I know it has been quite some time since I have posted any new entries, but since Brandon’s arrival almost a month ago, all my time has been devoted to him. We are still riding on the crest of that wave, but I know… this is a long, overdue blog.

As most of you know, Brandon finally moved from Grand Rapids to Atlanta on the weekend of May 20th. His arrival was one I had been anticipating for months. The last time we had seen each other was for Christmas, when we spent 2 weeks together. Being apart for so long was becoming increasingly difficult, but we are glad to say that we weathered the storms and the worst is over. And so he arrived via Greyhound, which was an uncomfortable and grueling day-long trip. He arrived a little after noon on Friday, May 20th, and I had asked to have the following Monday off from work. So I took off early from work, and drove to Marietta to pick him up. After dropping off his luggage at home, we celebrated our reunion by going back to our favorite sushi spot, RuSan’s in midtown, where we ate and drank too much. Afterward, we had a blast exploring downtown at night, and staying out late.

The weekend that followed we had made arrangements to attend our friends’ (Stephanie & Ron) wedding in Chattanooga, TN. It would also be a long weekend, and we had made reservations at my favorite Bed & Breakfast, The Major’s Mansion Inn. Brandon had never been to Tennessee; nor had he ever stayed at a Bed & Breakfast. So Saturday we headed out at 10 o’clock in the morning expecting to arrive at the wedding a half an hour early. The scenic ride was nice, and not long at all. We stopped at the B&B and dropped off our bags, and by that time, we were running a little late. After getting lost on our way to the wedding, we managed to arrive after the ceremony had ended. I was so upset to have missed my friends exchange of vows, which I had been looking forward to seeing. But we managed to see the bride and groom cut the cake, dance and throw the bouquet. Stephanie looked absolutely beautiful! They are such a great couple, and it was easy to see how happy and comfortable they are with one another; the perfect match!

Brandon and I stuck around for most of the day, and enjoyed their short reception, as well as their private, after-party. It was awesome, as they had chosen a secluded wooded area where two bungalows were nestled. We had a stupendous view of the Tennessee River, which was bustling with activity. We sat on the dock and dipped our feet in the water, enjoying the sunshine and our company. At a distance, we could see one of Tennessee’s nuclear power plants, an ominous monolith cutting through the landscape. I thought it a terrifying thing to see, so I made an effort not to look in their direction. But we truly had a blast meeting all the nice people. The food was succulent, and the weather was beautiful! Hardly any clouds in a powder blue sky, and the sun glinted and glistened off the Tennessee River. It was truly the perfect way for us to reconnect after so many months apart. We could not think of anything more romantic than to share the happy union of our friends.

Early that evening, before the sun set, we headed back to the Bed & Breakfast to wrap the day up, and relax. The room was gorgeous! I felt like I had been transported back to a French provincial castle. Oh, and the bed… THE BED! It was so billowy, and comfortable! Brandon called room service to bring up our chilled champagne, as I prepared a lovely bubble bath and lit some candles. The rest, well… I will leave to your imagination. Suffice to say that we had a magical time, and slept soundly throughout the night.

The following morning, after sleeping in a bit, we made our way down to the breakfast room. We threw on shorts and a t-shirt, and walked into the dining room bare-footed. Well, this drew the attention of the snobbish, rich folks there, who scanned us from head-to-toe before turning back to their conversations. One of them smiled in pleased amusement; the rest turned their noses up in indignation. I really got off on that While we waited for our breakfast, which was specially prepared to our specifications, the snotty woman on the table next to us called the waiter over to complain that she could not tear open the tea bag; her delicate hands needed a pair of scissors. We wanted to laugh so badly that we had to step outside to let out a burst of laughter, mocking comments, and a cheap imitation: “Garçon, a pair of scissors please. My delicate fingers cannot handle the strain of tearing through this tea bag.” What a ridiculous woman!

After our lovely breakfast, and a few laughs with the waiter who had fetched the scissors, we got dressed and headed out to the Scenic Highway. It was a scorching hot day, so it was nice to drive through the lush and shady Scenic Highway. Scenic highway winds all around Lookout Mountain, and takes you right to the very top. The homes in this area are beautiful, and the views are breathtaking. We ended up taking another detour, once at the top, which set us off towards Georgia. There were many small towns nestled along the way, and we got to see some of the tornadoes’ devastation, which had happened last month. We were in shock, as we had figured that tornadoes did not generally hit mountains. But I guess they do, and many houses were destroyed; one could see the tornadoes’ pathways. It was very sad and humbling to see people cleaning up after the disaster. We lingered a while at the top of the Incline Railway admiring the panorama and continued to explore this area, for most of the day, before going back to Bluff View, the art district in downtown Chattanooga. We walked across the bridge, and checked out some of the local art stores. Finally, we stopped for some frozen yogurt before heading back up to Lookout Mountain, where we visited Rock City.

Rock City was so much more than we had expected. We were thankful to have waited until the day had cooled off, by five o’clock in the afternoon. It was a lot of fun going through the windy tunnels and rocky pathways. The waterfall at the topmost point of the mountain was absolutely gorgeous! We wondered if it was man-made, which seemed logical due to its placement. From the waterfall plaza one could see all across to adjacent states, as far as the eye could see. It was majestic!

That evening I was hellbent on having some Tennessee BBQ Ribs. I never imagined we would be hard pressed to find baby back ribs here. We had been told to visit Sugar’s, which we did, downtown… But they were all out of ribs! So we drove across town to their other locale, where we were able to order ribs. I was disappointed to find that they did not sell Baby Back Ribs, and so we settled for the Spare Ribs, which were okay, and nothing to write home about, really. After dinner we went back to the B&B, where we sat on the rocking chairs our on the porch. We drank too much wine and finally watched a movie, The Insider, with Russell Crowe. Well, I say watched, but despite the fact that it was a good movie I kept falling asleep on account of the wine, so I did not really get to finish it.

The following morning the B&B staff brought breakfast up to our room, and I lingered for a long time in a wonderfully relaxing bubble bath. I sure love bubble baths! We checked out of the hotel at 1230pm, and headed out to Ruby Falls, halfway up Lookout Mountain. There were significantly a lot less people than the day before, which was awesome. The previous day the queue wrapped along the road with at least a hundred people. It can get very claustrophobic in the caves as it is, and we were glad we postponed our visit for this day. The tour was okay. This had been my third time to Ruby Falls, and Brandon’s first time. The moderate influx of tourists made this the most hurried Ruby Falls tour I’d ever been to, which was upsetting, considering the pricey admission and the fact that Brandon likes to investigate things a thoroughly. Still, he was impressed with the waterfall, which is nestled in a huge cavern at the end of the tour trail. During our tour visit, we managed to piss off a couple of the guides, as we had decided to break away from the group, and explore the caves on our own. Ducking and dodging through the tunnels, we were scolded on several occasions. Finally we rejoined our group and finished the tour. Ever the trouble-makers!

Outside Ruby Falls, cicadas were chirping so loudly, they set my teeth on edge. When we walked over to the fountain, we saw thousands of dead cicadas that drowned in the fountain and had been scooped out. While there, we noticed a couple of them fly right into the water and struggle to escape their deaths. Brandon, being the soft-hearted person that he is, came to their rescue. Soon enough, a couple more fell in, and then a couple more. We figured, since we had to leave, we could feel good about saving at least a couple of them Once on our way to the highway, we could still hear cicadas screeching in our ears. Well, one of them had managed to get in our car, so we had to stop to set it free. Those things are loud!!

In any event, if ever any of you wish to visit the Chattanooga area, and you have to pick and choose what to do, we highly recommend Rock City over Ruby Falls. Also, a drive along the Scenic Highway is a must. There are many quaint hotels along this route, which look like lovely places to stay the night.

Our drive back to Atlanta seemed a little shorter than our drive into Chattanooga. On our way home we stopped at our friends’ house, Jen and Phil, who were having a Memorial Day BBQ celebration. We got there at around 3pm, and ended up staying until 10pm! Jen prepared a wonderfully delicious smorgasbord of food, consisting of grilled skirt steak, corn and peppers, and a lovely pie. Jason, my ex-roommate made a duck salad, and I must say (being that I hate duck) that it was delicious! It was a great way to cap our weekend, sharing with our friends. We also got to see Payton again! Jayson’s dog, whom I almost adopted a few months back. Sweetest pooch ever! Anyway, it all passed by too quickly, and I had to be at work at 730am the following morning. By the time we made it home, we were both dead tired, and without much fanfare, plopped ourselves into bed! A vacation from our vacation would’ve been nice, but we had such a wonderful time, it was all worth it. Brandon and I had been apart for so long, and this turned out to be the loveliest way to resume our relationship and to reconnect. It’s nice to feel home again, now that Brandon is here!