Does this picture make us look old? Yep. But it's the only one we have of both of us together. This is what you get when you rely on the professional photographers at Dixie Stampede for your together shot. Should have known when they had us stand in front of a green screen that it would look fake. And age us, considerably.
Ten years together. It seems impossible that that much time could have passed. We can hardly believe we have arrived at such a milestone. We wanted to mark it in a very special way with a very special cruise, but we just couldn't make up our minds exactly when and where we wanted to go. Until we found this. There is one scheduled for this November, too, but we found it so late that we just didn't think we could manage it this year. So, our BIG 10th anniversary excursion will be in 2012. And, since that's the way it's worked out, I guess we'll let it count for our 11th anniversary, too. And Christmas. And . . .
But in the mean time, we took advantage of the fact that since we were going to be in Crossville, anyway - we'd just drive on up to the Gatlinburg area. Joe was scheduled to speak at the Crossville Ward on Sunday. After the meetings, we drove on up to the White house so that Christy and Eric could pamper us with their famous hospitality in their beautiful home. The Shepherds and Blake and Brett joined us, too. We all stuffed ourselves with the fabulous soup and chili that Christy had made. Then, we stuffed ourselves some more with the desserts I took. And then, we had a really nice rest of the day visiting together.
Joe and I spent the night and left the next morning for Gatlinburg. We had originally planned on going to Dollywood and seeing the shows. The forecast was for a beautiful October day, so we just couldn't convince ourselves to be anywhere besides outside. Our first stop was at the Pancake Pantry that the Whites had recommended. Boy, were we glad that we listened to them. Even though there was a line and about a 30-minute wait to even get inside. It was worth it. So, so good.
We walked around Gatlinburg a little bit and then headed out on our drive through the mountains. There was steady traffic, but not bumper to bumper, and everyone moved along at a respectable pace. It was a gorgeous day and perfect for a drive and some get-out-and-walk time.
Afterward, we drove back to Pigeon Forge and found a place to stay within walking distance of the Dixie Stampede. We had hoped to get reservations for the 6 PM show, but that morning when we called, the 1100 seat arena was already sold out. On a Monday night! We were able to get reservations for the 8:30 show, though. It wasn't sold out, but it was close. On a Monday night!
We had a lot of fun there and ate until we were miserable -- not because it was great food -- but because there was so much of it that it seemed wasteful to not at least try to eat it. Actually, I really liked the creamed vegetable soup and biscuit that was the first course. The Cornish hen was good, just way too much for me. The slice of BBQ pork loin was blah and a little tough and ridiculous since there was already a Cornish hen on my plate!!! The potato wedge was tasteless and the corn on the cob was only a little less so. The apple turnover for dessert wasn't as good as Arby's. I was selected to fill out a survey before I left. I gave them high marks on everything but the food.
The next morning, we drove back to Knoxville and met Brett for lunch. It was good to see him one more time before we headed back to McM. After he left for work, we shopped a little bit. Well, I shopped a little bit at JoAnn's Fabrics that was close by.
We arrived home just before it began to storm as a front came through that will change our lovely, warm weather to that of the damper and cooler variety. Our maple trees in our yard are just lovely. What a beautiful time of year!
But in the mean time, we took advantage of the fact that since we were going to be in Crossville, anyway - we'd just drive on up to the Gatlinburg area. Joe was scheduled to speak at the Crossville Ward on Sunday. After the meetings, we drove on up to the White house so that Christy and Eric could pamper us with their famous hospitality in their beautiful home. The Shepherds and Blake and Brett joined us, too. We all stuffed ourselves with the fabulous soup and chili that Christy had made. Then, we stuffed ourselves some more with the desserts I took. And then, we had a really nice rest of the day visiting together.
Joe and I spent the night and left the next morning for Gatlinburg. We had originally planned on going to Dollywood and seeing the shows. The forecast was for a beautiful October day, so we just couldn't convince ourselves to be anywhere besides outside. Our first stop was at the Pancake Pantry that the Whites had recommended. Boy, were we glad that we listened to them. Even though there was a line and about a 30-minute wait to even get inside. It was worth it. So, so good.
We walked around Gatlinburg a little bit and then headed out on our drive through the mountains. There was steady traffic, but not bumper to bumper, and everyone moved along at a respectable pace. It was a gorgeous day and perfect for a drive and some get-out-and-walk time.
Afterward, we drove back to Pigeon Forge and found a place to stay within walking distance of the Dixie Stampede. We had hoped to get reservations for the 6 PM show, but that morning when we called, the 1100 seat arena was already sold out. On a Monday night! We were able to get reservations for the 8:30 show, though. It wasn't sold out, but it was close. On a Monday night!
We had a lot of fun there and ate until we were miserable -- not because it was great food -- but because there was so much of it that it seemed wasteful to not at least try to eat it. Actually, I really liked the creamed vegetable soup and biscuit that was the first course. The Cornish hen was good, just way too much for me. The slice of BBQ pork loin was blah and a little tough and ridiculous since there was already a Cornish hen on my plate!!! The potato wedge was tasteless and the corn on the cob was only a little less so. The apple turnover for dessert wasn't as good as Arby's. I was selected to fill out a survey before I left. I gave them high marks on everything but the food.
The next morning, we drove back to Knoxville and met Brett for lunch. It was good to see him one more time before we headed back to McM. After he left for work, we shopped a little bit. Well, I shopped a little bit at JoAnn's Fabrics that was close by.
We arrived home just before it began to storm as a front came through that will change our lovely, warm weather to that of the damper and cooler variety. Our maple trees in our yard are just lovely. What a beautiful time of year!
