Between having a new baby in the house, the pandemic, and not living near family, it’s been tough to get out of the house and have a date like regular people lately. And by tough, I mean impossible 😂. Our last date was back in January, and since then, we’ve pretty much been confined to the couch in our attempts to do anything romantic. So, last month, we had the bright idea to invite my mom down for a weekend to watch the kids. Needless to say, we were just tickled at the thought of getting out of the house.
Unbeknownst to me, DJ had gotten to work right away with planning a surprise one-night getaway. So, when I came to the table excitedly and said “So, Babe what do you want to do for our date night?” he simply laughed to himself. He was already 5 steps ahead of me.
DJ loves to surprise me, and over the years I’ve learned to simply let go and enjoy it. My personality has always been that of a planner, so not being involved in the process used to get under my skin, but I’ve found it’s much easier to sit back and enjoy. And 9 times out of 10, things usually work out better when he plans it anyway.
After our backyard camping experience for Micah’s birthday (read about it here), I was bitten by the camping bug and hadn’t stopped talking about it since. So, I figured whatever DJ was planning likely had something to do with that.
The morning before our overnight date, he told me to pack casual clothes in a bag and make sure I had sneakers available. And once the kids were settled, we were off! Unfortunately, getting to that point took longer than anticipated, so after making the more than an hour drive to where we would be spending the night, we had just enough time to grab some take-out before driving to our final destination.
When we arrived, it was dark and raining, but that didn’t quell our excitement. We turned onto a gravel road, with a small sign that read “Cabins.” I was over the moon! “Camping,” I said. “I was right!” DJ just smiled to himself. We drove for about ¼ mile on the gravel path, then stopped in front of a trailer. “Here we are!” he said. I was ecstatic.
We sprinted through the rain to our cabin/trailer, and once he opened the door, my jaw dropped! Inside of this unassuming black trailer, was a “getaway oasis.” The walls were lined with beautiful lumber that filled the room with a warm woody aroma. There was a huge window near the bed that spanned the length of the wall. The cabin was immaculately clean and fully stocked with organic snacks (it’s like they know me! 😂). There were books on the shelf, specifically geared toward disconnecting. For example, there was a book on star gazing and a book of card games, complete with a pack of cards to try out what you’ve learned. Also included, was a campfire kit and ingredients for s’mores to boot. Because of the rain, we unfortunately weren’t able to do most of the things mentioned. However, the rain did create a beautiful ambience for a night out in nature. After we ate, we ended up laying in bed, talking to the pitter patter of the rain, which lasted throughout the night, while we staring at the rustling leaves of the trees through our expansive window. We talked and talked until we fell asleep without realizing. Parent life—what can I say?
The next morning, we were feeling refreshed and since the rain had stopped, I was eager to get out and look around. There was a hiking trail nearby we wanted to tackle, so off we went! That is, until we learned that snakes apparently like to come out after the rain. The rain apparently brings out things like frogs, which in turn brings out the snakes. So there went that idea, and so much for being out in nature 😂! By that time, it made the most sense to head to brunch before our check-out, so that’s exactly what we did. We enjoyed our brunch at a local farm-fresh restaurant, called The Table, and then we headed back on the road.
So, all-in-all, although our attempt to be out in nature and gain some camping experience was totally thwarted, I enjoyed an awesome evening with my amazing husband in a beautiful setting, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I made DJ promise we’d go back again, so I’m looking forward to it and getting another shot at taking on the great outdoors.
