After our friend's wedding reception in South Carolina came to a close, Boss and I jumped in the car and hit the road once more. Our destination? Gatlinburg, TN for a little 'us' time. And goodness me, I cannot even begin to tell you how gorgeous the drive was between Ashville, NC and Gatlinburg, TN. Green mountains, rolling hills, blue skies, several tunnels. My body desperately wanted to rest, but my eyes refused. They needed to see the beauty that surrounded them. Boss and I rolled down the windows, opened up the sun roof, and breathed in the fresh mountain air as if our very lives depended on it. The stress that comes with ordinary days melted away with the miles, and all that was left was extraordinary perfection. I did close my eyes at one point, but only so that I could try and capture the moments of that drive forever in my heart. Because that drive, those moments, felt like magic.
We arrived around supper time and quickly prettied up to spend a night out on the town. We tossed around several ideas of where to eat, but as soon as I saw that roof top dining was available at a Mexican Restaurant, nothing else stood a chance. We sat at a table for two that overlooked the mountains. Twinkling lights danced across the sky. Boss and I shared an order of fajitas. Throughout dinner, Boss would wink at me or reach over to take hold of my hand, but we hardly uttered a word. Our server joked that our food must have been great since there was no conversation at our table. What he didn't know was that after a decade of love, sometimes words just aren't really necessary. Another magic Moment.
The next morning we set off early for a hike up to Laurel Falls. The climb was fairly steep, the trail crowded, but we pressed on. When we reached the top of the falls, my breath caught in my throat. The falls were so powerful and beautiful, yet I was disappointed that there were so many other people around. I had wanted another moment. And because he is amazing, Boss knew that. He asked me if I wanted to be brave and hike off the trail, climb down to the bottom of the falls. I wanted to say no, I don't really do brave, but I said yes instead. Another moment, after all. Boss took my hand like the gentleman that he is and gently guided me down the rocks. Several times he asked me if I wanted to stop, if where we were was far enough, but I always replied keep going until there is not a single person in sight. Finally, after about a half hour, we stopped to sit on a large, flat, reclined rock. The people were gone, the sound of the falls pounding the rocks all that we could hear. We took off our shoes and stuck our feet in the mountain stream. We reclined against the rock and closed our eyes, letting the sunshine warm our faces. Boss grabbed my hand again. And then he leaned over and whispered that this was his very favorite moment with me yet.
So many magic moments in the span of a single day. Is it selfish to wish for a lifetime more?
