Gatlinburg

It's Sunday night after the long Thanksgiving Weekend. I woke up in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and after driving nearly 300 miles, we arrived home safely. The weekend began at 5:00 AM on Thanksgiving Day when my wife, son, and I loaded up the car and headed down the road. We were blessed all weekend with beautiful weather. There were warm, sunny days and cool, clear nights. In spite of the holiday weekend, the traffic was normal going down and coming back home. On the way down I decided to take full advantage of my satellite radio. I have found a channel that sounds like an underground radio station from the late sixties and early seventies. I could be a DJ on this station. They play all the music I play for myself with my CD collection. One of the highlights of the weekend was visiting with Charles and Annette. They are the couple I met while sitting on a bench in Gatlinburg last summer. My wife, son, and I spent most of an afternoon visiting with them in their cabin. It's very close to town but has a remote feel to it. It is a wonderful and cozy spot full of memorabilia from their lives. I mean it as a compliment when I say it reminded me of a Hobbit house from the Shire in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We drank apple cider and had cookies and brownies as we talked of many things. I would probably still be there talking if my wife hadn't reminded me that we had some shopping that needed to be done. I look forward to future visits. The city of Gatlinburg is beautiful at this time of year. The city is aglow with Christmas lights and decorations. During the evenings when we walked along the streets and in and out of the shops, it was lovely. It was cold enough to appreciate the warmth of a egg nog latte but not cold enough to be miserable. It all reminded me that Christmas is less than a month away! In about two weeks I will be seeing Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol at the theater. That will be the icing on the cake of my Christmas spirit.