Butterfly Gap Retreat

This will probably be more like a photo blog, but I just couldn't wait to tell you all about this fabulous place nestled in the Tennessee Smokies.  Actually, I kind of want to keep it all to myself - but, like every good secret, it doesn't stay a secret for long!  I happened upon Butterfly Gap Retreat while looking for bed and breakfast type places in the mountains for a long weekend type location.  It was also mentioned in Southern Living a while back.  I have my incredible husband to thank for actually pulling the trigger and booking this for our 5 year anniversary (of dating, not marriage...yet!).  The website can't possibly do this place justice.  It's peaceful, woodsy, luxurious, quiet and stunningly beautiful.  The owners, Mike and Becky & Family, were more like our family than "innkeepers".  We were delivered a HUGE 5 star breakfast each morning (eggs from their chickens - literally farm to table!) and given a tour of their barn: baby chicks, lambs, sheep and Rambo the llama (cuuute!).  We stayed in Cabin 308 - which was less like a cabin and more like boutique hotel in the woods (homey bed linens, comfy pillows, huge jet tub, spa jet shower, etc.) It's the cute blue cabin featured on their website home page but here is my Instagram version:



Cabin 308



Inside is the perfect assorment of necessities: fireplace, tv with DVD player to snuggle up and watch movies, full kitchen, king size bed, amazing bathroom and a comfy couch with blankets.  A plate of homemade cookies also awaits (yum!).

Cozy, Comfy Living Room



And let's not forget spending time with nature.  This lovely screened porch and deck backs up to a babbling creek.  The perfect place to have coffee, read or enjoy a glass of wine.

Heaven on Earth

The best part, by far, was uninterrupted time with O.  There is no wifi or cell service and its the best place to snuggle up and talk, watch movies, read and enjoy the company of the other person.  A favorite highlight:

Chocolate Covered Strawberries and Wine!

The family has also nicely crafted a little lookout spot completed with aiderondack chairs and a picnic table to enjoy the Smoky mountain vistas and sunset.  We took wine and enjoyed meeting a couple of the other guests.

Mountain Vista

We didn't get much of a show by mother nature because the clouds kind of rolled in, but it was still quite beautiful sharing this moment together:

We also enjoyed a side day trip over to Gatlinburg, TN.  Neither Omar nor myself had ever been.  We rode the sky lift, paid far too much for a commemorative photo of the occasion, and enjoyed this view:

Smoky Mountain High

We also enjoyed some food: beer tasting, pretzels and cheese at the Smoky Mountain Brewery, moonshine tasting (and buying!) at the Smoky Mountain distillery and of course shopping:

Davy "Omar" Crockett

Unbeknownst to us it was also Dolly Parton's homecoming parade weekend which greatly lengthened the amount of time to drive back to our secluded retreat.  And no, we didn't even get to see Dolly despite being stopped in traffic awaiting the start of the parade.

While our short side trip was great fun, the true highlight was Butterfly Gap.  I was utterly depressed packing up to leave today.  It wouldn't have been so terrible if I was heading home with O, but I am here in TN for the week working.  I'm completing a cross TN trek from Knoxville to the NC line, back to Nashville, over to Memphis and finally to home at the end of the week.  Reality is a cruel slap in the face after such an unplugged, relaxing weekend.  I believe the term is "Reality Bites" - and boy does it ever.

Butterfly Gap is a special place.  O can't wait to return - next time he says in the winter for snow and the fireplace - and I agree.  Three days was not nearly enough.  If you are looking for a place to connect, re-connect, or just enjoy spending time together in an un-plugged world this is truly heaven on earth.  When you cherish time so much it seems like it slips away that much faster!  I wish I could have suspended time in the perfect moments of this weekend.  But I know there will be more to come....