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Landed in Madrid in the afternoon, cleared customs and checked into a hotel in central Madrid. First trip to Spain - first order of business is ordering a Sangria in its native lands:

Last night we finished getting our vacation plans squared away.  I wanted to fly somewhere a bit further.  Either a tour-de-Tennessee with a couple nights in Pigeon Forge which is very pretty, a couple nights near Nashville so I could touch base with some old friends (which is also very pretty), and maybe a night or two in Memphis to visit my mom.  Or I had Colorado Springs on the menu, which is very pretty and would give us a chance to see Mrs. DeT's dad.  Or another trip to Arizona where we went several years ago....maybe Sedona again....which, again, was very pretty.  

Mrs. DeT wasn't in the mood for any of that and wanted to take less days off so she'd have more time off for Christmas/New Year and opted for something within easy driving distance.  She voted for another trip to the Texas Hill Country for just a few days, which I've learned is her default get-away trip.  As I mentioned, I'd rather travel a bit further and see something a little more different as central Texas is not overly exciting to me since I lived there for a number of years.  The plus side is I know where everything is and how to get around with no maps or GPS and it's a very comfortable, easy trip because of that.  

Most importantly, she's happy, and the Airbnb she found looks really nice with a beautiful view overlooking a valley.  It's not too far from San Marcos, so I'll probably get to visit a few of my old haunts and maybe touch base with a few friends there as well.  She absolutely loves the area, and I'm looking forward to the time off.  

Also, since I had put away for bigger/longer trip and this won't cost near as much as I was planning on, I've got a head-start on saving up for next year's vacation.

Happy!

I like the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area, though it's been close to 20 years since I've been.  It was a recurring vacation site for my family growing up, I have a lot of good memories there.  

Chattanooga is also very nice.  Scenic views outside of it, anyway.  

We used to drive through Gatlinburg and PF on the way to my grandparents several times a year, they lived outside Sevierville.  Pigeon Forge back then was about 4 small motels, a couple restaurants, the mill, and a lot of corn fields.  I just dislike what it has become.

Put this in the Grumpy Old Man thread.

I suppose I've been through Townsend on the way to Cade's Cove, but I don't remember it.

Townsend is on the Maryville side of Cade's Cove, so it you went to CC from Gatlinburg, you didn't go to Townsend, unless you came out using the Rich Mountain road.

There are two little known little used exits from Cade's Cove aside from the main one.


Rich Mountain Road: The Most Underrated Scenic Drive in the Smokies

It inevitably became a touristy, economic goldmine.

BUT, a touristy, economic goldmine with a ton of gorgeous scenery to drive around and take in.  That's really my attraction, I can do without all the shows and tourist stuff in the actual town.  I mostly just like to see pretty nature scenes.  

There was something called the Alpine Slide in either Gatlinburg of PF that I had a blast on as a kid.  I'd probably do that again.