Let us be the last to wish you HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here it is - January 4, 2013 - and we're just getting around to wishing you a HAPPY NEW YEAR!  That's what happens when you start off the year with some leftover bronchitis - and a task list from last year that is still too long.

But we are thankful to be in 2013.  We think this is going to be an exciting year.  And it's going to start with a trip to Gatlinburg on Monday - meeting up with Marcia, Zack and Nathan to take down the Christmas decorations at All Decked Out and Smoky Mountain Tower.  We are so thankful for their help!

We'll do our best to report from Gatlinburg.  But we just want to encourage you to make your vacation plans quickly, so you can be sure to get the dates you want.  We just got two inquiries for January dates, along with a booking for a week in June.  And we've already had inquiries for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.  We know lots of people are waiting until the last minute to make reservations.  But we can tell you two things from experience:

1. Your chances of saving money by waiting until the last minute are becoming less and less.  Our rates are already so low that we just can't afford to give very many last-minute deals.
2. Your chances of getting the dates you want are also becoming less and less.  Last month, we got 21 inquiries from people who wanted to stay with us over Christmas and/or New Year's.  But those dates had been booked last March!

We really want you to stay with us, and we hate to have to turn folks away.  So please - get out the calendar and start planning now.  That way, neither of us will be disappointed!

A big "THANK YOU" for 2012!

With less than 5 more hours remaining in 2012, we want to take a minute to send out a big THANK YOU to everyone who had a part in another great year at Smoky Mountain Tower and All Decked Out.

Our first THANK YOU goes to our guests.  We estimate that we had about 750 people stay with us during 2012.  Thank you for spending your Smokies vacation with us.  Thank you for taking such good care of our cabins, and for the many encouraging notes you left in our Guest Books.  Thank you to many of you for coming back for repeat visits.  It gives us great pleasure when you have such enjoyable times with family and friends. 

We wish we could meet each one of you and hear your stories in person about your time in Gatlinburg and the Smokies.  YOU are the reason we bought All Decked Out and Smoky Mountain Tower in the first place.  It wasn't to make money.  It was to provide a place where people could relax, refresh and enjoy some time away from the pressures of daily life.  Based on your comments, it appears that we have accomplished our goal!

Of course, it wouldn't be possible for guests to enjoy themselves if it weren't for all the people who care for our cabins.  So we want to send a huge THANK YOU to Ingrid and Bob Nelson and their girls.  It's not easy to clean cabins as large as ours - especially when we have guests leaving and arriving the same day.  But Ingrid and her family do a spectacular job - draining and cleaning the hot tubs after every guest, checking and changing burnt-out light bulbs, scrubbing the kitchens and bathrooms (on their hands and knees - the right way!), making the beds, doing all the laundry, and vacuuming and dusting every square inch.  They also take care of extras that help to make our guests' visit more trouble-free - including hauling away all the trash.  But here's one you might not expect: Ingrid cuts the grass in the summer and blows away the leaves in the fall at Smoky Mountain Tower.

How's THAT for service.

While Ingrid and her family handle all the regular work at our cabins, we still need maintenance work done.  For that, we send out a big THANK YOU to Mark Kalinowski.  In 2012, Mark did everything from totally renovating the garage at Smoky Mountain Tower, to putting up light fixtures at All Decked Out.

It's because of Mark, as well as several other people (like Darren and Joyce, who live next door to All Decked Out and are always willing to help in an emergency), that our guests almost always find everything in perfect working order.

And the reason guests are even able to be there in the first place is because of the work that our daughter, Marcia, does to answer all our inquiries, keep our online calendars up to date, and provide directions to our guests.  THANK YOU, Marcia - and grandson Nathan who does research for us - and daughter Angie who helps keep our websites working.

There are lots of other people on our team - like Joe and the folks at ivacationonline, who provide our reservation links, and the folks at Raymond's Pest Control who provide monthly service, and Tamie and the folks at the Chalet Village Club Houses (where guests swim in the summer and play tennis all year round), and all our neighbors who help keep an eye on things and provide assistance to guests when needed.

The list goes on and on.  But most importantly, we are thankful to our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, who control everything and who have so faithfully answered our prayers for guests, for safety, and for direction in all we do.  We are trusting God to provide more guests and more good times at All Decked Out and Smoky Mountain Tower in 2013, and hope you will be a part of it!