Anniversary Weekend

Terrell and I enjoyed another wonderful anniversary trip and weekend get-away together! This year we decided to venture out to somewhere new and visit a place we've never been before.... together. We chose Chattanooga, TN and had the best time! It was a LOT different from the beach, but so much fun. We enjoyed our weekend to the fullest!!

We dropped our babies off Friday morning with my mom for their annual, summer Granna-Papa weekend. 😊 They were SO excited and couldn't wait. I think they were more excited about the weekend than we were! Haha! Unfortunately when we got there, something (still unknown to us), got Austin all upset and he just lost it. He cried and cried and didn't want me to leave. He was so upset he was almost hyperventilating. Or at least that's how it felt! So that was pretty awful. And because he was so upset, Layton got emotional too. So we had a really rough start. We never expected anything close to that happening! Finally, like 30 minutes later, we were able to leave with everyone being calm and okay. It definitely made me a little shaky but thankfully we kept in close touch and everybody was great for the rest of the weekend! #phew

Setting off for Chattanooga with my forever favorite! 

We chose Chattanooga because I went years ago as a child and don't remember much, Terrell had never been, and we've always heard great things about it. Plus it's close by and affordable! After stopping for a late breakfast date, I read my new book and Terrell listened to sports radio and before we knew it we were there!

Since we arrived before our check-in time, we rode around the town and sort of checked things out a little before stopping for ice cream. A delicious first impression! 😊

Once we finished our ice cream it was time to check-in! This year we decided against a hotel and instead rented a flat for the weekend. It was perfect! Simple and small but full of character and charm. We really enjoyed our stay.

After getting settled in, we got ready for our first night out. 

Chattanooga had a huge festival-thing going on while we were there (Riverbend? Apparently it's a reeeally big deal) and Friday night was opening night. Soooo, we had a tough time finding parking but after a quick dinner we finally made it aboard our riverboat for our sunset cruise. It was a close call but we made it!

We had some really pretty views and enjoyed our ride. It was a 2 hour cruise and we ran out of things to talk about. Hahaha! 

We stretched our legs and took a selfie as the sun was getting ready to set. 😊

The views were gorgeous! Even if we did get a tad bored. Ha! It was a pretty special way to kick off our trip. 

Saturday morning we slept LATE, like until 9:00 (#glorious), then we went to CFA for breakfast before heading to Ruby Falls.  

This turned out to be our favorite part of the trip. It was just a really cool experience. Ruby Falls is the tallest and deepest underground waterfall open to the public in the U.S. Guided walking tours of the cavern run daily, taking guests 1,120 feet underground to explore and learn about the incredible geology millions of years in the making along the trail to the waterfall. ~Trip Advisor

We had the best tour guide and laughed the whole way! We had a little bit of a wait to get tickets and then to get on the elevator to go down for our tour, but it was worth it. This is a shot of our group walking along the trail in the cave. We really want to take the boys sometime in the future. We think they'll love it.

They had lots of fun signs describing the shapes of the rock/cave we were passing and the "Elephant's Foot" was one of my favorites. 😊

Exploring and caving with my love. And several other strangers. Haha.

And we reached Ruby Falls! The falls were beautiful. And have such a neat story behind their name and history. God's creativity and beauty is amazing.

Once we finished our tour of the cave and the falls (where it was pretty chilly!), we went out and climbed the tower in the heat for a view of Chattanooga from the top. 😊

After leaving Ruby Falls, we rode around checking out Lookout Mountain and trying to decide what to do next since we had time on our hands and weren't ready to call it a day. So after riding and talking for several minutes we decided to visit Rock City... which is a part of Lookout Mountain that features rock trails, gardens, a waterfall, etc.

About to begin our "hike". 😊 

Part of the hike/trail at Rock City is a "swing-along" bridge that literally swings and sways as you walk across it. This is our quick selfie from the bridge! While holding on tight. Ha!

At the top!

Our view of all 7 states. 😊

Rock City's waterfall...

And us!

Walking through "Fat Man Squeeze" along the trail. 

We were hot and sweaty by the time we finished but enjoyed the fun little features of Rock City. And since we had a late breakfast and skipped lunch, we stopped for ice cream again on our way back to our flat. Yum!! Cookies and cream for her, butter pecan for him. #2daysinarow

On Saturday night we chose to go out to an Italian restaurant away from downtown to celebrate with our "fancy meal" we like to enjoy for our anniversary. The lasagna was delish and we had a really fun date night celebrating 13 years. 

I am so thankful God brought us together all those years ago. Being this guy's wife is one of my greatest joys.

While we were eating we started talking about what we wanted for dessert and Terrell kept joking that we should get Krispy Kreme. (He knows I like a fancy restaurant dessert... especially for our anniversary.... and that Krispy Kreme wasn't what I had in mind. Haha.) Well by the time we finished our lasagna we were stuffed and couldn't even think of dessert. So after we left the restaurant we decided to go to "North Shore" which is the other side of the river (away from the festival) and found a local doughnut shop that we decided to visit. They gave us 6 free so we came home with a baker's dozen. #doughnutsfordessertafterall #sogood

We had the best weekend together and loved our little get-away. We slept in Sunday morning, got packed up, and hit the road for home. We even stopped by one of our favorite places from Covington for lunch...

So many laughs. So much good food. So much fun.

We got home Sunday afternoon and unpacked while we waited for the boys to finish up lunch. They had a GREAT time with Granna and Papa and loved their weekend. They even got to play golf with Papa Sunday morning as an extra special treat. 😊 Austin cried when Papa brought him home because he was going to miss Granna and Papa and he just wished we could all be together.... and LIVE together. Hahaha. Bless him. 

I love our anniversary weekends. Now more than ever. We're looking forward to many, many more. Reconnecting and spending time together as a couple is so fun and so important. I hope we prioritize these trips for years to come!

Happy Anniversary Terrell Selph. I love you most.