Is it possible, in this crazy world, that one place can be so quiet? Once we dropped our bags, fired up the grill, and burned us some meat, we sat on the deck in amazement at the beautiful vista. Next, we decided to open the games cupboard, grabbed Mike's Russian chess set, uncorked a red from the local grocery store, and sipped and played for a bit as the sun set. Then, we retired to the cabin, and continued our wine tasting as we cracked open the lil' black book. For the rest of the evening, we just read page after page of each visitor's experiences while at "Smawlie,” which not only got us choked up a few times, but also gave us a couple of more ideas for the coming two days in the Great Smokey Mountains.
After watching one of the most beautiful sunrises that either of us could remember, we ventured back off of the mountain for three hours of zip-lining at Wildwater, www.wildwater.info. Man, did we have a great time! Then, we visited the small town of Bryson City, www.greatsmokies.com, and feasted on the best fried pickles, chili-cheese and coleslaw dog, and chicken sandwich that we’ve ever tasted. To walk off our overly-stuffed stomachs, we went from lil’ store to store and were amazed at the inexpensive prices (we need to leave DC before we go broke). After purchasing an assortment of local bbq sauces, salad dressings, and butters (i.e. pumpkin, sweet potato, etc.), we had to grab some pecan-caramel apples before we turned back towards the cabin.
When we returned to “Smawlie,” we hiked down to the lake, met some friendly locals who offered us some freshly picked grapes, enjoyed the view, and returned to the cabin for some popcorn…from a real, live, popcorn maker. It was great as we continued reading the visitors’ log and sipping wine again.
On the morning of our last full day, after a “fit-for-a-King” breakfast (grilled steak tenderloins, omelet, cheese grits, croissants, and spiced/diced potatoes) we built a little target range against the natural backstop adjacent to the cabin, and we fired an entire box of rounds through my Berretta 92FS. Then, we collected our rounds, closed the cabin, and drove down to the lake and hiked the Bartram Trail, www.ncbartramtrail.org.
Finally, we ended our last night by grilling (burgers, stuffed tomatoes, and sausages); and by building a fire in the fire pit in order to make some S ‘Mores. Just as a dozen or so mentioned in the log, we can't wait to return to the peaceful, beautiful "Smawlie!"