The best way to start my recaps of our Tennessee vacation is to talk about our cabin. We loved our cabin. It was cozy and warm and spacious. It had all of the amenities we could have needed!
I spent hours scouring VRBO and Airbnb reviews to find our perfect mountain cabin for this vacation and when I came to this cabin’s listing, it immediately went on my favorites list because of the beautiful cabin and wonderful reviews. We were a little hesitant about the cabin when we learned there was no wifi connection, but we all have 5G on our phones and it was a strong signal, so we were fine.
We were situated in an area of Sevierville (which is a short distance from Gatlinburg) that is home to a ton of short-term rental properties (and most of them were bear-themed, as this one was). I didn’t love the twisty-turny mountain roads, that’s for sure, and I am very glad Robert was there to drive them for us. In general, it would take us almost 10 minutes to get from our cabin to the main road on an average day.
The cabin sleeps six, so there was more than enough space for the three of us (and two small dogs). I had the downstairs bedroom/bathroom and my mom/stepdad/dogs had the upstairs bedroom/bathroom. There was a spacious kitchen where Robert made more than a few meals for us. And there was a really great game room with a pool table and old-school arcade machine. On the large patio was a hot tub (we didn’t use it because the thought of being in the cold air to get into and out of the hot tub was too much for us!) and a grill that Robert used one night to make dinner. We also had a fireplace (so many kudos to Robert for being able to make a crackling fire every night and deal with the ashes the next day). Oh, and enough cannot be said about having a washer/dryer on vacation. On our last night, we stayed in and did our laundry so we came home with suitcases filled with clean clothes. AMAZING!
Here are some of the things I want to remember from this vacation and this cabin:
- Spending the evenings reading with my mom – This is one of my most treasured memories from childhood and now I get to have the same one as an adult. Between the two of us, we finished five books on this vacation!
- Lucy finding a squirrel nest in the tree and standing sentry by the window staring at it. She did not move from her spot for a long, long time.
- Playing games of pool with my mom and Robert. “Chalk it up! Chalk it up!”
- Waking up one morning, looking at my phone, and seeing “snow flurries” on my weather app. I couldn’t get outside fast enough! (There were no snow flurries at that time; they came a bit later.)
- The way the dogs looked in their winter coats. They were so cute it hurt! (Lucy looked like a little Inspector Gadget in her khaki jacket, and I couldn’t help singing the theme song every time she wore it.)
- Sitting outside on the patio on our first full day (it was the mildest day we would have) and reading my book while Lucy pattered around me.
- Having a low-key day in the cabin halfway through our trip, which was so very needed and completely delightful.
- Waking up every morning to the most beautiful views that took my breath away every time.