Originally published at Thus Sayeth the Lord…. You can comment here or there.
Our family took a vacation ot Gatlinburg, TN this summer. We have no family in the area and no particular reason to go there, other than the fact that we wanted to go somewhere other than the beach. Gatlinburg came recommended, and we were able to get some cheap-but-nice lodgings there.
The trip out was tedious, but not terrible considering we have four kids, three of whom are under the age of six. Inkling, our youngest, did pretty well. One thing of note– distances are deceiving. It’s around 450 miles from Fredericksburg, VA to Gatlinburg. I figured it would take us about six or seven hours to get there. It took almost nine. Bleh. We got our hopes up when a very kind gas station attendant at the VA-TN border told us Gatlinburg was only an hour away; two hours later, hopes irrevocably drowned under the sound of Inkling’s ‘Pooh-Bear Hug and Sing (now with UBER-batteries),’ we were still on the road.
We stopped for a potty break just within Gatlinburg’s city limits. The van chose that moment to throw its transmission. It’s a terrible feeling at the best of times when your car decides that this life isn’t on its high-priority list; it’s much worse when you’re at the beginning of your family vacation, you’re in a strange place (”Who’s playing that banjo?”), and it’s getting on toward night…
The van made it up to the rental cabin. I say “up,” and I mean it. UP. Check this out– Gatlinburg is, like, in the middle of these mountains… While I was unpacking, I noticed a long trail of dirty drops on the gravel road behind our van. Yup– transmission fluid. My wife and I discussed our next options, and in the morning we called AAA.
People in TN are just…Nice. The towtruck driver helped us find a reliable garage (I know, I was skeptical too– read on) to fix our van. I went down the mountain with him to take it in, and I found him to be pleasant, smart, and just a good dude. What a relief. We took the van in– and the garage called around until they found us a rental car. It wasn’t easy, either. Six people, none of whom can squish (car seats are unsquishable, for good reason), in the middle of the tourist season? Fuggedaboutit. We wound up with renting a Lincoln Town Car. Seriously, that was our only option- everything else in the area was rented out except that one car.
I haven’t driven a car that big since I was in High School and inherited my brother’s 1977 Dodge Diplomat. The kids REALLY liked the Town Car; I suspect Junebug liked it because she got to sit in the front with me and M. The other three enjoyed easy access to eachother’s hair, flesh, and other tender spots. I was ready to get my van back. Later in the week, we looked around at some other places, including the garage we’d considered taking the van into but were convinced otherwise by the towtruck driver– nothing. The garage-that-almost-was, we drove by it… and hurriedly drove away before the hounds caught our scent. Scary.
We had a good time, otherwise– there’s lots to do in Gatlinburg. We went to Ripley’s aquarium, drove around in the mountains, drove around Gatlinburg, played mini-golf. The two highlights of the trip:
Hot Tub: The rental cabin had a wonderfully large hot tub. The kids played in it for HOURS. Sooo totally worth it…
Tunes and Tales: Gatlinburg held a street show every night while we were there. Lots of folksy performers, including some really talented bluegrass musicians; Junebug and Super-K had a blast dancing in front of everyone during the nightly hoe-down. Junebug, I’m not supri
sed at; Super-K– oh, heck yes. That kid can dance. He’s been highly influenced by Busch Garden’s Irish Jig show; he’s a hoot to watch. He puts his hands on his waist, sticks his tongue in his teeth, and step dances to fame…
We had to stay an extra two nights while we waited for the van to be repaired. $3k was the total bill for a new transmission + labor. Urghh… I hate cars.