Day Two: Sunrise to Sunset

When the Deardens work, we work. But when the Deardens vacation, we vacay. We woke up for sunrise with about...hmm...five minutes to spare. I then taught Brady that kettles truly do whistle when ready by singing "I'm a Little Teapot." He then taught me that he can make a mean cup of hot cocoa for a chilly morning in the mountains.

 

After a hearty breakfast of Greek yogurt and cocoa (breakfast of champions), we stopped off at a local arts & crafts district for some shopping.

And, after encountering a homemade candy shoppe, we decided to add a mid-morning snack of chocolate-covered pretzels, fresh lollipops, and bottled cream sodas to our agenda.

 Between a pilot and an Art History major, neither of us could really figure out the trail map for the Smoky Mountain National Forest. So I walked into the closest store to ask for a recommendation. Before long, I realized I was in a liquor store. Am I old enough to be in here? was my first reaction, and from the raised eyebrows the shaggy guy behind the desk gave me, I figured his feelings were mutual.

He did, however, recommend what turned out to be a truly beautiful hike. Though definitely not for amateurs (i.e. me, who is the only one in our marriage who does not regularly engage in 13 mile ruck marches), Ramsey Cascades was worth every ounce of sweat:

 

Pretty fall foliage :)

Lunch break in the middle of a stream

Pitas...which were eaten in haste to avoid sharing with bears

Sunset in the mountains...even more beautiful than photos :)

We made it!

 Six hours and eight miles later, we were hungry.

Like...really hungry.

So we went back to our cabin, changed into cute clothes, and checked into a yummy restaurant on the side of the mountain.

Tackling an entire pound of cow

 
Brady used our time waiting for a table to tell me the history of the Alamo, which was great timing, because we were so famished and the food so incredible (or maybe the food was so incredible because we were famished) that the moment our food arrived we barely noticed each other! But by the time we left Alamo, our tummies were happy and our eyes gazing at one another's once again.