Thursday evening from Pigeon Forge, TN. I'm sitting on the veranda, maybe twenty five feet from the Little Pigeon River. It looks Mike it is maybe six to twelve inches deeps as it flows gently by over  small rocks that creat mini-rapids. Behind me is the outdoor pool; there is another inside. Both have a bunch of noisy kids in them enjoying a summer evening. God bless them all. It has been many a year since I had that kind of energy.

Ms. Kate and I just got back to the room from dinner. There is a place called the Applewoood Huse Restaurant that we have eaten at before. The food is strictly good home cooking. We each had the fried chicken; I had mashed potatoes and gravy with mine. There was enough left over to to bring some back to the room. If we don't eat it before hand, we'll much on it on the way back home on Sunday.

We were beginning to wonder if we were really supposed to make this trip. First there was all of the confusion as to whether Matt was going to actually graduate high school or not. (He did.) Then there was the last minute appointment that Ms. Kate had with her doctor that was on Monday. I broke a tooth and had to have that fixed but it couldn't be done until yesterday. So, about 1300 hrs yesterday we threw the suitcases in the car and took off. We stayed at Cookeville, TN which is about three hours up the road north. This morning we got on the road around 1030 hrs and headed this way but we ran into upper to bumper; five mile an hour traffic for about ten miles. We never did see what the cause might have been for that. We finally got here to the hotel at 1430 hers and thought we'd see if we could get an early check-in. The girl said that yes they had our reservation but how did we feel about a three story climb because the elevator was broken. I told her that Ms. Kate just wasn't able to do that repeatedly. She said the the repair crew was either here or on the way and since we're early anyway, did we just want to wait. If they couldn't get the elevator fixed --- they would see what else they could do. So --- we waited; we waited, and we waited. Finally at 1545 hours, I checked again and the manager took care of us. He upgraded us to a first floor room that walks right out to the riverbank. So, all is settled down for now.

We have absolutely nothing planned for this short vacation other than to relax, so we can't afford t let a few drawbacks ruin anything for us. Besides --- there is a cold-slab ice cream place right across the street and a Dunkin Donuts just a half block up the street. What more could I ask for?

I give God thanks this evening for a beautiful day and cool evening here on the river. I also give God thanks for safe passage on our travels. I certainly give God thanks that Matthew did in fact graduate high school and he can get on wth his life.

I'll try to remember to blog each day but you know --- being lazy takes a lot of work. Peace!