Gatlinburg Vacation
It's been well over a week since I last shouted into the digital wind in your general direction. In some circles, such a long period with nary a communiqué would warrant a full-scale search party. Obviously, you, my friends and family, are not such a group. You must all be psychic, having known in advance that I was on a vacation to Gatlinburg, TN.
Accommodations
Traveling with the Mello family has major benefits. Specifically, they provided our family with a reasonably spacious cabin in the woods, free of charge. Although it did have the occasional plumbing issue, this was a wonderful home for the week, and I'm grateful for it. It was certainly better than a Holiday Inn, especially given the price we were willing to pay.
Besides providing some of the most comfortable beds in the world (to which I'm sure my girlfriend will strongly object, having been relegated to a sofa bed) the cabin's amenities provided us with lots of opportunities to hang out and have fun. It came with a pool table, allowing me to hone my skills hit balls around erratically. The hot tub provided a place to relax after a tiring and sometimes painful day. The arcade reminded me just how much I hate Pacman. Most importantly, though, it came with real forks. None of those plastic utensils, we were eating in style. Seriously, though, it was a great home base for the vacation.