Partly personal

Okay, I might as well tell you. In about 10 days, Phyllis and I will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. Somehow, our Gatlinburg property manager/cleaner, Ingrid Nelson, found out about this. When we told her we were coming to Gatlinburg on Monday, she said, "You're staying at Smoky Mountain Tower - and don't eat dinner before you get here."

We arrived on Monday about 5:30 pm - and this was waiting for us outside by the front door:


It even plays music (I should make a video so you can hear it)! But we were blown away when we got inside. This is what awaited us:


In the refrigerator, we found a feast:


There was even a bag of 'instant-light' charcoal waiting for us. So we lit the charcoal, cooked the baked potatoes that were all wrapped and ready for the oven, and - for the first time ever - sat at our own table and enjoyed a wonderful meal!


Thank you, Ingrid. You are really special and we very much appreciate all you do for us. Tomorrow, I'll show you what's going on outside Smoky Mountain Tower.