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Above: Innkeeper John Mellor with Gail and her sisters

The best thing about Mother’s Day is that on the next day, Monday, my three sisters and I pack up and head for Gatlinburg. For three nights our home away from home is the beautiful Buckhorn Inn. We spend our days eating, hiking, talking—and eating! Actually, we hike to eat. In the evening you will find us playing Scrabble or Skip-Bo downstairs in the Inn’s family room. If there are any brownies left from the afternoon, we might have to try one. (Did I mention we like to eat?) The innkeepers and staff treat us like family and the time we are there seems to fly by. We are always looking forward to next year and another stay. We are lucky to live close to each other and see each other often at home, but the time we spend together at Buckhorn in special. It is the place where, the year our Mom died, we sat at the porch and shared memories. Laughing and crying, we went through a few of her things and each chose a keepsake. And so, “God willing and the creek don’t rise,” the next Monday after Mother’s Day we will be back at our inn.

Happy Birthday to Buckhorn!