Thursday, July 24, 2008

Our Adventure to the Mountains: Part One


Trust Me Santa, I'm a Pirate



The week start off just as any other with one little exception, I was a year older. So with this being as good a reason as any, we decide to take a few days off and set sail for calmer waters. We are fortunate to live within a couple of hours of just such a destination, The Great Smokey Mountains. We usually visit the mountains a few times a year, mainly for the food and relaxation, but with a four year old on board you never really know what you may end up doing.

The Crew and I are pretty predictable, we always stay at the same hotel and eat at the same restaurants, until this trip, we actually ventured away from our normal lodging and stayed somewhere new. The new choice for our trip was The Inn At Christmas Place. This is one of the newer hotels in Sevierville, and as the name suggests, themed around Christmas. The concept of Christmas in July is not a new one in our crew, my son is convinced, thanks in large part to the gang at the Pink Bee, that we should have our Christmas tree up and celebrating now. I knew that this stay may further damage my argument that December is Santa's month, but agreed anyway. When we arrived at the hotel, the most notable thing is the staff. The hotel itself is visually stunning, but the hotel's staff, made the experience. You really did feel as if you were family in for a visit. I felt that the Christmas theme throughout the lobby as well as the rooms was perfectly balanced. I can only imagine how special the inn would be closer to the winter months. I love the warm weather

The actual reason for our trip was to allow the boy to get a little pool time before his preschool starts back, and we were very well pleased with the pools at the Inn. There were two pools one inside and one outside, along with an indoor hot tub. The outside pool also had a really cool water slide for the kids to enjoy, old and young alike. Both pools were large enough to accommodate guests of all swimming levels; the only drawback was that there was not a kiddy pool, but the slide more than made up for that.

Our room we stayed in, much like the hotel was very nice. We had two queen sized beds along with a great balcony view overlooking the pond and pool area. The room did have some very nice high end touches in the cabinetry, flat screen television, and the bathroom counters. The décor of the room again, was very well balanced. I did hear my wife say that the hotel did offer rooms that were more decorated than others. The room above all, was neat as a pin and the maid service was top notch.

One thing that we did not get to sample was the breakfast. The hotel offers guest a deluxe hot continental breakfast, which I overheard other guest discussing. From the sounds of the conversation, I hate that I missed out on good food. Don't worry we did not go hungry, more on the food later.

I would have no problem saying that I was impressed with the Inn At Christmas Place, and would highly recommend staying there, anytime of year. We are planning to go back down after Christmas to check out the lights and we will definitely be staying there, if we can get a room.


Sunday, July 20, 2008

A Little Unfinished Business....

Before I took what I am now referring to as my break from my normal routine, I left some unfinished tales, so I thought I would bring one of them up to date before moving on with the new content. When we last spoke at the first of the year, there were a lot of things happening. One of the most notable was the issue with my sister’s health. It took a few surgeries and doctor’s visits, but I am glad to say that she is finally getting back to normal. My nephew is still doing great and we are all thankful that both of them are progressing quite nicely. It has been a long road for her so far, and we all know that she is going to have to continue learning how to live with Chrons, but I am sure that my nephew can keep them on the right track. I want to say thank you again for all the support and prayers.


I have a link to my sister’s blog in the High Seas Reading section, A Day in the Life of Brady, if you would like to check out the newest little buccaneer to join our crew. The boy has already been sending him the necessary pirate gear, so he can look the part.

Like I said earlier, a little unfinished business, now the fun stuff. Let the adventures begin....

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Where Is John B?

The good news is I am back and if you are reading this post you may have noticed a few changes to the blog. I have found that sometimes change is a good thing, and I hope that you will find the new blog theme entertaining and fun. Don’t be alarmed I still love to smoke my stogies and will be talking about my latest smoke and the best places to buy cigars. The Crew and I have taken a few small trips that I promise to give all the details about our hotels, food finds, and attractions we visited. In regards to the new Pirate Theme, you can really give credit to little John, for that. I have come to realize through the countless hours of pirating around with him, that there is a little pirate in us all.

There is no need to worry, if your pirate lingo is a little rusty we have included a handy Pirate Translator, so you can brush up for the upcoming big adventures of the crew.

John B's Cigar Blog ©Template Blogger Green by Dicas Blogger.

TOPO