July 10th, 2026 Highland Games - Blowing Rock- Jennifer

 Well, we had our long Planned, long Awaited and much Anticipated weekend at the Highland Games in Grandfather Mountain… Yeah, I think that’s an appropriate opening because first we talked about it because I wanted to do something uniquely Irish with and for Jennifer and the games came into our view so I started by making hotel reservations and made dog friendly room reservations at the Pineola Lodge and you know time went by… Then we got our tickets. I bought the tickets to the actual event the Highland Games at Grandfather Mountain and then when I received those tickets or wristbands, the letter enclosed said that the event was not dog friendly well now what do I do? Well what I did was, I contacted the hotel and changed my dog friendly rooms into a living room suite with kitchen and a plain room with one queen bed. We then spoke to Dava and she readily agreed to take care of Zeke so that bridge was crossed and we’re all set to go… We plan to go early in the morning because our big day was Friday. We had to travel go to the event and check into the hotel when I said early I meant 7 AM Jennifer texted me at 6 AM saying she was ready to go…. And that was the beginning of probably one of the most wonderful weekends of my life. I say that because I wanna say that out loud, I really wanna lean back and just appreciate how beautiful this weekend was a weekend it could’ve been rained out and miserable turned into the most memorable, meaningful and magical weekend that I’ve ever spent with a woman and that woman is Jennifer Spence. A weekend that could have been miserably Hot and Rained Out, with just the right attitude and a few tweaks, turned into the most fun and lovingly romantic time of my life. There were a few awkward moments, largely self imposed by my own self scrutiny about getting old. Also, because we have separate rooms and don’t consummate any romantic impulses we might feel. I love her in every way as a man loves a woman. I want to hold her, hug her, squeeze her and merge with her BUT, I amd determined to kiss her good night and walk away. I am determined determined to leave our feelings un consummated, believing in my heart that this is the better way. That this somehow is a higher order of romantic love. I went home to my room and wondered about myself, about us… is this it? Is this the end? Sometimes I kind of want it to end… like end on a high note. I’m aware of my physical weaknesses and limitations and how much shear strength it takes just to climb the stairs to carry my bags to my room. I allow myself to indulge in those insecurities but when the morning came and we reconnected… suddenly there we were again, still friends, still laughing and still making plans for what turned out to be another great day!

This is no disrespect to Tess and to the 46 years we spent together because those years were filled with love romance. What I felt an experienced with Tess was All Tess… and now what I feel and experience with Jennifer is All Jennifer!