Happy 3rd Wedding Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. Dan Harley Bowen

We had our third anniversary. It was great. Enjoy the photos.

Okay, so I got a LQQK when a told Heather I was done with our Anniversary blog post. Sigh....I tried.

Here is goes! For our 3^rd Wedding Anniversary we decided to take a short escape to Gatlinburg, TN.

The massive Smoky Mountain/Gatlinburg arson fire was still recent and we thought we could help out by staying a few days.

The night before we left it snowed. It was bitter cold, we thought maybe we would have to wait for a different time. Heather had already arranged to take off the days from work. So, we really had hopes that we could still go away. The next day the sun came out and the roads cleared. It reminded me of how the roads in Colorado, USA can have five inches of snow and it would completely vanish the next day.

We took scenic I-40 and enjoyed the scenery. The closer we got to Gatlinburg the more evident the fire damage became to us. Signs, wooden guardrails, and whole mountain sides were burned up. Upon entering Gatlinburg, TN we had no idea what to expect. The main strip was up and running like normal. Traffic seemed low for this time of year. Just one block off the main street we found total devastation. Homes burned to the foundation and many fire damaged cars sitting in driveways to homes that were completely gone. Very sad and heartbreaking since 14 men, woman, and children lost their lives.

On a side note: This summer we returned to the area and it looks like some of the trees survived and partially grew green. The Forest floor has been seeded with grass seed and its blindingly bright green. I hope that keeps the mudslides to a minimum. Gatlinburg, TN is booming like it never happened and it looks like mostly what was impacted was housing for local workers. There is some rebuilding but lets face it its going to be years for the area to fully recover.

Back to our anniversary. We stayed at the Motel 6. I would refer anyone wanting to stay in Gatlinburg to read the reviews online to any hotel in the area and BELIEVE what you read. We had a great time except for the hotel and the chain refused to even listen to what happened to us. It was the only low point in the whole trip.

Our 3^rd Anniversary dinner was at Texas Roadhouse. The steak was excellent, the shrimp were tasty, and the loaded baked potatoes were very yummy. Superb service... 4 shamrocks with a smile!

After sleeping in and missing our FurBabies we went out to do some shopping.

 

I am not a fan of Christmas. Never have, never will thanks to some of my family's behaviors. That said, my wife Heather is a Christmas junkie. So is my Mother-in-Law Candy. So for around two months a year, I have to deal with it. SIGH.

Did you know Gatlinburg and the is home to SEVERAL HUGE Christmas stores? Well yeah, they are. We got to visit ALL of them. The biggest and best is the Incredible Christmas Place.

We found Decor in all colors, shapes and sizes. Crazy themed stuff in every shape and size you could imagine. It was a Christmas kaleidoscope of décor. I got dizzy and disoriented after the fifth hour in that store. I needed fresh air.... It was like Heaven for Heather. I think she could spend a million dollars and still have more to buy.

We bought a personalized wedding ornament. We stayed so long they threatened to lock us in for the night. Heather would have loved that :-)

  

 From a distance, we could see the mountains covered in snow. Very pretty and I think Heather said something about it being romantic but I was busy looking at a boot store. We had to look inside!

We encountered a woman in full green regalia in honor of St. Patrick’s day. Had to snap a few discrete photos of her outfit!

Boots. I love wearing them and wanted to see what was out there. Heather found some boots that were up my alley. The oil rig was pretty cool. The price seemed good but Heather found them online as discontinued and cheaper. Sigh. Not today. I do miss the western wear places in Wyoming and Colorado where its a bit better on selection and pricing. We might have to find a few online...

We also stopped at a favorite spot the Disney store where I tried on the Star Wars Stormtrooper helmet and joined the Empire for a moment. Heather found some sleep tee's and they were a great bargain!

We also found a Harry and David, after looking at the stuff she discovered some really yummy looking treats. Then we headed back to the hotel to snack and get some rest.

 

From a distance, we could see the mountains covered in snow. Very pretty and I think Heather said something about it being romantic but I was busy looking at a boot store. We had to look inside!

We encountered a woman in full green regalia in honor of St. Patrick’s day. Had to snap a few discrete photos of her outfit!

Boots. I love wearing them and wanted to see what was out there. Heather found some boots that were up my alley. The oil rig was pretty cool. The price seemed good but Heather found them online as discontinued and cheaper. Sigh. Not today. I do miss the western wear places in Wyoming and Colorado where its a bit better on selection and pricing. We might have to find a few online...

We also stopped at a favorite spot the Disney store where I tried on the Star Wars Stormtrooper helmet and joined the Empire for a moment. Heather found some sleep tee's and they were a great bargain!

We also found a Harry and David, after looking at the stuff she discovered some really yummy looking treats. Then we headed back to the hotel to snack and get some rest.

We felt like chilling out the rest of our time so we ordered a pizza for dinner and just relaxed.

We drove home the next day with the hopes that Gatlinburg, TN would continue to recover.

Happy 3^rd Anniversary Heather! I Love You, Sweetheart!