Our Country Getaway

This past weekend, we spent one night away in the "country." You may find this hard to believe, but drive about an hour and a half in pretty much any direction from DC, and you'll be in a rural (or at least almost rural) area! It feels like real America!

That's what we did. I found this cute little cabin for rent online. It's just outside the Shenandoah National Park.

Michael and I have a goal of making out in every National Park. And now I suppose we can add NationalS Park too, haha!

This little trip was just what we needed. It's so good for the soul to get out of the everyday routine, isn't it? So good to get close to God's creation. See. Hear. Smell. all that natural stuff!

I married a real nature boy, let me tell you. This boy would spend all day in the woods if he had the chance! I, on the other hand, prefer to have my hair dryer and my iPhone, you know what I mean?

We didn't even bring our computers. Our goal was to totally UNPLUG. Reflect on the last year and dream together about the future. One day driving on Skyline Drive and one night in the little wooden cabin worked. We came back so refreshed. It was an amazing, perfect trip.

Here are some pics:
This was our little cabin. Cabin #1.
This is the little restaurant right on site where the cabins are. We ate there for dinner Saturday night and for breakfast Sunday morning. Home cookin' on a buffet! We brought home some home baked bread that I'm pretty sure is 50% butter. Delicious.
Here's a look inside the cabin:
See what I mean??? VERY different from our every day life. We don't really do floral. Or carpet. Or anything country for that matter. But for one night, it was cute, quaint, perfect.
We even turned on the fireplace.
One of my very favorite things was the babbling brook that ran right behind the cabin. I loved watching it and listening to it. So. Peaceful.
We ate breakfast on the back porch. Dessert, of course.
This next part may seem a little inappropriate to share, but you know what? We're MARRIED, so there! And you know what else? I need to get over being so private, right? So, you know what was really my FAVORITE part of the whole weekend?
Yep. The hot tub. This is always a nice amenity, right? Well, for us, it's extra special. Neither one of us have ever imagined we would be able to enjoy a hot tub. There are a lot of logistics involved, you know? How will I lift Michael up and in there? More importantly... how will I get him out? What if he has some crazy blood pressure issue and passes out? When we walked into the room and I saw this, very uncharacteristically, I said, "We're getting in there." He looked at me like I was crazy. "I don't care if we have to call 911 to get out, we're getting in there." So, we put our heads together and came up with a strategy. We got in!! It was so great! And, obviously, we got out too :) And no, neither 911 nor some non emergency number were called to come rescue us! We did it!! Together. It was great. I'll spare you the details :)
It was unforgettable.
Before we checked in to the cabin, we enjoyed a beautiful drive through Shenandoah National Park.
It was so refreshing to be surrounded by the mountains. To feel small is good. Reminds us of how small we really are. We need that. At least, I know I need that. Michael wanted to photoshop out his bald spot here. I'd love for him to photoshop out my roots and love handles, but whatever!
We went on a hike on an accessible trail! SO GREAT to do something physical, together. We just strolled along and took it all in.
We found an apple tree!

We saw some other pretty cool things, too. Like this heart-looking tree stump.
We took some "senior pictures."
I love to sneak in pictures of him when he has no idea.
Fall is in the air! We are still several weeks away from Autumn but we did notice some leaves already changing. So pretty!

Such a nice getaway. We're already enjoying year 2!!