October 22, 2008

The Inn at Evins Mill

what an inviting driveway!
We are back from our little journey to middle Tennessee! We had a wonderful time of exploration and relaxation. We treated ourselves to a stay at The Inn at Evins Mill, a beautiful country inn located in the town of Smithville. This 40-acre property consists of the main lodge, three bluff-view cabins (housing four rooms each), a former gristmill (circa 1939), pond and streams, walking trails, and a 90-foot waterfall.

an old grist wheel and sign let guests know that the have arrived at their destination
We had great fun exploring the easily accessible grounds and facilities. The trails were too difficult for us to go visit the waterfall. But, there were plenty of other sights to keep us entertained, such as the old mill and dam down below the main lodge. Of course, we spent a lot of our time at the charming old lodge too.

a brick walkway guided us from the parking area to the main lodge entryway
a book-loving copper frog greeted us on the way to the front door
the original main lodge was an old log cabin
Our cozy cabin room had a beautiful vaulted ceiling, and it was just a short walk away from the main lodge. We took full advantage of the lovely porches on both the lodge and our cabin: rocking, swinging, reading, and visiting. Outside, we could always hear the trickle of water flowing over the mill dam and down the creek, passing by our cabin at the bottom of a steep embankment. It was sheer tranquility!

our room was on the top floor of the first cabin
our balcony had a view of the stream below and was a great spot for reading and refreshments
the main lodge could be seen from our balcony
after admiring the old grist wheel built into the wall, we enjoyed kicking up our heels in the wicker swings on the lodge's back porch
the back porch entry was convenient and pretty!
The gracious staff made sure we were comfortable and fed us gourmet breakfasts and dinners. After a weekend of entertaining a large wedding party, the inn was only half full during our first night’s stay, and there was only one other couple during our second night. The inn was also conveniently located so that we could visit some interesting areas nearby.

Isn’t this a glorious place? Even though it was just a few short days, we felt like we had been gone much longer! In later postings, I will share some pictures of the mill area and some regional discoveries!

14 comments:

  1. WELCOME HOME!
    Your stay away looks very enviable...The spund of someone else making and feeding you breakky and dinner...Oh heaven!
    And it does look so pretty and tranquil there.
    I can just invisage you rocking away there on the deck with that Lovely MR of yours.
    You are truly taking time to breath and smell the roses ..Good on you,Take care

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  2. Donna the Inn really looks nice! I think with all this lovely scenery you must be in Heaven...Tn is such a beautiful state !

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  3. What a beautiful place to relax and just be.

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  4. Wow Donna Does that ever look like a nice place! I am going to print it and put it in my future travel file! Thanks for the information!

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  5. Hi Donna,

    This place looks wonderful. I am a huge fan of B & B's and Inns so I know I would love this. It looks like a place where you can just relax. Great photos and can't wait to see the rest of them! Glad you had a good time and made it back safe and sound.

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  6. OhGoodness!! This looks Wonderful!! Hope you got a good rest! Looks like you did...Happy day Sweetie!hughugs

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  7. Your post looks like a brochure-absolutley beautiful!
    I'm packing my bags ;)


    ~AirmanMom returning to her blog...

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  8. Donna, What a beautiful place to spend time! It looks so cozy and peaceful.

    Thank you for your kind words on my post today! They were so encouraging to me.

    Although it's nice to have someone understand what I'm going through, I'm so sorry to hear about your knee pain and spasms. Life isn't always easy, but it's good!

    Blessings!
    Nita Jo

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  9. Oh, what a gorgeous place to enjoy and relax. I'm glad you had a nice time. :)

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  10. Thanks, everyone! I hope this inspire you to get OUT THERE and enjoy some of the great pleasures in life.

    I've been nursing my painful knee again and limiting my time at the computer. I guess being confined to a vehicle for several hours at a time made it very upset!

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  11. PS-Sorry about your knees sweetie!! Am sending some healing thoughts your way!!!hughugs

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  12. Glad you had such a wonderful time in such a beautiful place! The pictures are great and I look forward to seeing more.

    Welcome home!

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  13. What a beautiful place. Sounds very peaceful and relaxing. And what history.

    Sharon

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  14. It was a beautiful place for a little travel holiday, Sharon!

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Marty, here! Donna loves comments, and I faithfully pass them on to her. Thank you so much for visiting!