He + She

Without a doubt my favorite times are when Steve and I get to be together–with our family, in a crowd, and when, especially when, it’s just us.

Imagine how excited we were when we opened an envelope at Christmas that held a voucher for a night’s stay at an Inn in Chatanooga!!  Not only that, it came with babysitting included. Obviously we have some very thoughtful and generous friends.

We looked forward to this little escape for a looooong time, and finally took off for our get away in March.  We headed out Sunday after church and lunch and were nearly half way to Chattanooga when the van started clanking and clunking as older vehicles sometimes do.  It got worse and worse until Steve couldn’t drive more than 40 mph.  After spending an hour at an auto parts store, Steve got one problem fixed but the bigger issue was still there.

Long story short–after completely losing power and sitting next to the interstate for a long while, we finally got a wrecker out and a ride home.  The mechanic we use is a man Steve has gotten to know through street feedings. He was sooo kind and drove us home.

Five hours after we started out, we headed out again.  The best part about the fiasco is that even though it was disappointing to lose our day of relaxing in Chattanooga and to ride around with fumes from the first vehicle and no air conditioning  in the next, we were able to keep from getting annoyed at each other. =)

On to the good part.

I always love seeing the mountains again!

What a beautiful, welcome sight at the end of long afternoon!

We had such a nice stay here.  They served an amaaaaazing breakfast–eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy, bacon, piles of fresh berries, chocolate pastries, cinnamon rolls, fresh orange juice and delicious coffee.  Mmmm, so good!

Chattanooga is a really nice city. There is plenty to do, but it is still small enough that you can easily find your way around.  There is a river running through the city and a beautiful, walking bridge that was built in the 1800’s.

They have a great bicycle system where you can rent bikes for the day.  There are bicycle stations throughout the city and you can leave and get bicycles on your own time.  So great.  I wish Atlanta would adopt this idea.   It’s green, it’s fun, and it’s a great way to get exercise and to interact with people from the city.

We were able to leave our vehicle parked at the Inn all day and ride or walk through the beautiful city.  I was feeling great, and that whole day was pretty much bliss.

We rode bikes, walked for awhile, sat on a bench and talked  a long while about how we were doing, our ideas for ministry, and I’m sure there was talk about history and logistics too since I was siting on a historic bridge next to a history lover .

    

The weather was perfect. The sun warm. The breezes cool.

Talking, biking, walking, resting, dreaming, people watching, loving. Sunshine, smiles, and good food.  Put these on repeat for a whole day and that sums up the wonderfulness.

We meandered through this inspiring restored warehouse just before leaving–such a gorgeous shopping mall.

Life gets busy and heavy sometimes. Time together away from responsibility is perfect for helping  us refocus, for refreshment, for a new energy for our marriage, our family, our ministry…just all of life.

I’m so thankful for this gift.