We had an awesome wedding. My maternal grandmother gave me my grandfather's wedding ring from 1943. We only had to pay for the license and our clothes. Mom bought our cakes and her friends volunteered with the food. We left the church after the wedding and made our way to Pigeon Forge to celebrate our Honeymoon.
On our honeymoon, we visited Cade's Cove and other attractions., I am a big fan of putt-putt, so we had to do that while we were there. On one hole, you had to hit the ball into a cave before you sunk it into the hole. The entrance to the cave was large enough to drive a car through. I could be wrong as she claims the entrance gets bigger each time I tell the story.. Mary hit the outside wall instead and the ball ricocheted and went all over the place. I laughed so hard because I don't see how anyone could miss an opening that big. Mary still doesn't find it amusing.
On our last full day there, we went to nearby Gatlinburg. We went to Christ in the Smokies which contains life-size exhibits depicting events from the life of Jesus.
On our way back to Weaverville, we went through Newport so we could stop at the Cocke County Courthouse. This was where my grandparents got married in 1932. We even got someone to take our picture (below).
We stayed a couple of days in Weaverville before moving to Mississippi to start our life together. We have had good moments, bad moments, angry moments, and sad moments. We have also had a lot of happy moments. But there is something that especially stands out to me.
A week or so before our last anniversary, I had to go to the hospital. For three or four days, Mary never left my side. I don't know anyone else who would do that. Just this past Sunday, I got sick and she cleaned up the puke. She knows I'm a huge batman fan and this is how she wrapped my anniversary present.
To quote one of my favorite movies, "She is not the wife I deserved, but the wife I needed". And still do.