I am really bad at keeping secrets (especially from Matt) so it took a lot of effort not to spill the beans. Unfortunately, Matt figured it out anyways. About a month before our trip, we were hanging out with family and someone mentioned a little town in Eastern Tennessee. I said, "Oh yes, isn't that near Smitheville, Tennessee?" Matt says he knew right away that was where we were going because otherwise I wouldn't have known those two little towns were near each other (I am somewhat geographically challenged.)
Even though he figured out the destination, he didn't know where we were staying or what we were doing, so it was still a surprise.
I found this awesome place called The Inn at Evins Mill online. This place was the BEST find. It was a quiet and secluded retreat about an hour and a half away from Nashville. It had everything that we needed right there on the grounds.
The Inn has several log cabins separated from the main house. Each cabin had it's own porch balcony overlooking a beautiful creek. It felt like we were staying in our own private tree house. The cabin itself was simple and rustic, but clean and charming. I liked that is wasn't overly country but it still had some country touches.
When we arrived that day there were warm chocolate chip cookies waiting for us. We settled into our cabin and then went on a walk around the grounds. Despite a pretty severe drought in the area, everything was beautiful and green.
We picked up a trail map from the main house and set off on a hike to Carmac falls which is part of the Inn grounds. The hike was steep, but not very long. The trail had a couple of tricky spots where the falls had eroded the path, but we made it safely down to the base of the falls. The fall was still running even though the water in the basin as very low. I can only imagine what it must have been like in non-drought conditions. The lack of water was actually kind of nice because we were able to walk across the rocks right up to the falls. We hung out here for a while before making the steep climb back up.
We still had a couple hours before dinner so we explored the grounds some more, taking a peek at the old mill. There were volleyball courts and horseshoes, as well as an old swing. We played like little kids until we were tired and sweaty. Finally, we went back to our cabin to take showers and get dressed for dinner.
Dinner was so relaxing. The little dining room was intimate and quiet. There were a handful of other couples there, which was the first time we'd seen anyone else all day. I can't remember exactly what we ate, but I do remember that it was delicious. I was surprised to be served a gourmet meal in such a remote place. We were allowed to bring our own wine, which they had chilled for us beforehand. The service was great without being obtrusive.
The whole atmosphere of the Inn was so quiet and peaceful. It was such a nice change of pace from our everyday lives.After dinner we went across the bridge to an old barn that had been converted into a rec room. They had couches and bookshelves full of old books. There were also board games, dart boards and a pool table. Matt and I had fun playing several rounds of darts.
The next morning we enjoyed a fantastic brunch in the dining room. I could not believe how much food they had for just a few couples. Along with the typical brunch foods, they also had a chef making individual omelets. We ate to our hearts delight and then went outside to digest on one of the hammocks.
We had planned to stop at Center Hill Lake on the way back home, but we decided to skip that part of the trip. We were so relaxed and happy from our stay at the Inn, we didn't need to do anything else. I know we'll be back someday.
