Planning a get-away

Every fall Wife and I go away for a long weekend. I usually start planning the trip in July or August, after our summer vacation. Since the summer vacation is not happening this year I can move on to planning our annual fall get-away. 😀

For the last 11 years we have been going to Gatlinburg for this “retreat” every fall. It seems like we are going later and later each year. It started out in the beginning of October, moved to mid October, then late October and the last two or three years it was the beginning of November. I’m not exactly sure when to go this year. It got later and later because we were moving the summer trip from June to July to August. Now we don’t have that summer trip so I’m thinking beginning of October or mid October.

Everyone always asks “Gatlinburg? Again?” Honestly, we love going there. It was the place we went on vacation when we were dating. Wife’s parents paid for a room for my brother-in-law and myself and my wife’s cousins. Four guys 16 to 20 years old in a motel room … talk about a recipe for a stinky room … 🙂 It’s the place we went on our first annniversary. It’s the place our kids went for their first vacations. We have tons of memories there. Yeah I know, it’s a tourist trap and crowded. But we love it. The girls love going, as do my in-laws. So every summer we’d go for a week. But not this year. We just cannot afford it with having taken a cruise in April. The in-laws can’t afford it either right now. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret the cruise, loved the cruise! It was worth the expense. We just need to adjust our anual vacation timing to be whenever we take a cruise or go to Gatlinburg or where ever. No more double-dipping on vacations. I’ve made it clear that we cannot afford a cruise next year. And Wife finally agrees. But I digress …

This upcoming trip .. when to go .. We like the November time frame because there is hardly anyone in town. But, the leaves have turned and are falling by then. It’s colder, but not cold enough for snow. AND they put up the Christmas lights all over Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and Sevierville. It really helps kick off the holiday season. HOWEVER, Gatlinburg in October has more to do than in November and it’s warmer. Things are not closed down. The leaves are turning … and it’s warmer. And the leave are turning, did I mention that? Oh yeah the Craftsman’s Fair also happens in October. (For those of you who know me, you should know by now that I can care less about the fair or the warmer weather or the leaves .. )

So what do we exactly do? We do the same things we always do. We eat at the same places – Calhouns, Pancake Pantry, Cherokee Grill, Smokey Mountain Brewery, Bennett’s Pit Bar-B-Que and of course Cracker Barrel. We shop the same shops. We see the same sites. We have time to just be alone and talk and .. well .. deal with whatever pops up. 😀 It’s really more or less a time to step out of what’s going on in our lives, reconnect and just enjoy each other’s company. We get to spend time on just each other. No kids, no work, no family .. just us.

So should I plan for something different? Or just do the same thing …. should we go in October or November?