Saturday, April 12, 2014

Gatlinburg (5 year anniversary trip): Part Two





On Saturday morning, I had planned for Adam and I to hike rainbow falls in Smokey Mountain National Park. The trail round trip was going to be 5.5 miles. I knew I could do this. The funny part is it never occurred to me it would be entirely uphill! Which is stupid of me, considering it is a mountain! But I still was determined to finish the challenge, plus coming back would be entirely downhill right?

I just recently finished reading the book Wild: From Lost to Found on The Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed. Which is about a young woman who chose to hike the Pacific Coast Trail to deal with some emotional issues in her life. ONE AMAZING BOOK.  So as I was huffing and puffing up those steep heights, I was pretending to be Cheryl! I mean if she can hike the entire PCT, surely I can hike a few miles.

But about 1.25 miles in, it started to rain, and we really didn't want to walk on the slippery rocks in the rain, so we packed it up and headed down. I guess it just gives us something to try again next time. 




Our original plan was to spend most of the day hiking, but I did some quick googling on my phone, and I decided it might be fun to do a little gem mining. Adam had never done this, but I remembered going gem mining as a little girl in Missouri. So it was nostalgic for me, and it is just a kind of silly activity for us to do together.

I could not believe how many gems we found while pan handling! Some big ones (my favorite being the red jasper) a fossilized plant, and even some shark teeth. We went inside, and they identified all our our gems for us.



After hiking and gem mining, we were ready to eat, so we found a restaurant, J.T. Hannah's Restaurant & Stockyards. I loved that the served my unsweet tea to me in a mason jar. I really adore mason jars (just like every other Southern girl).  I got the grilled chicken and baked beans, and Adam got some spaghetti & meatballs. I guess one positive of weight loss surgery is when I don't eat hardly any part of my food, Adam will finish it for me.


The next morning when we were leaving, I glanced up at the mountains to seem them frosted over. It was such a beautiful sight, that I made Adam stop the car, so I could jump out a take a picture. It was such a perfect ending to our trip.

I still can't believe we have been together for 5 years or have known each other half of each other lives. But I know soon we will be celebrating our 10th, 15th, & 20th anniversary. I just hope not too soon, since I'm not ready to be that old.

2 comments:

  1. It's crazy how long you've both know each other; five years probably doesn't sound like a lot in comparison to the reality! I've popped that booked on my reading list.

    Sophie x

    Http://your-girl-is-lovely.blogspot.co.uk

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  2. Happy 5 years! I love that you have known each other for so long, and have grown as adults together. I think that's the hardest part of a marriage-growing. The strong ones grow together, taking on those changes and growing together as new people. I know you two are one of those strong couples! I'm so glad you had a great anniversary!

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