Every year, the graduating seniors show up to take prom pictures.
And so come the lovers, wanting to be locked up in jail or get carried away in the "Sugar Shack."
They lock lips at "The Kissing Tree" then quietly hold hands and walk the grounds, standing on a natural cliff overlooking Weiss Lake.
All this, plus a sprawling dozen acres, belongs to "The Secret," a hidden delight topping a rocky hill in the southern reaches of the Appalachian Mountains.
'Sweet home in Alabama'
For overnight guests, The Secret Bed & Breakfast makes a sweet home in Alabama.
At night, the host, Kris Thomas, shares beer or soft drinks.
At morning, you'll wake to a fanciful feast at breakfast and soak up the smells of robust coffee.
You can swim in a rooftop swimming pool.
You can also relax in a giant chair, once thought to be a one-of-a-kind, but now thought to be simply more of a rarity. Adults — including Kris Thomas, the owner — climb up and pose, looking like little kids in the living room of The Secret.
That chair is about three or four times the size it should be.
Yet that also mirrors the view: The lawn of The Secret boasts about three or four times more scenery than you could capture in a single glance.
Which is why the lovers linger.
And it's why those well-dressed, local high-school kids come here in gowns and tuxes, stand among the rocks and the pine trees, high above the lake, and snap pictures to paste in their scrapbooks.
Quirky lodge
Kris Thomas and her husband, Charlie, acquired The Secret Bed & Breakfast in June 2011 and now promote the place alongside Weiss Lake and the nearby Cherokee Rock Village, a natural fortress of rocks. A mecca for rock climbers, the Cherokee Rock Village claims fame: It showed up in a scene of actor Matthew McConaughey's movie "Failure to Launch."
As for The Secret, it's become a favorite for visitors most especially coming from Atlanta, Ga., Birmingham, Ala., and Chattanooga, Tenn.
Still, it's remote and small enough to make it a true getaway.
And, yes, it is quirky: The lodge's "Sugar Shack" is a stone building standing next to the jail, which comically resembles what you might find in an Old West town.
These funky outbuildings stand like satellites around the main lodge, built in 1965 by the owner of Peoples Telephone Company, M.G. Weaver, who also operated a small amusement park, Canyon Land Park, in nearby DeKalb County, Ala. The lodge was once known as "The Weaver Mansion" and became locally famous for its wall-tall windows and open-air design.
Today, the upstairs area features four guest rooms, each with a bath and a balcony.
Ask for a room facing east and set your alarm clock.
Here, in the mountains of Alabama, a sunrise is much like being on the East Coast: Leesburg lies at the eastern edge of the Central Time Zone, and the sun not only arrives early, it shines as bright as The Secret's must-see view.
Catch it.
You'll never forget it.
jtennis@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0704
If you go
- » What: The Secret Bed & Breakfast Lodge
- » Where: Leesburg, Ala.
- » Info: (256) 523-3825
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