What an amazing anniversary we enjoyed in Gatlinburg, TN. The weather wasn’t ideal, but it didn’t keep us from doing everything we wanted to do. We arrived there around mid afternoon on Friday, June 7th. We checked into our motel…right on the main drag going into town but with a very flowing creek to enjoy on the back side. This room was very similar to our honeymoon room, only somewhat bigger, and would be similar to a Motel 6 today. The room was roomy, the bed was great, the place was clean, and we were instructed that our breakfast would be at the Days Inn Motel just down the street. I thought that was funny, and strange, but then found out they are both owned by the same company…still somewhat strange but an OK breakfast.
After we settled into our room, we did the motor trail that’s in downtown Gatlinburg. There’s lots to see on this trail but, unfortunately, the rain kept us pretty much to just doing the motor trail. Everything there is so lush, green, and beautiful. We did see traces of where the fire went through a few years ago but most of the destruction is gone and/or replaced. We saw…from a distance…the new swinging bridge but I had no interest in wanting to walk it. I don’t do height’s very well and, besides, it was raining! After the motor trail, we went to a Texas Roadhouse for dinner…thanks to our sweet neighbor that gave us a $50 gift card (still have 1/2 of it left). The traffic was extremely heavy so it took a while to get back to the motel. We enjoyed sitting on our deck listening to the rolling waters reading our books. OLD FOLKS WAY OF CELEBRATING.
On our actual anniversary, we ate breakfast with the fine folks at the Days Inn then headed into the mountains. This special day was very over cast, and dreary, but we decided to walk Clingman’s Dome ANY WAY…we were in the neighborhood and it would be fun…1/2 mile of a very steep incline. We took our time, rested when we felt we needed to, and found that it wasn’t all that bad once we realized we could actually breathe again. The closer we got to the top, the windier it got, the temperature was rapidly dropping, and the clouds were leaking. Just like the time we went there with the kids, and some of the grandkids, you couldn’t see a thing. The trek down wasn’t nearly as difficult as the trek going up…we kept our breaks on most of the way down so we could be equally sore in all muscles…thankfully, we were not sore at all. Once we got down, gave the high fives for surviving, the skies opened up as we made our way to the car. We had reservations in Pigeon Forge for a 2 p.m. playhouse/dinner thingy at the Hatfields and McCoys Play House. With wet hair, drippy cloths, but happy spirits, we headed that way…remember lots of traffic.
We managed to arrive a little early so we grabbed a coffee at a Star Bucks before checking in. I envisioned a smaller theatre but this place was huge! The food was really good and the play was cute. It was all you could eat and started with a cup of soup (I got a fruit cup), hot rolls (GF for me), fried chicken (mind was baked), mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, slaw, bbq pork, and banana pudding (GF brownie with a whipped topping), and tea/water. We were full with just the one serving so I would say they were generous. The show was entertaining and they do it 3 times each day so those kids work hard. After the show we got to fight the traffic back to our motel. We did do some “window shopping”, but didn’t buy anything, and did some people watching which is always entertaining. We had some nacho’s later that evening, enjoyed visiting with a couple from Atlanta, and then it was time to call it a day.
We got home today…another off/on rainy day…but we feel so blessed to have had these 57 years together, reasonable healthy for the majority of them, and we’re now looking forward to seeing what the good Lord has in store for us during this next year of married life. Enjoy this week, pray for the twins as they are at the Mid-south youth camp all week, and know you are loved by me.
Blessings….