Since we just celebrated our tenth anniversary, we decided we wanted to go away somewhere. Obviously we couldn't go too far or for too long, but we still wanted something.
We decided to go to
Hermann Hill Winery and Inn in Hermann. We had been there twice before...once when Z was 9 months old, and once about a month after mom died (in 2007). Since then, life has been a bit hectic, and we hadn't made it back.
We stayed in the cottage part of the Inn, so it is not a traditional B&B. It is our own separate building. There are two main rooms--the kitchen/living room and the bedroom/bathroom. Splitting the rooms is a see thru fireplace, with flatscreen TVs mounted over it in each room. The kitchen has the breakfast already made and in the fridge to be rewarmed, along with a waffle maker and coffee maker. There is a table in the kitchen, and a loveseat in the living room. There is a deck off the back with a totally private hot tub and grill, and it overlooks the Missouri River and the train tracks. The sound of the train happily reminds us of the house we used to live in, right down the street from the railroad tracks. The bedroom has a gorgeous king size bed, and a bathtub bigger (no joke) than my bathroom at home! Next to the tub is another fireplace, an aroma fireplace. There is also a shower with 4 showerheads, heated towel racks, and a heated floor. Heaven on earth!
We had reservations for Monday and Tuesday night, so left Monday after lunchtime. We left the boys with Dad and Dena (and a 4 page list of info!) for the first 24 hours, then Mike and Dorothy came Tuesday to cover the last 24 hours.
We started out at Jimmy John's for lunch, then headed out. We made it to the Inn by 3. We got a nap in, then ran out to a nearby winery (Stone Hill) and grabbed a few bottles of wine. We got some cheese and crackers and sausage and oreos for dinner. We got home and ate and drank and watched movies (CMT was doing a Pauly Shore week...random, yes, but we watched Pauly Shore!).
We slept until after 9, and ate a yummy breakfast (waffles and an egg/potato casserole and coffee). We decided to ride on the Katy Trail. I have not ridden a bike in at LEAST 15 years. Probably longer. Nate just bought one, and has been riding it for awhile, but not me. So we rented bikes and rode. We rode...are you ready? We rode TWENTY TWO miles. We both (ok, mostly me) have a tendency to bite off more than we can chew. But it was so nice, and it wasn't hot, and we were just chatting and looking around...so we got 11 miles down, and figured we'd better turn back. So a 3 hour bike ride! We had fun, though.
We got back and took a long nap (3 hours will tire you out!). I was pretty sore, too. Oh well. I read an entire book while we were there, too! Unfortunately, most restaurants in Hermann (at least the decent ones) are not open on Monday and Tuesday nights, so we had very few choices for dinner. So we just went to the store and got some steak and potatos and salad, and Nate grilled it up for us. Yum!
Here we are at mile 110 on the Katy Trail. Too bad I didn't actually get any pictures of the bikes...
More Pauly Shore, and then another great night of sleep! (We started out our married life in a double bed, then got a queen size. At that point in time, I was sure I would never want a king size bed because Nate would be so far away from me. Since then, 4 kids later, I have changed my mind...I would love a king size bed!)
Another delicious breakfast, then checkout and time to head back home.
We didn't really miss our kids, but it was good to see them again. :)
We had a good time just the two of us, reconnecting and relaxing. It was wonderful to have just us, to not have to deal with anyone else. We reflected on the last 5 years of our marriage--having Z, moving, sick mom, then losing mom, struggling to get pregnant, having triplets, surviving the first year of triplets. We are grateful/hopeful that the next 5 years won't be quite such big stuff! We talked about the next 5 years of our marriage, about some goals we have, and where we want to be then. We had a chance to dream together. We slept, ate, talked, watched TV, read, enjoyed our time. I love our family, but love that we love each other first.
Here we are on the balcony. And yes, my left eye looks crazy. I think I have some sort of pinkeye or infection in my eye or something else weird...just to add fun to our trip...I had to wear glasses most of the time!
It was entertaining to read some of the entries in the "journal" in the cottage room, that everyone wrote in about their time there. Several couples got engaged while there, and one girl wrote (after just getting engaged) "Maybe in 10 years we can come back for our anniversary and leave our kids at home. Wouldn't that be funny?!" And here we are...we are that "funny" couple. Don't feel like we are really that far from being just engaged, but holy moly, we are.
We had a fabulous time, and are so grateful for the help from the grandparents that were here to watch our boys. And they all had a good time...the boys survived, as did both sets of grandparents. Oh, and the other best part? We didn't "actually" pay for ANY of the trip! We got a gift certificate from Mat and Marbree to a B&B as part of a thank you for watching P last fall, and paid for the rest with cash we had on our Discover Card rewards. My grandparents sent us money for our anniversary, then totally out of the blue sent us more money that we got 3 days before we left. And last, in January we started an all cash budget, and we started collecting ALL of our change in a 2 liter bottle that we sealed up (no use tempting ourselves to steal from it!). We emptied it (we had planned on using it for this), and we had $92 in it! What a blessing that we were able to do this for "free"!
Love my husband, loved our time!
