A preview of next week in Gatlinburg

We had hoped to post a message a couple of days ago from Gatlinburg. We were only there for 24 hours, primarily to take down Christmas decorations. There is news! But a couple of things have stopped me from posting. So, rather than go any more days without a message, I'll give you a preview of what we hope to be able to show you next week.

First, All Decked Out has been REALLY "all decked out" - with a 70-foot tree on the deck. They had high winds in Gatlinburg a couple of weeks ago and we just found out that God deposited one of His trees on the lower deck. Here's the tree while it was still standing (the one on the right with the red arrow pointing to it:


The tree has now been removed and we hope to be able to show you pictures next week of both the tree on the deck and the removal process. There's quite a story associated with this, so stay tuned.............

Secondly, Smoky Mountain Tower. We're going back to Gatlinburg tomorrow (Sunday, 1/24). If everything works out, we plan to move the sofa-sleeper from the Bonus Room up to the Tower Room. If you've ever moved a sofa-sleeper, you know it's not an easy task. We have some strong guys coming to help, so please pray for safety for everybody - and for a successful move.

If it works, we then plan to make the Bonus Room into a bedroom. That means Smoky Mountain Tower will sleep 8 people - a 25% increase in sleeping space. Somebody will have to share a bathroom, but we know our guests will work that out.

We plan to post pictures of everything next Tuesday night or Wednesday, so please check back to find out what happened.

Snow at All Decked Out

There has been quite a bit of snow in the mountains over Gatlinburg this winter. Traveling conditions aren't always the best when it snows, but roads are usually cleared pretty quickly. And when the sun comes out, it's a spectacular winter wonderland. So we thought you might like to see how beautiful it is around All Decked Out after a snowfall. Take a look!

Here's All Decked Out in the snow and sunshine.


The trees from the back deck are really beautiful.


This is across the street in front of our neighbors, Mike and Sally West.


As you can see, it's quite a sight. We hope you'll join us at All Decked Out this winter for great scenes like these. You can book your winter vacation at www.SmokiesRentDirect.com/availability.

Tower Room at Smoky Mountain Tower

We're still trying to figure out the best use of the Tower Room at Smoky Mountain Tower. These are our latest photos.

This view looks west, toward Ober Gatlinburg. You can see the exercise machine on the left, a little rolling table and the washer/dryer area.


Moving to the right, you can see the washer and dryer, plus the half bath and sink area. On the far right are the steps coming up from downstairs.


Keep on moving right. You can see a little closet door - that's the Tower Room heat pump. Then there's the TV, the door out to the deck, and our "Gazelle" exercise machine.


I'll tell you what we're thinking, but we don't know if it's possible. We'd like to move the queen sofa-sleeper from the Bonus Room up to the Tower Room. If we can do it (it's really heavy), we would then put a queen bed in the Bonus Room, and put vertical blinds over the doorway for privacy. That would provide room for 2 more people to sleep, although they'd have to share a bathroom.

What do you think? We'd love to hear from you about this - just write to Dave@SmokyMountainTower.com. Thanks!

All Decked Out Family Room

In case you haven't checked out our All Decked Out Web site recently, we've made a few changes in the Family Room on the lower level.

-We moved the queen sofa-sleeper to the wall next to the steps. As you can see, the pool table and Reader's Digest book collection are still there.


-We've also added a nice table and chairs, and a whole collection of board games (on the shelves behind the table).


So now our Family Room is also a Game Room, where the whole group can enjoy being together - playing pool, reading, playing games, or just enjoying some conversation. And there's no TV in this room - on purpose! Of course, the hot tub is just through the door to the lower deck. And there's a TV (and a phone and a bathroom) in the lower level bedroom.

We hope you will truly be able to relax in our Family Game Room at All Decked Out! You'll find all the information for making your reservations at our Web site - www.SmokiesRentDirect.com/All-Decked-Out.

Big news for 2010

Happy New Year!

We promised you big news and here it is - a double blast!

First, we're putting All Decked Out back on overnight rental. This gives more flexibility for those who want 3 bedrooms. You can find all the information and book online at www.SmokiesRentDirect.com/All-Decked-Out.

Second, we want more people to stay with us at Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out. So we are cutting our rates by 14% (in case you're checking, the average rate cut for lodging was 9%). Our current nightly rate is only $129 - which is the lowest regular rate we've ever offered.

But our guests can now save even more if you stay before March 31, 2010. Check out these deals:
-Stay 3 nights for only $349 ($116.33 per night)
-Stay 4 nights for only $449 ($112.25 per night)
-Stay 5 nights for only $549 ($109.80 per night)
-Stay 6 nights for only $649 ($108.17 per night)

Do you see a pattern developing here? So you think 7 nights is $749?

WRONG!

This is our BEST DEAL EVER! Stay 7 nights and you only pay the 6-night rate of $649. That works out to only $92.71 per night! And that really is our lowest every rate - in more than 13 years of renting our cabins.

There are no catches: no cleaning fees, no registration fees, no security deposit when you pay by credit card. You can find the coupon codes for these rates on our Web sites under "Specials." But hurry - we expect the available dates to be snapped up very quickly!

We hope all this news truly will make your New Year happy!

Good news and bad news...

First, the bad news:
-There are a lot of really nice folks who would like to spent the New Year's weekend in Gatlinburg. But they have waited until the last minute to start looking for a cabin to rent. We could probably have rented 25 cabins, if we had them to rent. We're still getting inquiries for people who want to arrive tomorrow afternoon! We've done our best to help folks by contacting the other owners in our Yahoo group, by checking literally hundreds of properties for availability, and even by checking for space among the better rental management companies. There's just nothing out there - at any price.

Now, the good news:
-The economy must be improving. We haven't had this many inquiries for a holiday period for over two years. We can all be thankful that folks are beginning to travel more.

But people have become used to being able to contact rental property owners at the last minute and finding open dates. Folks, that is changing. We can remember when Thanksgiving and Christmas would be booked by January 15. We're probably not at that point yet, but it's obvious that you can't wait until the last minute any longer.

Bottom line:
-Don't wait til the last minute, hoping to get a deal. More than likely, you'll save money all right - because you'll be spending your vacation at home!

Happy New Year. We've got great news coming, so please check back soon.

Merry Christmas!

Well, it looks like Smoky Mountain Tower is going to be empty tonight and tomorrow night. That's okay, because we're thankful that guests are coming in on Saturday and we're booked right through New Year's weekend!

I've been saving this picture for Christmas eve:


Yes, that's one of our rhododendron bushes on the driveway at Smoky Mountain Tower - and it's blooming! I took the picture when we were there a couple of weeks ago, so it's probably in full bloom right about now - just in time for Christmas. If you look carefully, you can see the Christmas wreath just above the front door.

Rhododendron bushes are supposed to bloom in the spring - not in the dead of winter. But God controls the seasons, and He decides when and where plants should bloom. So here we are, in the Autumn of our lives. But with God's help, we can still "bloom."

That's our Christmas wish for you - that you will bloom in the light of God's love, which He made known to us some 2,000 years ago when He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. Jesus didn't come like everyone expected - as a mighty king. Instead, He came as a baby - unexpectedly, like the blooming bush.

We hope this will be your best Christmas ever. And we have a suggestion for you if you still haven't believed on Jesus Christ as your Savior. Just give in and accept Him, and we can promise you that this will be your best Christmas ever! And if you already know Him as your Lord and Savior, like we do, we trust that this will be the Christmas when you let your life bloom for Him - wherever and whenever He chooses.

Merry Christmas!

Dave and Phyllis