It's so nice to be missed!

In our last post, we told you about our recent trip. A couple of days ago, we got the following email from Elsie, who lives in Texas. Elsie and her family stayed at Smoky Mountain Tower last year. Here's what she said:

"Dave, I missed you while you were gone. I have a habit of just checking your web site to see what is new. We stayed there last May and were so happy with the ease of renting with your family that I keep up with what you are doing. If we ever decide to stay in that area again we definitely will book one of your houses. I just wish you had a house to rent somewhere else in other states. I try to find somewhere new and interesting to go to each time. We have visited all 50 states and a number of other countries.

"We have rented quite a few homes over the past 10 or 12 years and have never had an experience of renting like we did with you. It was great. I spread the news to every one I know that might go in that direction.

"I'm glad you had a good cruise."

Thank you, Elsie. We have often said that our guests are the best - and Else just proved it again!

"Where have you been?"

Yeah, I know - it's been 11 days since we last posted. Well, we took a vacation! We actually went on a Caribbean cruise with Marcia and her family - so both of us were out of touch.

But, thankfully, our 'original Gatlinburg daughter' - Angie - took over for us and handled everything with her usual fine expertise. Almost 5 years ago, Angie got everything set up for us when we first started renting out Smoky Mountain Tower and All Decked Out ourselves. She figured out the whole process, found a credit card company for us, designed our Web sites, and took care of all our reservations (and a whole lot more) for a couple of years. But as her family started to grow, she needed to spend more time taking care of her husband and raising her two boys.

However, whenever we need to get away for a little R&R, Angie is there to step back in. So THANK YOU VERY MUCH, Angie, for your great help and service.

And lest you think our time away was all fun, we actually looked at another possible cabin for purchase just outside Cozumel, Mexico - so we could offer you some variety in your vacation plans. However, as you'll see, it's not quite up to our standards:


Okay, just kidding. These are Mayan ruins in Mexico! But seriously, Marcia and I did spend some time talking about Gatlinburg and how we can make some improvements in our service for our guests. We even bought some expensive Internet time on our ship so we could stay in touch with Angie and answer any questions that might come up.

Stay tuned - we're working on some more ideas for you. Meanwhile, if YOU have some things you'd like us to offer or some changes you think we should make, please let us know.