I'm not real sure of the customs of 80 year olds after a late in life wedding with family, but we took a couple of days away and "honeymooned", if I can use that term, at a nice little place north of Chattanooga.
Several years back, our family used this spot as a family reunion of sorts, but there was a difference this time around, especially in terms of weather.
After the 2 inches of rain that fell on Saturday, the temperatures dropped and the next couple of days were well below freezing. It was nice to have that fireplace in our little nest.
All of the rooms in the inn and the outlying cabins had bird names, and this was the Rose Cottage, and our room, one of three in this small building, was the Mockingbird. (Note the sunshine on Sunday, but it was super cold).
Our excursions into the outside world were few, supper twice, breakfast twice, and once to a church service in the chapel on the property.
Whitestone does a lot of weddings using this chapel, and, yes, there was one the Sunday afternoon we were there.
But the sign in the main inn building read "Worship Service in Chapel at 10:30 Sunday", and it seemed to us the right place to be. So we went....
Eight hardy souls comprised the congregation (including us), the preacher was a doctor in Kingston.
But it was one of those times "where two or three are gathered" that we did indeed worship. Turned out the pianist could not make it, but the preacher, who we found out later was concert-trained, astounded us with a fantastic rendition of the old hymn Jesus the Very Thought of Thee. It was, we agreed, a very worshipful service.
The Sunday turned off sunny and bright and cold, but it is easy to see what a restful place is Whitestone. We were glad to enjoy it together on these cold winter days.
And now we are back in Chattanooga, having spent the first week of our marriage living life together.
Carolyn took this shot yesterday as we walked together. We agreed, life is good, and we do feel 10 feet tall.
God has been very good to us, and we are grateful..
