Tennessee Small Town Get Aways?

“My wife and I would like to get away for a little small town adventure for valentines. We love small towns with historical things and stuff to do with out being too touristy. A little touristy is bearable but nothing like Pigion(poop)Forge or Gatlinpuke. I was thinking of going south so it'd be a little warmer and maybe do a little hiking.

Any suggestions?”

“Blowing Rock/Boone, NC
Highlands, NC
Townsend, TN

Blowing Rock and Highlands are sort of upscale type towns. Boone has Appalachian State and is sort of a hippie town. BR and Boone are about 10 miles apart. Townsend is about 45 minutes from Gatlinpuke and has the Smokies but not the in your face tourism.”

“Yeah, I found the NC side of the mountains to be nicer than the Tn side by far.”

“these poeople have some nice cabins if you're interesting in doing it that way. Just came back from spending new years in one.
http://www.logcabinrentals.com/search_result_detail.php/cid=129”

“Cabins are the way to go. 4 years ago we got a nice cabin about 20 minutes out of Boone. 7 nights was $600. The nearest home that I could see was about 3 miles away across a valley.”

“If you want to stay in Tenn, there are some nice little B&B's near Knoxville, in the foothills. My parents went to one near Roan Mtn, and they loved it.

Monteagle, TN is also really nice...right next to Sewanee. Plus, you have South Cumberland in your backyard.

In NC, Black Mountain and that area is really nice too. Lots of arts and crafts, old houses and b&b's.

In GA, Helen is a cool little town. Neat architecture and such.”

“i've stayed in townsend before...didn't seem like there was much to do but then again i spent most of my time in the park”

“What about Ashville NC?”

“http://www.wesclark.com/rrr/rugby_tn.html

Click the link at the bottom of the page to see pictures....!”

“that's it??!!...that's your pitch WK??!!...you wouldn't make a very good tourist agent LOL
last edited: 1/05/06 2:12:32 PM”

“thrify - my wife and I were supposed to do just your trip in Asheville weekend after next. THings got weird with meetings and I couldn't take off then. There are lots of opportunities there. My main requirement was a cabin with a exterior hot tub! I think we'll go in late Jan now.”

“Helen is neat but is Gatliburg lite. We stayed there after rafting the Chatooga in April. We had fun but there are a few too many t-shirt shops. That whole area is nice. Helen, Dahlonega, and others. Blood Mtn and Brasstown Bald aren't too far.”

“Rugby Tennessee

http://www.thegamblefamily.net/wordpress/index.php?p=38”

“Exterior hot tub huh dayhiker? Hard to get in and out of that thing naked with out the town folk seeing you!”

“That's why you get a cabin out in BFE.”

“Ha Ha! I see”

“Warm Springs, Ga. Yeah I know not Tennessee but I really want to go there.
last edited: 1/05/06 2:31:15 PM”

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“that's it??!!...that's your pitch WK??!!...you wouldn't make a very good tourist agent LOL
last edited: 1/05/06 2:12:32 PM”
thriftyhiker

Someone gives you a good suggestion and that's how you say, "Thank you." At least you did add an "LOL," so I guess it's OK. But it sounds like you're looking for someone to hold your hand, too. Here's some help to get you started: Asheville”

“easy killer...it was a joke...i would rather hear about these kinds of things from actual people who have actually been there than find some website that is of course gonna hype it up and say it's the best vacation spot ever...i'll supplement my search with this kinda stuff but nothing beats word of mouth”

“http://www.willowwinds.com/

I stayed here a few years ago which is just outside Asheville. It was nice and quiet. Hot tub out back too. The Mountains to Sea Trail is nearby.”

“I'll add that I've been to Asheville, Boone, Blowing Rock, Townsend, and Helen.

Asheville is big enough to have plenty to do but you can get out of town. Are you familiar with the Biltmore? It's about an 80,000sf home built by the Vanderbilts. It's at the edge of town. Pretty cool tour, but pricey. It was about $30pp about 6-7 years ago.”

“thriftyhiker - I get a kick out of exploring and finding things on my own. It is dangerous giving recommendations to others since everyone is different and may enjoy completely different things. Good luck.”

“I get a kick out of exploring and finding things on my own

LOL...i always pick out crap...i'm notorious for this...i'm the clark griswald of my family”

“I hear smyrna, tn is nice this time of year















HAHAHA”

“Opie, don't knock it 'til you've eaten at the Omni Hut.

http://www.omnihut.com/home.html

Until you've had their Tahitian Feast you haven't lived. At the end of the meal they sacrifice a virgin.”

“We had a corporate retreat at Evins Mill years ago. It's close to Edgar Evins SP, Rock Island SP and fairly close to Fall Creek Falls SP.

http://www.evinsmill.com/index.html”

“been there, ate that. And i doubt you can find a virgin in smyrna!”

“That figures, if OPIE has already been there! LOL.”

“A virgin what?”

“hey y2 did you stay in that cabin . you posted ? i live in boone and I service rentals with satellite tv and wirering ..
if you come up again let me know i can show you some cool day hike trails.
Later JB”

“If I wanted small towns, nice quiet atmosphere, good food, quiet pubs, I would go to Rogersville or Jonesborough.

Rogersville is the second or third oldest city in TN, Jonesborough is the oldest.

The national storytelling center is in Jonesborough. Main Street Cafe is a great place to eat and the Depot Street Brewery beer served there is great. Small shops, neat main street and plenty of hiking nearby.

Davy Crockett birthplace SP is nearby to both towns and Rogersville has the same character as Jonesborough.

This area is the heart of East TN and IMHO is an area often overlooked and underappreciated.”

“Jonesborough is cool, you'd like it.

lots of history in the area.

just stay waaaay away from Martin, over in NW TN.”

““i've stayed in townsend before...didn't seem like there was much to do but then again i spent most of my time in the park”
thriftyhiker
2:04:59 PM
1/05/06


There is NOTHING to do in Townsend, it is a boring tiresome little place. All TOURISTS STAY AWAY!!!!”

“I took a summer class at Martin while I was working as an intern for Bunge in Dyersburg.

Only thing to do in Martin was drink!!!!”

“lol, dats right chili.

I grew up in Martin and went to college there.”

“Hey JB, yep, stayed in that one. Had a great trip. Let you know if I'm down that way again.”

“If you want to go somewhere with the beauty of the mountains in Gatlinburg but no traffic and way cheaper, try Eastern Kentucky. There are tons of state parks in that area. You could visit a different park every day. Cumberland Falls is great -you can white water raft or go tubing in the summer. There are lots of trails with varying distances. I wish I had my trail book with me, I could go on and on. Anyway, Cumberland Falls is not to far from TN
last edited: 1/07/06 3:27:00 PM”