WHOO HOO! ONE YEAR! (and almost a month)

So it's already been a year since the wonderful wedding in the mountains. As an anniversary present to ourselves we returned and booked the same room we didn't get to enjoy last year as we (mostly me at first) were immediately sick the day after the ceremony. We got up there a weekend late due to A) the RIDICULOUS lack of GAS in the Southeast, B) crappy weather, and C) Stace came down with something that was passed around her office. Considering these we opted to wait til the next weekend.

The leaves were just starting to turn (they are prob peak this weekend) and everyone at the Village knew it was our one year. They were very nice to us; snuck some champagne into our room, gave us a very nice dessert for free, etc.; and we had a great time.

The three people who read this know how good the food is at the Village and you'll be happy to find out that nothing has changed with the new management. I personally believe to be the best in the area.

Saturday we headed out early to Bryson City and hopped on the Smoky Mountain Railroad. It was a chilly 40 degrees and we snuggled up in an open car along with a reasonable group of other passengers. The fog had not burned off yet and the ride was very enjoyable, especially after Stace bought a souvenier fleece throw from the onboard gift shop.

The train stopped a couple hours into the trip and let us off to meet up with our rafting company. Mark, our guide, was a comical guy and helped us pile into their bus before we wound around to the drop off site. The river was a bit more up then last year, but still down quite a lot compared to where it was supposed to be.

Oh and the water was 43 degrees.

Yeah, we opted for the splash jackets.

It was the same stretch of river that we rafted last year, but that was just fine as the sky was clear, the colors were starting to come in, and the uninitiated family we shared the boat with was amusing to watch as Mark purposefully piloted so they would get soaked.

This time we were bright enough to pack a change of clothes.

That evening we ate at the Frymont Inn and returned to the room for more jacuzzi time.

Sunday we slept in a little but made sure to get to the Village for breakfast. We ate on the deck despite the 40 degree chill and had eggs benedict, hashbrowns and hot coffee. Mmmmm... eggs benedict....

Last time we were hiking in the area we had thought that we found Alarka Falls. Recently I had been told that I was incorrect after a local ran across a posted photo of mine. So after checking out we decided to go try again.

Yep, we were way wrong. And actually, happy to be so. We wandered around in the woods for several hours, taking pictures and enjoying the wonderful air. Our footing has grown a bit sloppy as we've not been in the woods for an embarrassingly long time, but it was still a great time. Heading back into town was tough as the weekend really reminded us how much we've grown to dislike The Queen City...

What else are we into... Stace is heading to San Fran this weekend to staff the Rock & Roll Marathon out there! That's exciting! She is looking forward to it and also towards spending some time with her mum. Not sure what I'll do... I guess some stuffs around the house... watch the vols lose again... hmm. I'll have to make a To-Do list we Keeling's are famous for.

Okay, I have to get some lunch.

Be safe.