My Favorite Mug

Back in September of the year 2000 I did a week-long hiking trip in the Smoky Mountain National Park. The company I went with was Country Walkers: they put us up in some really nice places, took us to numerous famous trails (I actually hiked on the Appalachian Trail for a little while!), and fed us at some really fancy restaurants.

One of the places we stayed at was The Swag, in North Carolina. Oh boy, what a fantastic place that was! And still is, I might add. I remember the drive up to the place was a long, winding road that switch-backed up the mountain. The main lodge is a beautiful, old, rustic looking building with numerous outbuildings surrounding gorgeous grounds.

Since I was traveling solo, I got a room all to myself. They put me in what they call Gail’s Room with a fireplace, a balcony overlooking the Smoky Mountains, and the tallest most comfortable feather bed! I had to have a little stepstool just to get into the bed and didn’t ever want to leave once I snuggled in under the hand-sewn quilt. They even provided a CD of relaxing music to listen to. My one complaint about that room was that I only got to stay there a couple days and had to leave during the day to go on our scheduled hikes.

I loved that place so much I bought myself a mug to remember them by and carried it all the way home. I have used that mug pretty much every day since then – until one day I noticed the crack.

Oh no!!!

On impulse, I contacted them via email and told them my dilemma, asking if they might be able to send me a replacement. I’m not sure what I was expecting but was pleasantly surprised when they actually responded, saying they would love to be able to replace my mug.

I sent them a picture of the broken one and sat back to await their reply. A few days later I got an actual phone call from Sage, the person in charge of Guest Services. She was very friendly and told me all about the mugs they had available. She got my address and I gave her my credit card information. As happens so often to us up here in the northland, she thought AK stood for Arkansas – and was quite surprised to learn it was Alaska instead!

A week later, I got a box in the mail – My MUG!!!

It’s much bigger than my original mug, and I have to admit I don’t care for the new logo much – but I am so happy they sent me a replacement!

If you’re ever in the area  I can highly recommend them!