Happy 30th Birthday Damon!

For Damon's 30th birthday we decided to take a trip together. We didn't get to go anywhere for our 5th anniversary because I was big and pregnant so we decided to make this a late 5 year trip and happy 30th birthday to Damon. And what a way to spend it! My parent's were so kind to keep the children while we went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for 5 days! (Yeap, kid free for 5 days!) This could not have come at a more perfect timing. Damon had been working out of town for the past 2 months in Houston covering at the cancer center there and was gone all week long and home on weekends. So I was a single parent of 2 for 2 months. Not a fun task! With school starting, soccer starting and life just becoming more busy. So the break was great for me. And it was a lot of fun to be a kid-less couple for a little bit. Although there were times that we both felt guilty about leaving the kids! And from time to time we would say, oh the kids would love this or that. But we did have a blast together! The Smokey Mountains are truly beautiful! Here are some pics from our fun trip.


Damon dancing his way to Tennessee.

At Bubba-Gump Restaurant in Gatlinburg, TN
Damon decided that he wanted to try shrimp, shrimp and more shrimp. So we had... Fried Shrimp, Shrimp Balls, Cocktail Shrimp, Spinach & Shrimp Dip, Hushpuppies with Shrimp and more and more... The food was so delish! We loved everything that we tried and were stuffed the whole night. Our server was from Russia and was very entertaining. He asked several Forrest Gump Movie questions and some we actually got right. The Gatlinburg Golf Course (actually located in Pigeon Forge). Since we were there to celebrate Damon's 30th Birthday, I wanted to do something that he would love and well, me, I tolerated. : ) So I found what seemed to be an amazing golf course on-line and booked a tee time while we were there. And we were NOT let down. The course was amazing! On Hole 12 there was a drop from the tee to the hole of 200 feet. And the views were AMAZING! That is actually what I looked at the entire time we were there. And had fun driving the cart up and down the hills.The view from Hole 1. I know, AMAZING right? It was!Damon putting at hole 5. In the background, Mr. Ron. We met him there at the golf course. He actually joined Damon's tee time at the last minute. And it was a lot of fun having him there with us. He is a great golfer and he gave tons of tips to Damon. It turn out that Mr. Ron was originally from Lake Charles, LA. It was fun meeting him. Another beautiful view of the golf course. Damon and Mr. Ron putting. Damon had a very hard time playing on the hills. The ball was either above his feet or below his feet. I think that the only time he was on level ground was when he was on the putting green.Another beautiful view.Damon on Hole 9 Putting Green. Happy Birthday Babe! Hope that you had a great time! I love you tons!Damon & Jodie after almost 7 years of marriage! Yay! We went to a wonderful steak dinner at The Peddler Steak House. Everything was so good! And it was very nice to sit and eat dinner without children. I would give the restaurant 5 stars! Damon on the way back to the cabin. This was his reaction to the traffic in Pigeon Forge, TN. There was a classic car show going on while we were there and there were thousands of cars everywhere. Damon described it as a town the size of Vidor with the traffic the size of Houston traffic. Yeah, it was that bad! Until we figured out the back roads it was horrible trying to get anywhere. So if you ever want to go to Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge be sure and let us help you before hand with the back roads. : ) That is unless you like driving a half mile in 30 minutes. haha...A few of the classic cars. Damon's Dad would have been in Heaven with all the cars. A view of us with the mountains behind us.The Alpine Sleds at Ober Gatlinburg. They were a BLAST and made us feel like kids again.All ready to go.
Up in the Smokey Mountain National Forest at Cade's Cove! So beautiful!There was this ivy that grew up the sides of the mountain. Damon just loved it.A beautiful view in Cade's Cove.A fun couple singing at the visitor's center there in Cade's Cove. The old fashion country music they sang was a lot of fun to hear. Very entertaining.
We heard from everyone that we would for sure see a Black Bear there at Cade's Cove. And we had already reached the half way point and NO bears! I was getting really frustrated. : ) I told Damon that I wish I had a jar of honey so that I could squeeze it out the car as we drove so that the bears would come and chase us down. Then finally Damon found a bear. He was young, I imagine about 2 years old just walking through the woods. He would stop every now and then and sniff the air. I knew that he knew we were there. We videoed a little so the kids could see. It was a lot of fun seeing them in their natural habitat and not in a cage at the zoo.A little while later I had Damon pull over because I saw a doe. She was laying in the forest. So he pulled over and I wanted to see just how close she would let me get. So I went through the fence and began walking toward her. My original thought was, "Oh Jay would love to see her jump up and run away." Well she let me get about 15 yards from her. And there was a tree down between us or I might have tried to get closer. Then all of a sudden I hear a noise right there beside me on the other side of this down tree. And up pops a baby deer. Oh it was adorable! The little fawn was about 5 feet from me. No wonder the Momma didn't jump up and run away. And I am very lucky that she didn't jump up and attack me. Or at least that is what Damon says. In all my years of going hunting with my Dad, I have never heard of a deer attacking a person. But hey, you never know. Jay and Emma love watching the video of the Momma and her baby. It is one of my favorite memories of the day.Our cabin, Eagle's Point. We rented from a company called Sugar Maple Cabins. The cabin was so beautiful! It was a 1 bedroom and 2 full bathrooms, a living room, a full kitchen, washer and dryer, a game room (with foosball, pool, darts and air hockey), 2 decks and a hot tub. It was beautiful! Everything that they advertised!The kitchenThe kitchen table, the living room and the stairs to upstairs.The living roomThe upstairs deck.The hot tub.
Part of the game room.Another part of the game room.Damon playing pool. I didn't win a single game. I came close but not close enough. I think that I nice husband would have let me win at least once. Nope, not Damon!! : )The upstairs bathroom with a jetted tub.