from the main deck, showing the reflection in the windows.


This is the full tree from the above photo.


Oh, you like pink dogwood? This is right next door.


And here's a bonus - the rhododendron blooming in the woods just outside the sunroom.


...and a close-up.


In the interest of full disclosure, I have to tell you these were taken last spring. But we're heading to Smoky Mountain Tower in just a few days and will try to get some current pictures. If you hurry, you can enjoy all this in person! Check our calendar - May 2-4 is still open (at a great deal, I might add), and that should be right at the peak of the dogwood!