Knoxville Archives

I think I may have jumped ahead in my trip narrative so I’m going to back up just a tad. I have to mention the Knoxville Airport.

It is beautiful. As you leave the secured area and enter the main concourse there is a water feature with rocks and flowers. The glass windows allow the sunlight to create a natural looking oasis.

I did something I rarely do in airports. I stopped to take a picture.

I’m not sure if it was just a coincidence or if they are really that efficient but by the time I made it to the baggage claim my luggage was already circling on the carousel. I heard other passengers making surprised comments as well. I was off to the car rentals in record time.

I’m using Enterprise this trip. And it was at the Enterprise counter that I realized the first thing I had forgotten to pack… my GPS. Yes I can get one from Enterprise but at the cost of $11.00/ day. Normally I’d say skip it but the directions to the resort seem kind of involved and I don’t have a partner in adventure this trip so I would have to keep stopping to read them myself. I bit the bullet and added the GPS. (It was a good choice if a tad expensive)

The other unusual decision I made was to add the extra insurance. This essentially doubled the cost of my rental and again deviates from what I usually do. I had coverage on my own insurance and also coverage on my credit card but one thing neither of these insurances cover is the “loss of value” that the rental companies are now pursuing. It’s no longer good enough to cover the cost of the repairs if you have an accident. Now you have to worry that the accident will lower the resale value of the vehicle. (Show me the car fax)

Usually I take my chances that I won’t have any accident so won’t have to be concerned about resale value but for some reason I can’t explain I just wasn’t comfortable with that risk today so I took their insurance. Go ahead, call me stupid but at least I have peace of mind.

GPS set, luggage stowed, seat adjusted and it was time to hit the road. Gatlinburg here I come!

Now that the activities for Tennessee are planned and my time off approved I have to make sure I can get there. I’ve been watching the airfares and they are all over the place. Up one day and down the next!

I think it’s time to commit. Southwest doesn’t fly to Knoxville, the closest airport. There are a couple of nice flights and connections but they are out of Logan and I avoid Boston and Logan airport like crazy. I’d drive to Hartford, CT first!

Finally I found a flight from Providence to Knoxville for under $400.00. Yup $380.00 to be exact for round trip so I grabbed it. I don’t have to get up in the middle of the night either! The flight leaves at 9:23 am. There’s a layover in Washington D. C. so I’ll have time for lunch then arrive in Knoxville just before 3pm where I have a rental car reserved.

I can’t check into the resort until after 4pm so this works out perfect because MapQuest puts the drive from Knoxville to Gatlinburg at 59 minutes.

The return trip wasn’t quite as perfect but still not bad. Check out is 10 AM but my flight isn’t until 6pm so I’ll have the whole day to poke around in, take my time driving to Knoxville and finish up sight-seeing. Even with such a late flight and a layover in Washington again, I will still be in Providence by 11:30 and home by midnight.

The cat sitter is lined up and ready to go. She’ll make 2 visits everyday except the first day when I’ll only need her to stop in for the afternoon. My kitties will be in good hands.

It’s so nice to have everything in place…and paid for. I love paying for everything ahead of time. Then I don’t have to count pennies while I’m away.

Now I just have to make myself relax and wait for the big day to roll around. 🙂