Weekend in Gatlinburg with Old Friends

This past weekend our family took off to Gatlinburg. We were meeting up with some friends we met on our honeymoon 6 1/2 yrs. ago. Nick & Rachel got married on the same day we did and stayed at the same resort we did in Jamaica for our honeymoon. Well, in fact everyone we met got married on that previous Saturday. ha ha We met I think on our 2nd day there along with 2 other couples we hung out with while we were there. Every night we would all meet for dinner at the resort. We all did several excursions while we were there. The only one we skipped out on was horseback riding because Will is allergic to horses and that wouldn't have went well. ha ha We had an amazing time together all those years ago. Since then, we had lost touch and thanks to MySpace and Facebook, Rachel found me. We have been back talking for about a year and have been trying to find time to get together. They had planned on coming to Alabama last year for a long weekend, but their kids got sick. We had planned to go to Canada in the winter, but then we moved to Baton Rouge and couldn't get it worked out. Oh yeah, they live in Windsor, Ontario!! Isn't that cool? Who would have thought us Alabama bumpkins would have met Canadians on our honeymoon in JAMAICA!! ha ha They have 2 kiddos too: a 4 yr. old little boy and a 2 yr. old little girl. Their kids didn't make the trip to TN for the reunion because Nick & Rachel had planned this as a getaway not a family trip.



They had already been in Gatlinburg several days when we arrived Friday night. It took us forever to get there!! Traffic jam in Knoxville and Will's cell phone got lost in the car and it took us 45 minutes to find it. It was turned to vibrate and it had somehow gotten under the carpet on the driver's side!! What? Anyways we when arrived we went out to dinner and then they came back to our hotel and caught up on our mountain view balcony. ha ha



Saturday was jammed full!! We hit the aquarium first. My boys LOVED it!! Jack was amazed at all the fish! We loved the underwater walkway. It was so cool having sharks and swordfish and stingrays swimming over your head.

After the aquarium we took the tram to Ober Gatlinburg to look around. I think this was the prettiest I have ever seen Gatlinburg. All the fall colors and beautiful trees of every color. It was breathtaking!!

That evening we all went to the Dixie Stampede. Of all the times I have been to Gatlinburg, I have never been before. It was awesome! My boys were on the edge of their seats the whole time! You aren't given ANY forks or spoons, so you have to eat your dinner with your hands. My boys thought that was great! We laughed afterwards because for our Canadian friends the whole show was about America and how awesome it is. ha ha It is awesome!!

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and spending time together. It was an awesome trip. We met for breakfast early Sunday morning. They were ready to head home to see their kids and they had a LONG trip ahead of them. 10 hrs!! We got to enjoy the beautiful mountains and colors all the way home!!