New at Smoky Mountain Tower…

 

Game Room Changes

For the past couple of years, our Game Room has featured a full-size air hockey table, an electronic dart board, and a ‘hoops to hoops’ game.  Unfortunately, the ‘hoops’ game has died, and no replacement parts are available.  So it has now been replaced by a quality foosball table.   Take a look…

 

 

Wireless Internet Improvements

When we installed wireless Internet access several years ago, our provider (Charter) made us put it in the garage.  Since the garage is currently inaccessible (we’re working to change that), it was a problem anytime the Internet cut out.  We finally talked Charter into moving the modem and wireless router inside to the living room for better signal.  Look carefully – they’re right under the TV.

 

 

New Daybed and Trundle in Tower Room

The queen sofa-sleeper in the Tower Room finally gave up.  So we replaced it with a new Daybed and Trundle.  In effect, this provides two twin beds (with brand new mattresses), so it will be more comfortable that the sofa-sleeper.  If you’d like to see the full story of how we got rid of the sofa-sleeper and installed the Daybed and Trundle, click here for our blog posting.  And for part 2, click here.

 

 

New Hot Tub Steps

The original hot tub steps (more than 13 years old) were loose and slippery.  So we replaced them with new custom-made steps that have slip-resistant tread on them.

 

 

Main Deck Walkway

If you’ve been to Smoky Mountain Tower, you will remember the steps from the driveway to the Main (hot tub) Deck.  You had to walk down, then up.  It looked like this:

 

That has now all been changed.  Our good friend, Mark Kalinowski took out all the old stepping stones, railroad ties, and steps up to the deck.

 

Then he built a brand new walkway from the driveway, straight to the Main Deck – with no steps!

 

This is how the new walkway looks:

 

Mark even added steps down to the yard.

 

Thanks to our neighbor, Bob Ward for these great pictures of the finished deck, as well as new pictures of the front of the cabin.

We’re also building a walking path from these steps that will go behind the Main Deck and into the woods.  This will fill two purposes.  It will provide a great way to walk around the property.  But it’s also important in winter.  On the rare occasions when we get so much snow that it’s impossible to drive up to Smoky Mountain Tower, guests can park on the street below us and walk about 50 feet through the woods.  It will now be a little easier, because there will be an actual pathway.

While we were working on the new walkway, we took the opportunity to start working on some landscaping.  This is how it used to look – with some very large bushes in front:

 

After removing the bushes, we added some small holly plants in front.

We also have some special plans for the big empty wall, to the left of the front door.  Check back soon for more information.

And within a few weeks, we hope to be able announce a significant addition to the amenities we offer at Smoky Mountain Tower.