I was so excited when I booked the cruise. Before you ask on which sea and/or ocean, let me say that it was the on Tennessee River and on a paddle boat.
This was a part of Tim and I celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary, which was on October 12th. But the cruise wasn’t in our original plans. At the first of the year, he asked: “What’re we gonna do for our anniversary?” My first thought was to have reception with our family and friends. So back in the spring, I reserved the Fellowship Hall at our church. By the time August rolled around, I had begun to think about having to carry decorations and food stuff in, sitting them up, and then taking them back down. On top of that, I was worried about unlocking the Fellowship Hall and sitting off the alarm again. Then I opted to have a smaller function at our house. Soon, I changed my mind again. To say it has been an eventful year for us is an understatement. I told Tim: “I’m tired and I don’t feel like having a party.” He answered: “Okay, but what are we gonna do instead?”
I suggested us spending a weekend nearby somewhere. He agreed. At first, we debated between going to Biltmore House or Mount Airy N.C. Mount Airy is the hometown of Andy Griffith and the fictional town of Mayberry is supposedly based on it. Then we heard about the issues of traveling on I-40 going over the Mountain. Now, you can go around that mess by taking the exit for Newport, but it is a much longer drive. We didn’t want to do that either. Again, Tim asked: “So, what’re we gonna do?” The next option was spending the weekend in Townsend or Pigeon Forge. That changed when I looked at the hotel rates. The cost of rooms per night weren’t too bad. But then I saw the total amount that would be due which included taxes and fees as well. I didn’t feel right about paying that much. You see, we help with our little grandson Maverick. I didn’t want to take money away from him. Tim agreed again and said: “We gotta do something.”
Immediately I began to browse online for something that was local, not too expensive and still would be fun. “Aha!” I almost clapped when I found the website for the Tennessee River Cruise. Years earlier, I had some friends who had an extra ticket for a dinner cruise and invited me to go on with them. Tim had to work that day and encouraged me to go. I did and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Of course, I tried to get him to go on one, but he wouldn’t do it. I decided to take a risk and ordered the tickets online. Next, I texted him to tell that I had just signed us up for the sighting cruise. He was pleasantly surprised.
The day of the cruise, Tim was actually excited about it. Then we had something happen that almost kept us from going. I will write about that next week. Fortunately, we did manage to arrive on time to board the boat. Since we weren’t dining, we were directed up to the top deck. Most other people sat down at the tables in the middle. Not us. We saw the table sitting at the front of the boat. Oh yeah, we ran and grabbed it.
It was an awesome vantage point in that we had a clear view of the scenery. First, we sailed under the Gay and Henley Street bridges and then by Neyland Stadium. To me, it was striking seeing Knoxville from that perspective instead of just driving on the road. Also, the trees and rock strata in the river banks and cliffs were striking in their beauty. Another plus was the weather in that it was just right. It wasn’t too hot or too cold. Since we set sail at 6pm, it was dark and a little cooler on the way back to the dock. The city lights reflecting off of the water were beautiful and romantic. Tim and I snuggled as we took in the vista around us.
“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house love, it would utterly be contemned.” Song of Solomon 8:7 (KJV)
True love is a blessing and not one to be taken lightly. It is much more of a powerful force than people realize. You can’t buy it or bargain for it. It is indeed a cherished gift from the Lord. Also, don’t ever take it for granted. Quite often during each day I say a prayer of thanks for all of my loved ones.
Tim is now ready to go back on another cruise. He wants to do the dinner the next time. He even found a cruise in Chattanooga. I really wasn’t that interested for it, but I most certainly would for one in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.