An early start to LABOR day

Happy Labor Day, everybody!

We got an early start on the holiday last week, as we "labored" in Gatlinburg, along with our friends and helpers.  We've already shown you some of the things we accomplished, but here's more.

Phyllis painted and redecorated the shelf in the main floor bathroom...















...at the same time Mark was installing a new floor.















Mark had earlier installed a new sink, so the main floor bathroom has had a major overhaul!















Outside, Luke and Ruth-Ann totally painted the main floor deck, and put a special paint on the hot tub steps.  The pain has sand in it, so it helps to make the steps non-slip.















And I (Dave) even did a little work - trimming all the bushes opposite the front door.















So we actually had a "Labor WEEK" at Smoky Mountain Tower.  As you can see, the dogwood leaves are starting to turn, which means the fall colors won't be far behind.  We hope you will join us this fall at either Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out for a great fall getaway.

Our VIEW is back!

I know - I promised you a look at our "new" view several days ago.  Wow - have we been busy.  We got a lot of work done at both Smoky Mountain Tower and All Decked Out, and we'll tell you more about it as we go along.

But in my last post, I showed you a picture of Jerry, our expert tree guy, up in a tree.  Now I want to show you what he was able to accomplish.

This picture was taken last May from the Tower deck at Smoky Mountain Tower.  It's looking west toward Ober Gatlinburg.















Now, here is the same view, taken last Saturday!















And here is Jerry - the guy who made it happen - along with his son, Jeremy.















We also have a panoramic "before and after" shot that we have posted on our Web site at www.SmokyMountainTower.com/whats-new.

Now, maybe you're asking why we didn't take down or cut the tops off ALL the trees that block our view.  The reason is that those trees are on other people's property.  We have talked with them, but so far, they haven't given us permission to work on their trees.  We'll keep trying.

Keep checking back for more updates on all the things we got done at Smoky Mountain Tower and All Decked Out.

Working away at Smoky Mountain Tower

We're still hard at work at Smoky Mountain Tower.  Here's an update.

When we arrived last Thursday, we found our 20+ year old refrigerator had finally given up the ghost.  So we hustled over to Wayne Blalock's Home Center and got a new one.  They brought it the next day!













 

It took them only a couple of minutes to get it all hooked up and leveled - and now we have a new refrigerator.















Meanwhile, Luke and Ruth-Ann are finishing up the painting (here's Luke working on the top deck).















But the big news is that Jerry, our tree guy, was able to carve out two days to work on opening up our view.  I'll just tease you with this picture of Jerry about 100 feet up in a tree.  My next post will show you his handiwork!

We still have more work to get done in the next couple of days.  So keep checking back here for updates.

Special visitors, special work

We are in Gatlinburg, where the weather is beautiful and the work is getting done.  Our good friends from home, Luke and Ruth-Ann, also came over to help with some of the "big" jobs.  As you can see, they spent almost all day staining the new walkway, so it matches the rest of the house.

While we're doing most of our work at Smoky Mountain Tower, we're staying at All Decked Out.  When Luke and Ruth-Ann arrived, they had a special guest waiting for them!















He wandered off down the road.  But not much later, Luke was out on the side deck when Momma and two cubs came exploring.  As you can see, Momma was checking out the grill in front of All Decked Out.  This photo is not a zoom - that's how close she was!  (Too close, Luke!)















Keep checking back here to see what else we are doing.  Here's a hint:  our tree guy spent several hours at Smoky Mountain Tower today and hopes to come back tomorrow...

What do YOU like about Gatlinburg?

In our last post, we talked about maintenance.  Tomorrow we are going to Gatlinburg for almost a whole week -and most of what we will be doing will be maintenance.  We spend our time fixing all those little (and some big) things so you can enjoy your time there.

So would you do us a big favor and finish this sentence for us:

"My favorite thing about Gatlinburg is _______________________."

Of course, if you have stayed at Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out, and you think of anything we need to work on, now is a VERY good time to tell us about those things, too!  You can leave a note here on our blog, post a reply on Facebook, or write directly to dave@smokiesrentdirect.com.

We hope to hear from you.  And please keep checking back to find out more about what we're doing in the next week.

MAINTENANCE - Can't live without it!

Where would we be without the folks who help us with maintenance at All Decked Out and Smoky Mountain Tower?  I'll tell you - we would be LOST!

One of our primary maintenance guys - Mark Kalinowski - has been away for over a month, helping to take care of his parents in Michigan.  We have really missed him.  But he just called and said, "I'm baaaaaack!"  I almost cried!

You may remember seeing Mark before.  He has done a lot of big jobs for us, such as the new walkway and all the work on the garage at Smoky Mountain Tower.  Here he is working on the window cranks in the sunroom there.















He does work at both cabins - like installing new flooring...















...and new light fixtures at All Decked Out.

And he's not the only one who helps us.  Darren Phillips lives very close to both our cabins and is always ready whenever we call him with an emergency.














Maintenance is one of the things we work on very hard.  In fact, we expect to be in Gatlinburg next week for a whole week of maintenance and updating.  We'll report on our progress as we go along.  But please join us in saying a big "thank you" to these guys ... and all the others who make it possible for you to enjoy Smoky Mountain Tower and All Decked Out.  We couldn't do it without them!

It's MORE than just about renting a cabin...

When we bought All Decked Out (now more than 16 years ago), we didn't just buy it as an investment or a piece of rental property.  We bought it - and we bought Smoky Mountain Tower two years later - to be able to help people.

We have a lot of involvement with missionaries, and we know they work very hard - sometimes in dangerous situations.  Like all of us, they need opportunities for rest and relaxation.  So it has been our privilege over the years to provide those places for missionaries to take a break and experience some renewal.  That's one of the reasons we advertise on Christian Hospitality Network (www.ChristianHospitalityNetwork.com).

But our willingness to help goes beyond just a place for missionaries.  As we promised in our last post, here are some examples of ways we have been able to help our guests:

• About a month ago, Marcia was talking with a potential guest who happened to mention that she was having computer problems and might have a virus.  Marcia ended up giving her instructions on how to get rid of the virus!  P.S. - The lady made her reservation immediately.
• We try to keep a close watch on the weather in and around Gatlinburg.  More than once, we've alerted guests to a potential dangerous situation.
• Traffic can be a headache when you're coming to Gatlinburg.  Many times, we have written to guests in advance of their travel to tell them about detours or other road conditions (even rock slides in the mountains), so we can hopefully give them an alternate route and save them some travel time.
• Sometimes guests have unusual situations that require them to arrive a little early or possibly delay their departure a little bit.  We work with our guests as much as possible to accommodate their travel plans.  It doesn't always work out because of cleaning schedules - but we try.

Here's the point.  Whenever we answer an inquiry, we close with this statement:  "If you have any questions, please get back to us.  We'll help you however we can."  And we mean it.  Our goal is for you to have the best possible vacation experience.

And if you think we're just giving you a "line," check out what our guests say about us.  You can find their comments on our Web sites.  Just click on "Guest Book Comments" or "Post & Read Reviews."  We hope your review will be there soon!